According to Parsons, what is the expressive role of women in the family?

• A. Being the primary breadwinner who provides financial resources
• B. Providing care, love, affection, security and emotional support
• C. Leading the family's external political influence
• D. Overseeing children's education in partnership with schools

Answer: (B)

Parsons splits the family into two roles: instrumental and expressive. The expressive role is all about emotional life at home—care, love, warmth, security, and guiding children’s social and emotional development. He argues this is the woman's job in the traditional family because it provides the emotional stability that helps the family function well and supports the husband as the breadwinner.

So, the description of providing care, love, affection, security and emotional support fits the expressive role exactly. The other options point to the instrumental role (being the primary breadwinner) or to outside-the-home tasks, which aren’t about the family’s emotional nurturing.