family, symmetrical

views updated May 29 2018

family, symmetrical A family form identified by Peter Willmott and Michael Young in the early 1970s and said to be increasingly common, in which the domestic division of labour is less marked, and the home more central to social life and social identities. However, feminist scholarship of the same period highlighted continued inequalities of the domestic division of labour, and the thesis has found little empirical support. See also ROLE, CONJUGAL.

symmetrical family

views updated May 17 2018

symmetrical family See FAMILY, SYMMETRICAL.