Diversity of the family Flashcards
Define family diversity
The idea that families may vary in terms of their size, structure and internal organisation.
Define household
A group of people who live under the same roof. A single person living alone also constitutes as a household
Define Kin
People who are related by blood or family
The majority of the households in the UK are made up of
Families
What is a nuclear family
Family that consist of a mother and father who are married and their children. Fathers are the main earners of the family and are the ‘head of the household’. Mothers stay at home and tend to be full time housewives.
Has the nuclear family been declining
YES
What is argued about the decline of the nuclear family
It is argued that in the 21st century that there is no such thing as a normal or typical family and that the nuclear family is indeed in decline.
What family type is becoming more present in working class families
Extended families
How are extended families present in working class families
Because most families have strong relations with extended kin and would mutually support one another.
Male relatives might help others find jobs or lend one another money. Female relatives would help other female relatives with childcare.
What do Young and Wilmott (1973) say about extended family
They found that most these families had evolved into a new type of nuclear family called the symmetrical family in the 70s
What is a symmetrical family?
A type of nuclear family associated with Young and Wilmott in which the married couple share domestic labour and decision making.
What is Dispersed extended family?
Networks of nuclear families who may be geographically separated from one another but feel obligated to send time with one another still, like Christmas.
What is said about nuclear units and dispersed extended family
That even though most people are apart of nuclear units they are still members of dispersed extended family too. They can stay in contact via social media etc.
What do postmodernist sociologists say about family diversity
They argue that people have much greater choice and flexibility today in how they organise their personal and family lives. Consequently family diversity has become the norm - there are now many social groupings that qualify as families.
What are Lone-parent families
Single-parent families, that are mostly headed by mothers and their children (Normally stay with their mothers after divorce or separation)
Lone-parent families made up about…
a quarter of families with dependent children in 2013
What do lone-parent families often evolve into
Reconstituted families
What are Reconstituted families
A step-family formed by people with children from previous relationships marrying one another.
What are blended families
A type of reconstituted family in which the couple have their own children, for example step children may be supplemented with half-brothers and sisters.
How are reconstituted families made from lone parent families
As lone parent mothers often remarry or cohabit and their children acquire a step-father who may also bring children to the family.
What does Grant (2006) observe
That men are increasingly likely to be living with other mens children while their own grow up elsewhere
What are the ONS statistics on reconstituted families
In 2011 about 11 percent of families with children were reconstituted families.
What are LATs (Living apart together) family
A couple in a committed relationship who spend time together but live at separate addresses.
What does Taylor say about LATs
They are popular amongst young couples because they allow individuals to combine the freedom of living alone with the intimacy of being part of a couple.
What does research by Haskey and Lewis suggest
That younger LAT households are likely to evolve into cohabitation, marriage and eventually nuclear families.
What does Levin observe
That some people entering a relationship in old age may prefer to maintain a relationship with a partner who lives elsewhere
What did the government legalise in 2002
The right of gay couples to adopt children, this made same-sex families
What did mainly lesbian same-sex couples possibly already have
A blood-related child from a previous heterosexual marriage or relationship
Pre-2002 what did some gay couples do
Arrange to have children via surrogate mothers.
When was gay marriage legalised
2014
What are ONS statistics comparing Same sex families and Nuclear families
In 2013 same-sex families with children only numbered about 13,000 compared to 5.7 million nuclear families
Define individualisation
The idea that people are individuals choosing their own identities rather than having their lives structured by membership social groups e.g. genders or religion
What are societies like the UK experiencing
Individualisation when they are breaking away from traditional rules and choosing their own family lifestyle
Define Family of choice
People who are not necessarily related by blood, for example, close friends who choose to acknowledge and recognise each other as belonging together as symbolic families.
Has society seen an emergence in Family of choice
Yes because individuals may choose to include people as family members who are not traditionally related like calling a close family friend aunty.
What does Klineberg (2013) argue
That people in modern societies like the UK and USA are increasingly living alone for a number of reasons
Define Cult of the individual
Refers to the late-modernity idea that individualisation and selfishness have become more important than social obligation or tradition
Klinburg reason for living alone: Cult of the individual
People are putting their own needs before the needs of others in society. He argues that this philosophy may be responsible for the large increase in single-person households. Instead of women settling down with a husband they are putting her needs for a career before the husband lifestyle.
Klinburg reason for living alone: Communications revolution
The availability of smart phones and the popularity of social media make such single household lifestyles more attractive because face to face physical interaction is no longer essential to establish relationships
Klinburg reason for living alone: Ageing population
Many single households are made up of divorced and widowed people. The latter group is more likely to be female because females generally outlive males.
Define ageing population
The decline in both birth and fertility rates combined with the increase in life expectancy means that the number of older people in the UK society aged over 50 years outnumber the number of young people aged under 30
What did Smith (2005) find
That older single people living alone were very active as a part of a dispersed extended family network and were often visited and supported by their children and grandchildren.
What do radical feminists Roseneil and Budgeon (2004) suggest
That the traditional nuclear family does not appeal to some women because it is based on the ‘Hetero-norm’ - which is the idea that intimacy or sex with a member of the opposite sex forms the heart of the family.
Define Conjugal
The roles played by husband and wife with regard to the distribution of domestic labour and childcare.
What do Roseneil and Budgeon argue about conjugal relationships
That there has been a ‘de-centering of conjugal relationships’ which means some women do not subscribe to the hetero-norm anymore. For these women the most important relationship in their life is with someone they aren’t having sex with but is their best friend whom she regards as family.
What is a criticism about Roseneil and Budgeons evidence
That the evidence is limited to a small number of case studies and may not be generalisable to the population at large.
What does Roseneil say are more important than ties of blood or marriage
Friendship networks. Like students in shared households may feel a strong sense of duty or obligation to their housemates.
Roseneil argues such friendships are not tied together by heterosexuality. In 2012, it is perfectly reasonable for heterosexuals to have close relationships with gay people.
