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Title : The Symmetrical Family - Michael Yong and Peter Willmott
What is the Symmetrical Family?According to Michael Young and Peter Willmott in their book The Symmetrical Family the family in England has gone through four stages.
(1) The Pre industrial family.
At this stage the family is the unit of production; husband, wife and children work as a unit in the production of agricultural items or textiles.
(2) The early industrial family.
Members of the family are now employed as wage earners. This kind of family predominated in the C19th when wages were low and there was the threat of unemployment. Families responded by extending their network of relationships to include relatives. Women were largely responsible for this. There was a central relationship between a mother and her married daughter; by contrast the husband-wife relationship was weak. Women formed an 'informal trade union' from which men were excluded. This kind of family may still be found in long established working class areas.
(3) The symmetrical family.
The nuclear family has become separated from the extended family and the 'trade union' of women has been disbanded. The husband is important once again within the family. Husband and wife share decisions, and work together, hence the term 'symmetrical'. This kind of family predominates more in the working classes than in the middle-classes. Work is important in shaping the nature of family life.
(4) The Stage 4 family.
Young and Wilmott predict the development of a stage 4 family, which is an extension of their theory of the 'Principle of Stratified Diffusion'. According to this theory patterns of living diffuse down the social structure. Thus families at the bottom of the social order will copy the habits of those at the top. Applying this theory, they observe that managing directors lives are work centred rather than home-centred.
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