Women, Marriage and Family Relationships

Abstract

Given the importance of family relationships in most women’s lives it is not surprising that ‘the family’ has occupied a central place in feminist theory and research. Various aspects of family life have been identified as crucial to an understanding of women’s subordination. Some feminists have emphasised male violence and men’s control over women’s sexuality and reproduction; others have looked at the economics of domestic labour and have discussed the contribution it makes to capitalism or the extent to which men benefit from it; still others have concentrated on the familial relationships which shape the construction of masculinity and femininity; and many more have examined the state regulation of family life. These issues have proved highly contentious. Indeed, the major debates between feminists on the interrelationship between patriarchy and capitalism have often been fought on the terrain of ‘the family’. Recent discussions of differences among women in terms of class, ‘race’, ethnicity and sexuality have raised new questions for feminist analyses of family life.