Symmetrical family

A family in which partners make more equal contributions to family life and share responsibilities and decision-making, although their tasks need not be identical.

Willmott and Young’s term for a family in which partners’ roles have become more similar and family activities and responsibilities are increasingly shared.

In The Symmetrical Family (1973), Peter Willmott and Michael Young presented a broadly functionalist, ‘march of progress’ account of family change. They argued that partners’ roles were becoming more similar, with greater sharing of paid work, domestic tasks, childcare and leisure.

A family in which partners make more balanced contributions to domestic life and increasingly share leisure and decision-making; their tasks need not be identical.

Evaluate the symmetrical family using evidence for change and evidence of continuing inequality, then reach a supported conclusion.

A family in which partners' roles are becoming more similar, with greater sharing of paid work and domestic responsibilities.

Young and Willmott's term for a home-centred nuclear family in which spouses make similar contributions of equal importance, although their roles are not interchangeable.

Willmott and Young’s description of a family in which partners make more similar contributions, increasingly share decisions and spend leisure time together. Symmetry does not require identical tasks.

Writing from a functionalist perspective, Willmott and Young (1973) argued that British family life had moved towards the symmetrical family. They described a more equal, home-centred nuclear family: a couple and their children, increasingly focused on their own household rather than the wider extended family. This inward focus is described as a privatised family.

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AQA GCSE Sociology · 8192

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Eduqas GCSE Sociology · C200