family Flashcards

Question

Beck-Gernsheim

Answer 1

She argues that relationships and family life are so diverse that there are no longer any clear norms about what a modern relationship should consist of. Beck-Gernsheim points out that people today call their relationships different things, with different labels and LATs have become increasingly common. She also argues that the increase of divorce and higher rates of breakdown has led to a rise of the patchwork family in which adults go through life with a series of different partners. She also argues that reproductive technologies have changed our ideas of family life altogether. Due to increasing individualisation, this has resulted in array of different relationships and family forms that it has now become impossible to define what the family should be anymore.

Answer 2

Spent several years interviewing 300 single Americans who lived alone and the general picture he got was that these people wanted to live alone, it was a life choice not a transitory phase. Klinenberg provides 4 reasons for the increase in solo living: The wealth generated by economic growth and the social security provided by the modern welfare state reflects solo living. Rise of solo living is a reflection of increasing wealth. Secondly, the communications revolution. For those who want to live alone, the internet allows us to stay connected. Thirdly, mass urbanisation. Fourthly, increased longevity- because people are living longer and woman are outliving their spouses ageing alone has become an increasingly common experience.

Answer 3

Noted that most South Asian families had a much broader network of familial relations than a typical white-British family. He argued that one individual household may only a small part of a complex global network of kin-relations. Ballard argued that in order to understand South Asian family types you had to look at the ideal model of the family which was patriarchal, being based on tight control of women and stressed the importance of honour (no divorce, adultery etc)

Answer 4

Ethnographic research on 50 Asian families: conducted 50 in depth interviews with 50 Asian families and found that most were keen to maintain links and bonds with relatives abroad and would return “back home” when they could afford it. Particular emphasis was put on the behaviour of daughters and most mothers also believed very strongly in the importance of the traditional motherhood role. Bhatti also found evidence of conflicts between younger and older generations (usually over marrying someone out of ethnic group)

Answer 5

believed that the Rapoports were exaggerating the decline of the nuclear family, arguing that changes to family life were far less dramatic. He used the term Neo-conventional family to describe these changes. He pointed out that: most children were still raised by their two natural parents, most marriages continued until death and while cohabitation has increased, it was only a temporary stage before marriage. He argues that the conventional family has been replaced with the neo-conventional family in which is a dual earner in which both spouses go out to work (new norm-similar to the symmetrical family)

Answer 6

distinguished between two types of conjugal roles (roles within marriage) to emphasise that the domestic division was becoming more equal. Segregated roles involve a clear differentiation between the tasks undertaken by men and women, with each pursuing clearly defined and distinct activities. A joint relationship is where the differentiation or division of labour is much less clear and tasks, interests and activities are shared to a much greater degree.

Answer 7

- Hakim argues that the ability for women to make rational choices about their lives has been underestimated. She argues that women often make rational choices around the “employment career” or the “marriage career” and that feminism may be guilty of devaluing the role of the mother/housewide as a seco

Answer 8

: Found that 50% of the fathers were classified as ‘active fathers’ who were highly involved with parenting, 50% were classified as “background fathers” in which believed that childcare was the mothers responsibility. Throughout the sample there was a “provider ideology” as most of the men believed that their masculinity was tied up in being the main income earner.

Answer 9

Kauffman argues that there are three different types of dad based on how they responded to the challenges of balancing work and family life. Old dads- did not change anything when their child was born, preferring to emphasise their role as breadwinner New dads- placed high priority on involvement and made some minor adjustments to their work practices Superdads- actively adjusted their work lives to fit in with their family lives, changed careers, adopted more flexible hours. Saw spending time with their children paramount. Kauffman noted in her research that it was much easier for m/c dads to become superdads.

Answer 10

: This refers to the theory that domestic roles have become more equal-the idea that there is more similarity today between men and women’s roles in the family than in the past. Sommerville recognises that significant progress has been made in public and private life for women. This increased choice for women and the rise of the dual earner household has helped create gender equality within relationships.

Answer 11

Beck argued that greater gender equality and greater individualism has lead to the negotiated family. Negotiated families do not conform to the traditional family norm but vary accordingly to the wishes and expectations of its members who decide what is best for them by discussion. According to Beck, men and women now enter into the relationship on an equal basis and this means we are more likely to see joint conjugal roles in the future.

Answer 12

Research reinforces earlier studies that revealed inequalities in power and domestic responsibilities. They add to this the finding that women believe they make the primary “emotional investment” in the family and marriage. Women experience a triple shift due to having to take the burden of men's emotional work. Many of their female respondents complained that their husbands were indifferent to their role in holding their relationship together.

Answer 13

notes that the most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness which is emphasised in many different ways: 1-Children are physically and psychologically immature compared to adults 2-Children are dependent on adults for a range of biological and emotional needs- children need a lengthy process of socialisation which takes several years. 3-in contrast to adults, children are not competent to run their own lives and cannot be held responsible for their actions.

Answer 14

argue that there is a “dominant framework” through which we view children in modern western culture: common sense assumptions see childhood as a natural and inevitable phase of life which we all have to go through and children and adults are seen in different ways. In contrast to the period of childhood, one of the defining characteristics of adulthood is that adults are biologically mature, competent to run their own lives and are fully responsible for their actions.

Answer 15

He argues that in the Middle Ages “The idea of childhood did not exist”- children were not seen as essentially different to adults as they are today. For example, Aires uses the following evidence: -Chronological age was not considered significant -Children were expected to work at a much earlier age -The law often made no distinction between children and adults -Art often just depicted children as small adults- they wear the same clothes and appear to work and play together. Aires argues it is only from the 13th century onwards that modern notions of childhood- the idea that childhood is a distinct phase of life from adulthood- begin to emerge. Aries believes that towards the end of the medieval period (1400s) modern conceptions of childhood began to emerge. He argues that the following social changes led to the way children were viewed: 1-Church leaders began to see children as “fragile creatures” that needed to be safeguarded and reformed 2-The introduction of schools in which separate age groups were taught and children were segregated from the adult world helped to introduce the idea of childhood as a distinct phase of life. 3-The increasing wealth of the upper and middle classes- wealthier people started to dress their children in distinct clothing as a mark of status, reinforcing the idea that children were separate. Aries argues that these initial changes gradually led to society moving from one in which children were not seen as particularly significant to becoming more child-centred with the well-being of the child gradually seen as more and more important. Ultimately these developments culminated in what he calls a “cult of childhood”- we now live in a society in which we are obsessed with our children.

Answer 16

Argued that poor families and their children are more likely to be controlled and regulated by the state. For example, they are more likely to be put on "at risk" registers.

Answer 17

States that the experience of childhood for girls may differ from boys because parents see them as in need of greater protection from the outside world. This means they are subject to stricter social controls than their siblings and spend more time in the family home (bedroom culture)

Answer 18

Argues that parents consume as compensation. Parents who are cash rich but time poor alleviate their guilt about not spending time with their children by buying whatever consumer goods that they want. This contributes to the extreme rates of children as consumers that we now see.

Answer 19

The Family Policies Study centre found that in 2000 one in 5 women over 40 had not had children compared to 1 in 10 women in 1980- showing a significant increase in the amount of women choosing to not have children.