Traditionally domestic or home space has been the place were women are meant to fulfil their expressive roles. These are all about fulfilling the roles of a carer by providiwng for all of the needs of the family emotionally and in terms of food and basic needs. Talcott Parsons the functionalist believed it was natural and an extension of female biology to be maternal and caring within the family. This gave females a sense of meaning and purpose abnd also meant they fulfilled their gender roles as 'mummies'.
The sociologists Wilmott and young in 1973 looked at the idea that roles within the home were becoming more equal and were not as distinct in the past. This led to the idea of the 'symetrical' family also known as the 50/50 family which believes that men and women are now sharing domestic roles more fully. This has led to the idea that there is greater equality within the family and that we are moving towards shared conjungal rather than seperate ones. However many feminists have questioned this idea and they believed that the burden of domestic chores still firmly at the feet of the woman (Ann Oakley).
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