Discuss and Evaluate the Functionalist, Marxist and...

Discuss and evaluate the Functionalist, Marxist and Feminist ideologies of contemporary society In this assignment, I am going to briefly explore the definitions of Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism and how their ideologies affect contemporary society in Great Britain. In doing so I will give examples that expand upon the definitions and illustrate that such ideologies are evident and still have an impact on the society we live in. Functionalists believe that all elements within a society interconnect and work together. They compare society to a human body where everything is useful and needed. Even things like crime have a purpose, which through Functionalists rose tinted glasses is that it creates jobs for policemen etc. It is†¦show more content†¦Finally the last ideology is Feminism. Feminism is a sociological perspective that involves various movements, theories, and philosophies which are concerned with the issue of gender difference, advocate equality for women, and campaign for women s rights and interests. The history of feminism can be divided into three waves. The first wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s and the third is from the 1990s to present. Feminism has changed perspectives in a wide range of areas within Western society, ranging from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women s legal rights ,for women s ri ght to bodily integrity and autonomy, for abortion rights, and for reproductive rights (including access to contraception and quality prenatal care); for protection from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape; for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; and against other forms of discrimination. In the news recently there has been lots of talk about the glass ceiling which is an imaginary term used to describe the invisible barriers that exist within organisations and which block women from attaining senior executive positions. A recent survey by the Chartered Management Institute found that it would take women 187 years to achieve equal pay with men, judging by the current rates of progress towards closing the earnings gap. Its annual salaryShow MoreRelatedWomen s Role As A Patriarchal Institution Essay1453 Words   |  6 Pagesand practices that have been around from society itself has existed. It also plays a pivotal part in sociology especially with re gards to social control and socialisation. The role women occupy within religion has changed drastically in the last few decades. There are competing sociological arguments as to whether or not the subordination of women is due to religion as many feminists would suggest. For the purposes of this essay I will evaluate and discuss key points about the role women play in religionRead MoreScly1 Past Papers7036 Words   |  29 Pagesinstance by comparing the impact of different policies/laws or by discussing perspectives on social policy and the family (eg New Right, feminist, functionalist etc) From the examiner’s report: The most successful answers were able to identify relevant policies which had a clear impact on the family, and then used a theoretical framework that helped analyse and evaluate these policies. Weaker answers struggled with one or more of these elements. Typically such students identified a few policies (of whichRead MoreSociological Perspectives and Theories Essay2033 Words   |  9 PagesSociologists try to explain how society orders itself but there are many different theories for this, which often conflict with one another. Some of these classic theories include Marxism, Functionalism, and Interactionism. There are also more modern or contemporary theories such as Feminism. Each sociological perspective has different beliefs. Marxists are concerned with the distribution of economic power and wealth. They believe that society is in conflict between two classesRead MoreTraditional African Family19679 Words   |  79 Pagesagrarian societies modern industrial societies capitalism liberal democracy postmodernity value consensus conflict perspectives forces of production superstructure capitalists false consciousness patriarchal societies interactionism interaction looking glass self negotiation postmodernism objective measures phenomenology value-free critical social scientists  © 2004, HarperCollinsPublishers Limited learned behaviour society norms positive and negative sanctions ascribed status premodern societies non-industrial