Family Diversity

Question 1

Modernism and the nuclear family

Answer 1

• perspectives such as functionalism and the new rights halve been described as ‘modernist’. That is, they see modern society as having a fairly fixed, clear cut and predictable structure. They see one ‘best’ family type - the nuclear - as slotting into those structure and helping to maintain it by performing certain essential functions

Question 2

Functionalism

Answer 2

• thus, according to parsons, there is a ‘functional fit’ between the nuclear family and modern society. As we saw, parsons sees the nuclear family as uniquely suited to meeting the needs of modern society for a geographically and socially mobile workforce, and as performing two ‘irreducible functions’ - the primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities. These contribute to the overall stability and effectiveness of society
• in the functionalist view, therefore, because of the families ability to perform these essential functions, we can generalise about the type of family type of family that we will find in modern society - namely, a nuclear family with a division of labour between husband and wife
• hence, other family types can be considered as dysfunctional, abnormal or even deviant, since they are less able to perform the functions required of the family

Question 3

The new right

Answer 3

• the new right have a conservative and anti feminist perspective on the family. They are firmly opposed to family diversity
• like functionalists, the new right hold the view that there is only one correct or normal family type. This is the traditional this is the same as the functionalist distinction between the instrumental and espressive riles performed by husband and wife respectively
• the new right see this family as ‘natural’ and bases on fundamental biological differences between men and women. In their view, this family is the cornerstone of society; a place of refuge, contentment and harmony
• the new right oppose most of the changes in family patterns that we examines such as cohabitation, gay marriage and lone parenthood. They argue that the decline of the traditional nuclear family and the growth of family diversity are the cause of many social problems
• in particular, the new right are concerned about the growth of lone parent families, which they see as resulting from the breakdown of couple relationships. They see lone parent families as harmful to children. They argue that:
• lone mothers cannot discipline their children properly
• lone parent families leaves boys without an adult male role model, resulting in educational failure, delinquency and social instability
• such families are also likely to be poorer and thus a burden on the welfare state and tax payers

Question 4

Cohabitation vs marriage

Answer 4

• the new right claim that the main cause of lone parent families is the collapse of relationships between cohabiting couples. E.g, benson analysed data on parents of over 15,000 babies. He found that, over the first three years of the baby’s life, the rate of family breakdown was much higher among cohabiting couples: 20% compared with only 6% among married couples. In the new right view, only marriage can provide a stable environment in which to bring up children
• benson argues that couples are more stable when they are married than.
• in bensons view, marriage is more stable because it requires a deliberate commitment to each other, whereas cohabitation allows partners to avoid commitment and responsibility
• new right thinkers and conservative politicians have used such evidence and arguments to support the view that both the family and society at large are ‘broken’
• they argue that only a return to ‘traditional values’ including the value of marriage, can prevent social disintegration and damage to children

Question 5

Criticisms of the new right

Answer 5

• the feminist Oakley argues that the new right wrongly assume that husbands and wives roles are fixed by biology. Instead cross cultural studies show great variation in the roles men and women perform within the family. Oakley believes that the new right view of the family is a negative reaction against the feminist campaign for women’s equality
• feminist also argue that the conventional nuclear family favoured by the new right is based on the patriarchal oppression of women and is fundamental cause of gender inequality. In their view it prevents women from working, keeps them financially dependent on men, and denies them an equal say in decision making
• critics of the new right argue that there is no evidence that children in lone parent families are more likely to be delinquent than those bought upon in a two parent family of the same social class
• then new right view that marriage equals commitment, while cohabitation does not, has been challenged

Question 6

Chester: the Neo conventional family

Answer 6

• Chester recognises that there has been some increased family diversity in recent years. However, unlike tje new right, he does not regard this as very significant, nor does he see it in negative light. Chester argues that the only important change is a move from the dominance of the traditional or conventional nuclear family, to what he describes as the ‘Neo conventional family’.
• by the conventional, Chester means the type of nuclear family described by the new right and parson, with its division of labour between a male breadwinner and a female homemaker
• by contrast, Chester defines the Neo conventional family as a dual earner family in which both spouses go out to work and not just the husband. This is similar to the symmetrical family described by young and willmott

Question 7

Evidence of Chester

Answer 7

• most people live in a household headed by a married couple
• most adults marry and have children. Most children are reared by two natural parents
• most marriages continue until death. Divorce has increased, but most divorcees remarry
• cohabitation has increased, but for the most couples it os a temporary phase before marrying or re marrying. Most couples get married if they have children
• although births outside marriage have increased, most are jointly registered, indicating that the parents are committed to bringing up children as a couple

Question 8

The rapports - five types of family diversity

Answer 8

• unlike Chester, the rapports argue that diversity is of central importance in understanding family life today. They believe that we have moved away from the traditional nuclear family as the dominant family type, to a range of different types. Families in Britain have adapted to a pluralistic society - that is, one in which family diversity reflects greater freedom of choice and the widespread acceptance of different cultures and ways of life in today’s society.
• unlike the new right, the rapports see diversity as a positive response to people’s different needs and wish and not as abnormal or a deviation from the assumed norm of a ‘proper’ nuclear family
• they identity five different types of family diversity in Britain today:
  1. Organisational diversity
  2. Cultural diversity
  3. Social class diverts
  4.life stage diversity
  5. Generational diversity

Question 9

Organisational diversity

Answer 9

• this refers to differences in the ways family roles are organised. E.g, some couples have joint conjugal roles and two wage earners, while others have segregated conjugal roles and one wage earner

Question 10

Cultural diversity

Answer 10

• differ the cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures

Question 11

Social class diversity

Answer 11

• differences in family structure are partly the result of income differed Between households of different social classes. Likewise, there are class differences in childrearing practice

Question 12

Life stage diversity

Answer 12

• family structures differ according to the stage reached in the life cycle

Question 13

Generational diversity

Answer 13

• older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences that reflect the historical periods in which they have lived

Question 14

Postmodernism and family diversity

Answer 14

• modernist perspectives such as functionalism emphasise the dominance of one family type in modern society, namely the nuclear family. Modernist approaches take s structural or ‘top down’ view. That is, they see the family as a structure that shapes the behaviour of its members so that they perform the functions society requires
• in this view, individuals have no real choice about the pattern of family life. In terms of family patterns, our behaviour of family life. In terms of family patterns, our behaviour is orderly, structured and predictable: most people marry, go on to have children and so on.
• by contrast, postmodernists such as cheal go much further than rapports. Postmodernists start from teh view that we no longer live in ‘modern’ society with its predictable, older structures such as the nuclear family. In their view, society has entered a new, chaotic postmodern stage
• to gives individuals greater freedom to plot their own life course - to choose the kind of family and personal relationships that meet their needs
• but greater freedom of choice in relationships means a greater risk of instability, since these relationship are more likely to break up

Question 15

Stacey: postmodern families

Answer 15

• Stacey argues that greater freedoms and choice has benefited women. It has enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression and to shape their family arrangements to meet their needs
• Stacey used life history interviews to construct a series of case studies of postmodern families in California. She found that women rather than men have been the main agents of changes in the family
• e.g, many of the women she interviewed had rejected the traditional housewife mother role. They had worked, retuned to education as adults, improved their job prospects, divorced and re married.
• Stacey class these new family structures ‘divorce extended family’s’

Question 16

The individualisation thesis

Answer 16

• while not accepting everything postmodernism says about the nature of society today, sociologists such as Gideon’s and beck have been influenced by postmodernist idea about todays societies and have applied some of these to understanding family life
• in particular Gideon’s and beck explore the effects of increasing individual choice upon famines and relationships. Their views have therefore become known as the individualisation thesis
• the individualisation thesis argues that traditional social structures such as class, gender and family have lost much of their influence over us. According to the thesis, in the past, peoples lives were defined by fixed roles that largely prevented them from choosing their own life course. E.g, everyone was expected to marry.
• it has been replaced by the ‘do it yourself biography’ that individuals today must construct for themselves
• for Giddens and beck, this change has huge implications for family relationships and family diversity.

Question 17

Giddens: choice and equality

Answer 17

• Giddens argues that in recent decades the family and marriage have been transformed by greater choice and a more equal relationship between men and women. This transformation has occurred because:
• contraception has allowed sex and intimacy rather than reproduction to become the main reason for the relationship existence
• women have gained independence as a result of feminism and because of greater opportunities in education and woke
• as a result, the basis of marriage and the family has changes. Giddens argues that in the past, traditional family relationships were held together by external forces such as the law governing the marriage contract and by powerful norms against divorce and sex outside marriage
• by contrast, today couples are free to define their relationship themselves, rather than simply acting out roles that have been defined in advance by law or tradition. E.g, a couple nowadays dont have to marry to have children and divorce is readily accessible so they dont have to stay together ‘til death do us part’

Question 18

The pure relationship

Answer 18

• According to Giddens, what holds relationships together today is no longer law, religion, social norms or traditional institutions. Instead, intimate relationships nowadays are based on individual choice and equality
• Giddens describes this kind of relationship as the ‘pure relationship’. He sees the pure relationship as typical of late modern society, in which relationships are no longer bound by traditional norms
• the key feature of the pure relationship is that it exists solely to satisfy each partners needs. As a result, the relationship is likely to survive only so long as both partners think it is in their own intrest to do so. Couples stay together because of love and happiness or sexual attraction, rather than because of tradition, a sense of duty or or for the sake of the children
• individuals are thus free to choose to enter and to leave relationships as they see fit. Relationships become part of the process of the individuals self discovery or self identity.
• however, Giddens notes that with more choice, personal relationships inevitably become less stable.

Question 19

Same sex couples as pioneers

Answer 19

• Giddens sees same sex relationships as leading the way towards new family types and creating more democratic and equal relationships
• in Giddens view, this is because same sex relationships are not influenced by tradition to the extent that heterosexual relationships. As a results, same sex couples have been able to develop relationships based on choice rather than on traditional riles, since these were largely absent
• this has enabled those in same sex relationships to negotiate personal relationships and to actively create family structures that serve their own needs, rather then having to conform to pre existing norms in the way that heterosexual couples have traditionally had to do
• this has enabled those in same sex relationships to negotiate personal relationships and to actively create family structures that serve their own needs, rather than having to conform to pre existing norms in the way that heterosexual couples have traditionally had to do
• e.g, Weston found that same sex couples created supportive ‘families of choice’ from among friends, former lovers and biological kin, while weeks found that friendship networks functioned as kinship networks for gay men and lesbians

Question 20

Beck: the negotiated family

Answer 20

• another version of the individualisation thesis is put forward by beck. Beck argues that we now live in a ‘risk society’ where tradition has less influence and people have more choice. As a result, we are more aware of risks. This is because making choices involves calculating the risks and rewards of the different options open to us
• this contrasts with an earlier time when peoples roles were more fixed by tradition and rigid social norms dictated how they should behave
• e.g, in the past, people were expected to marry for life, and once married, men were expected to play the role of the breadwinner and disciplinarian and to make the important financial decisions, while women took responsibility for the housework, children and care of the sick elderly
• although this traditional patriarchal family was unequal and and oppressive, it did provide a stable and predictable basis for family life by defining each members role and responsibilities. However, the patriarchal family has been undermined by two trends:
• greater gender equality - which has challenged male domination in all superheroes of life. Women now expect equality both at work and in marriage
• greater individualism - where peoples actions are influenced more by calculations of their own self interest than by a sense of obligation to others
• these trends have led to a new type of family replacing the patriarchal family. Beck and gernsheim call this the ‘negotiated family’. They do not conform to the traditional family norm, but vary according to the wishes and expectations of their members, who decide what is best for themselves by negotiation.

Question 21

The zombie family

Answer 21

• although in todays uncertain risk society people turn to the family in the hope of finding security, in reality family relationships are themselves know subject to greater risk and uncertainty than ever before.
• for this reason, beck describes the family as a ‘zombie category’; it appears to be alive, but in reality it is dead. People want it to be a haven of security in an insecure world, but todays family cannot provide this because of its own instability

Question 22

The personal life perspective

Answer 22

• sociologist who take a personal life perspective, such as smart and may, agree that there os now more family diversity but they disagree with beck and Giddens explanation of it. They make serval criticism of the individualisation thesis

Question 23

Criticism of the individualisation thesis

Answer 23

• firstly, it exaggerates how much choice people have about family relationships today. As budgeon notes, those reflects the neoliberal ideology that individuals today have complete freedom of choice. In reality, however, traditional norms that limit people’s relationships choices have not weakened as a much as the thesis claims
• secondly, the thesis wrongly sees people as disembedded, ‘free floating’, independent individuals. It invites that fact that our decision and choices about personal relationships are made within a social context
• thirdly, the individualisation thesis ignores the importance of strict al factors such as social class inequalities and patriarchal gender nomes in limiting and shaping our relationship choices
• as may notes, this is because Giddens and beck view of the individual is simply ‘an idealised version of a white man’. They ignore the fat that not everyone has the same ability as this privileged group to exercise choice about relationships

Question 24

The connectedness thesis

Answer 24

• reflecting these criticisms, sociologists from the personal life perspective purpose as an alternative to the individualisation thesis. Smart caulks this the ‘ connectedness thesis
• instead of seeing us as disemedded, isolated individuals with limitless choice about personal relationships, smart argues that we are fundamentally social beings whose choices are always made ‘within a web of connectedness’
• according to the connectedness thesis, we live within networks of existing relationships and inter woven personal histories, and these strongly influence our range of options and choices in relationships
  E.g finch and masons study if extended families found that, although individualism can to some extent negotiate the relationships they want, they are also embedded within family connections and obligations that restrict their freedom of choice
• such findings challenge the notion of the pure relationship. Families usually include more than just the couples that Giddens focuses on, and even relationships are not always ‘pure’ relationships that

Question 25

Class and gender

Answer 25

• the connectedness thesis also emphasis the role of the class and gender structures which we are embedded these structures limit our choices about the kinds of relationships, identities and families we can create for ourselves. E.g,
• after a divorce, gender norms generally dictate that women’s should have custody of the children, which may limit their opportunity to from new relationship. By contrast, men are freer to start new relationships and second families
• men are generally better paid than women and this gives them greater freedom and choice in relationships
• the relative powerless of women and children as compared with men means that they may lack freedom to choose and so remain trapped in abusive relationships.

Question 26

The power of structures

Answer 26

• as we saw earlier, beck and Giddens argue that there has been a disappearance or weakening of the structures of class, gender and family that traditionally controlled our lives and limited dour choices
• however, as may argues, these structures are not disappearing, they are simply being reshaped. E.g, whole women in the past 150 years have gained important rights to relation to voting, divorce, education and emolument, this does not mean that they now have it all.
• e.g, women now can pursue traditionally ‘masculine’ goals such as careers, they are still expected to be heterosexual.