Structural Functionalists?

Question

Can someone simplify who structural functionalists are? In my notes it says...

- No interests in "s*x roles" or personality and culure

- human society as organism

- Naturalized sexual difference; no focus on gender

There's no clear definition on WHAT structional functionalism is so I am confused.

I need help ASAP:S

Thanks,

Answer 1

Dord's answer is good.

Here is what I have to add:

"Structure" is what Marx referred to as the superstructure. Beneath structure is a society's economic base - from which culture develops and changes.  To the structural functionalist everything in culture must be seen in terms of its function within that culture - including kinship systems, categories of meaning, labor and - yes - even gender roles.  

It is a big over-simplification to say that Structural Functionalists had no interest in gender, personality or culture. Though they were certainly not as interested in this as post-modernists, feminist anthropologists or even structural anthropologists have been.

Answer 2

Structural functionalism focused on how a culture would organize its components into what made up the society as a whole and caused it to function efficiently. Essentially, what positions, activities, and attitudes of the culture bring about stability/equilibrium within the culture, and what throws it off?