Question 1

SOURCE TEXT:
Item D

Walby believed that the key to understanding patriarchy was to appreciate how ideas of femininity and masculinity have changed. It was her view that despite some changes over time, masculinity has always been valued more than femininity. This is not just in one area of life, but in a whole range of patriarchal structures:

• the household
• paid work
• the state
• sexuality
• male violence towards women
• cultural institutions.

Walby believed these patriarchal structures restricted women and helped to maintain male dominance in society.

Source: Walby, S, Theorizing Patriarchy, (1990)

QUESTION:
From Item D, identify and describe one patriarchal structure in society as identified by Walby, including what you know of her perspective of gender inequality.

Accepted Answer

First, choose one of the patriarchal structures listed in Item D (e.g., paid work, the household). Then, describe how this structure operates to disadvantage women, using your own sociological knowledge. Finally, link this back to Walby's overall feminist perspective on how these structures maintain male dominance.

Question 2

What mistakes do candidates make on this AQA GCSE question?

Accepted Answer

Simply copying a bullet point from the item without any description or explanation. Not using any sociological concepts to describe how the structure works.

How to approach this question

Full Answer

Common mistakes

Practice the full AQA GCSE Sociology Paper 2

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