Family Diversity Flashcards
Family diversity: Functionalist views
- Parsons: there is a functional fit between the nuclear family and modern society. The nuclear family meets the needs of society for a geographically and socially mobile workforce and performs the functions of primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult personalities
- in the functionalist view, all other family types can be seen as dysfunctional, abnormal or deviant because they don’t perform these required functions
Family diversity: the new right
- they are opposed to family diversity and say the only correct family type is the nuclear family because it is natural and based on biological differences between men and women
- they say the decline in the nuclear family and the growth of family diversity are the cause of many social problems
- the growth of LPFs is harmful to children because
1. Lone mothers can’t discipline their children properly
2. LPFs leave boys without an adult male role model
3. These families are poorer and so a burden on the welfare state and taxpayers
New right views on cohabitation vs marriage
- they say the main cause of LPFs is the collapse of relationships between cohabiting couples
- Benson says couples are more stable when they are married because it requires commitment but cohabitation avoids that
What is the new right solution to the brokenness of family and society
- a return to traditional values including the value of marriage
- the government needs to encourage couples to marry through policies that support marriage
Criticisms of the new right view on family diversity
- Oakley says they wrongly assume that the roles of husbands and wives are fixed by biology. Cross cultural studies show variations in the roles they play in the family
- Feminists say the nuclear family is based on the oppression of women and is a cause of gender inequality
- there is no evidence that children in LPFs will be more delinquent than those in two parent families
- the idea that marriage equals commitment while cohabitation doesn’t has been challenged; it depends on the meaning of the relationship to those involved
Chester: the neo conventional family
- the only important change is the move from the nuclear family to the neo conventional family which is a dual earner family where both spouses go to work
- other than that little has changed. Most people aren’t living in alternatives to the nuclear family on a long term basis and the nuclear family is still ideal for most
- stats on household composition are thus misleading because they’re a snapshot and don’t show that most people will spend most of their lives in a nuclear family
Patterns that support Chester’s view that nothing has changed
- most people live in a household headed by a married couple
- most adults marry and have children
- most marriages continue until death
- cohabitation has increased but for most couples it’s a temporary phase before marriage
- although births outside marriage have increased, most are jointly registered which shows parents want to bring up children together
The rapoports: five types of family diversity
We’ve moved away from the nuclear family towards family diversity which is a positive response to people’s needs and wishes.
1. Organisational diversity
2. Cultural diversity
3. Social class diversity
4. Life-stage diversity
5. Generational diversity
Stacey: postmodern families
- greater freedom and choice allows women to free themselves from patriarchal oppression and shape their family arrangements to meet their needs
- interviews with women showed they rejected the housewife mother role and created new family structures such as the divorce extended family whose members are connected by divorce rather than marriage eg former in laws
- this shows postmodern families are diverse and their shape depends on the active choices people make about how to live their lives
The individualisation thesis
Created by Giddens and Beck. The idea that traditional social structures have lost their influence over us and we have become disembedded from traditional roles so we are now free to choose how to live our lives
Giddens: choice and equality
Giddens says that family and marriage have been transformed by greater choice and a more equal relationship between men and women. This transformation occurred because:
- contraception has made sex and intimacy rather than reproduction the main reason for the relationship’s existence
- women have gained independence due to feminism and greater opportunities in education and work
Therefore couples are free to define their relationships rather than playing roles that have been defined by law or tradition
The pure relationship
Relationships that are no longer bound by traditional norms and exist solely to satisfy each partners needs. They stay together because of love rather than tradition, duty or children. They can therefore enter or leave as they see fit. However it is less stable and in turn increases family diversity eg by increasing LPFs
Same sex couples as pioneers
Giddens sees same sex relationships as leading the way towards new family types and creating more equal relationships because they are based on choice rather than tradition and can create family structures that serve their own needs rather than conforming to norms. Eg Weeks found that friendship networks served as kinship networks for gay men and lesbians
Beck: the risk society
Tradition has less influence and people have more choice. As a result we are more aware of risks because making choices involves calculating the risks and benefits.
What trends had the patriarchal family been undermined by
- greater gender equality which has challenged male domination in all spheres of life
- greater individualism where people’s actions are based on their self interest rather than obligation to others
