Family diversity Flashcards
Chester
believes that the so-called decline in the nuclear family is exaggerated and that the rise in cohabitation is only due to the lifecycle and everyone will live in a nuclear family at some point in their life - he calls this the neo-conventional family.
The rapoports
Cultural - families differ in terms of their beliefs and values
Life course - family types change over the course of our lives
Organisational - the way a family might organise itself in terms of the roles people perform
Generational - how many children in each generation.
Social Class - availability of resources, quality of housing, leisure opportunities etc all impact nature
Stacey
Women created new types of family that better suited their needs – the divorce
extended family. Greater freedom of choice has benefitted women - women can break free from patriarchal oppression
The individualisation thesis
traditional social structures such as class, gender and family have lost much of their influence over us.
Giddens
in postmodern society, relationships are pure meaning that they are built on love rather than norms. However, these relationships are more unstable as they are built on personal choice rather than a personal commitment.
Beck
we live in a risk society where tradition has less influence and people have more choice. Negotiated families do not conform to the idea that people had to marry for life and so individuals are free to leave if their needs are not met causing diversity. He also says that the family is now a zombie family - it appears to be alive but in reality it is dead.
What is the connectedness thesis?
Argues that we have choice but these are always made within a web of connectedness and are linked/influenced by our networks of existing relationships and personal histories.
Smart
our choices about relationships and family are influenced by networks of existing connections / relationships with others.
