family diversity Flashcards
5 rapoport diversity types with brief explanation for each one
- organisation (the way the roles are organised - dual earner etc)
- cultural (diff cultures have diff - afro Caribbeans mainly single mothers, asians mainly extended)
- social class (income affects structures and parenting styles)
life cycle ( young newly weds, couple with children, empty nesters, widow)
generational ( older/younger have diff views on topics such as divorce and cohabitation)
do rapoports see diversity as positive
yes ! nuclear is no longer dominant type and there’s lots of diversity in pluralist Britain
who discusses the Neo conventional family and the lack of actual diversity
chester !
explain Chester on the family ‘diversity’
only real change is from trad nuclear family to Neo conventional - dual earner similar to symmetrical family
not choosing alt families long term
chester on life cycle
affects diversity so ppl long for nuclear family and are in it long term but for parts of their life will be cohabiting etc - just a test run and temporary
- statistics are unrealistic since they are only a snapshot
examples of statistics chester uses to back his claim that there isn’t much change
- even tho there’s births outside marriage they are jointly registered so still 2 parents
- most live in household headed by 2 married ppl and reared by two parents
- cohabitation just a phase !!
who talks about functional fit
parsons
why do functionalist not like family diversity
nucelar is best
others cannot perform the roles properly and leads to dysfunction
how does Anne Oakley criticise new right
assume man and woman trad roles are biological but they are not !!!
whatt theory who think that cohabitation is the main cause of breakdown in traditional families
new right - there is no deliberate commitment
What does Benson talk about in regards to marriage
new right
deliberate commitment in marriage so more permanent than cohabitation
what does beck mean by ‘risk society’
tradition has less influence so ppl have more choice and are more aware of the risks since they try things out and calculate risk/rewards
two names for the individualisation thesis
Beck and Giddens
How does May criticise Beck
his theory is too ideolised and is only thinking of the free choices a white mc male has - not everyone has this privilege
who came up with idea of ‘zombie family’
Beck
what did beck mean by zombie family
family appears to be alive but is dead because it is so unstable and cannot provide security
- relationships at a greater risk
what does greater gender equality and individualism lead to according to beck and explain !
what type of family
negotiated family - don’t conform to norm and decide what’s best based on negotiation
equal but less stable
Smart and May criticising Beck
- exaggerates amount of choice - traditional norms haven’t weakened this much
- our choices are still made within social context so we are not as free floating as he claims
- ignores importance of social structures such as class and ethnicity
who came up with term pure relationships
Giddens !
explain pure relationships
giddens -
no longer bound by trad norms and exist solely to satisfy partners needs
stay together out of love and happiness and sexual attraction
- ppl try diff relationships to understand identity
What does Giddens mean by relationships being a ‘rolling contract’
they can be ended at will and are less stable even if there is greater family diversity
who talks about same sex ppl being pioneers
Giddens
what does giddens mean by same sex ppl being pioneers
they are leading the way to new families and equality and democratic relationships
not influenced by trad roles since they’ve been so stigmatised and criminalised
Weston on same sex families (development of Giddens point of them being pioneers)
they create families of choice
what are the two reasons Giddens gives for pure relationships
- contraception means ppl have sex not just for reproduction but pleasure
- women have independence in education, work and just more opps in general
connectedness thesis - who talks about it and what theory do they belong to
Smart ! personal life
what does smart mean by the connectedness thesis
now live in network of relationships with influence and our choices are made within a ‘web of connectedness’ which influences our options and choices
metaphor smart uses for connectedness
we are in a ‘web of connectdedness’
how does Smart relate class and gender to her connectedness thesis (3)
- norms dictate that women take kids in a divorce and so this limits their opps for a new relationship
- men are better paid and so have greater freedom
- power imbalance of men and then women/kids which leads to them being stuck in abusive relationships
who talks about the disappearance of power structures (2)
Beck and Giddens
what does May say on power structures
not disappearing but reshaping
- women gaining rights but still don’t have it all and are expected to be in hetersexual relationship
forces lesbians to be in closet
Stacey talks about postmodern families - explain that
greater freedom and choice has benefitted women so they can shape family arrangements
- case study on women in California - women were main reason for family change
they rejected trad expressive role and would divorce and remarry
divorce extended families
who talks about ‘divorce extended families’
stacey
who talks about postmodern families and women benefitting from more freedom
stacey
who says women have more choice and who says women have less
stacey - more - postmodern families - responsible for changes
May - power structures reshaping and women still under some norms such as being heterosexual
individualisation thesis overview
increasing individual choice on relationships
fewer fixed roles and social structure is losing its influence
disembeded and freed from social norms
