Final answer:
The feminist approach claims that the family perpetuates gender inequality by maintaining a system where men's contributions are valued over women's, reinforcing traditional gender roles and the power imbalance they create.
Step-by-step explanation:
The feminist approach to analyzing the family is centered around the claim that the family perpetuates gender inequality. According to feminist theory, a form of conflict theory, the family structure operates within a patriarchal system where men's contributions are typically valued over women's. This leads to the marginalization of women's roles and voices within the familial and social context. Moreover, traditional gender roles strongly influence the division of labor within the family, with men often taking on instrumental roles and women assuming expressive roles, resulting in a power imbalance. As Friedrich Engels argued, this dynamic is akin to an owner-worker relationship, where women, the proletariat, are dependent on men for economic support. However, as women become wage earners, they have the opportunity to challenge these power dynamics and advocate for more democratic arrangements in the home, though they often continue to bear a disproportionate share of the domestic workload.