Changing Family Patterns Flashcards
What are some examples of family patterns?
. Beanpole
. Vertical
. Single parent
. Homosexual couple
. Nuclear
. Cohabitation
Why might people today, chose to not get married and instead cohabit?
- it’s cheaper
- Postmodern society emphasising putting a career first.
- The rise of recognised feminist outlooks on marriage
- Fears of divorce
- Fears of financial dependence
- Moral decay according to the New Right.
Benson, a New Right thinker, says what about cohabitation?
His theory posits that people are choosing to cohabit rather than marry because it carries less responsibility
Fletcher proposes what in relation to the rising expectations of marriage?
That there is now an ‘ideology of romantic love’
People recognise marriages as being pursuits of love and fulfilment from the other partner rather than contractual.
The divorce reform act did what?
Removed the notion of a guilty partner as something needed for divorce, instead, it was recognised that sometimes marriage is ‘irretrievable’
What year was the divorce reform act?
1969
What year was the family law act?
1996
What did the family law act do?
19__
1996
It encouraged counciling before couples seek divorce.
The postmodern theory of individualism is attributed to who?
Giddens
Fletcher theory on divorce?
Rising expectations of marriage and the ‘ideology of romantic love’ are a key cause in why more people get divorces instead of staying together.
In 2021, roughly what percentage of people got married in a church?
23%
What is a beanpole family?
A family comprised of less children, so the family tree is tall and thin.
What does the functionalist perspective: eg, Parsons, say about the ideal family
It’s a traditional nuclear family
What does the New right say about diversions from the traditional nuclear family.
. Single mothers
. Homosexual couple
Single parent families lack the vital function of one.
For instance mums can’t discipline their children so effectively.
Boys may be left without a vital male role model.
The stability of the family unit is compromised economically as well.
What are alternatives to the nuclear family?
Kibbutzism
Foster care
Cohabitation
Civil partnerships
Not getting married
Separate living arrangements
Homosexual couples
Single parent families
Do you remember the example of the Nayar people??
They are an example of a functional society based on polygamy.
In the 1950s-60s the average family until had several married women, children and some elder men
These Wives can have more than one husband and the husbands only visit.
Bhatti in 2009 studied British South East Asian families and found what?
. They married younger, they were often arranged
. Wives remained full time homemakers.
. And it was often an extended family living under one house.
However, they was a gradual reconciliation between cultural norms and progressive politics amongst the 2nd generation onwards.
Rapoports theory of family diversity is that diversity meets the needs of a given family under their own particular circumstances. What are the _ types of diversity?
Organisational
Cultural
Class
Life course
Cohert/generation
What is a ‘Organisational’ family?
Families organised on the basis of roles and authority.
Eg: a Matriarchy/Patriarchy
What is a ‘Cultural’ family?
Families that set their own cultural precidents and standards.
Eg: Islamic/Jewish eating customs.
What is a ‘class’ family?
Different practices based on social class and thus subcultures emerging from it and or access to resources.
What’s the Postmodern perspective on changes to the family?
That people today have a ‘pic and mix’ attitude to culture, lifestyle and identity.
This is because society is fragmented and life is less predictable.
What is the theory of the Zombie family?
Beck’s theory, it posits that because we live in a ‘risk society’ where inequality exists but tradition has less influence, families are negotiated based on individual wishes.
What’s the postmodern view on family diversity?
It’s the individualistic thesis. (Giddens)
That family today facilitates the individual and ideas of tradition, class standing, culture have constricted people.
So, people freed themselves from these traditional roles/structures.
Postmodernists: Believe in the attrition of a ‘meta narrative’ the standard of what is and isn’t the correct course of lifestyle and decisions in life.
In this case, different cultures undermine confidence in one another as the best way forward for a family unit.
