Family diversity Flashcards
What theories are modernist?
- functionalism and the New Right
How do functionalist view the nuclear family?
- Parsons sees the NF as uniquely suited to meeting the needs of modern society for a geographically & socially mobile workforce
- Performing two irreducible functions, primary socialisation of children & stabilisation of adult personalities
- other family types considered dysfunctional less able to perform functions
How do the New right view the family?
- opposed to family diversity
- hold the view that there is one correct family type
- conventional patriarchal nuclear family consisting of a married couple & their dependent children with a clear cut division of labour
What family type are the New right concerned with the growth of and why?
-of lone parent families
-see them as harmful to children:
- lone parent mothers cannot discipline their children properly
- leave boys without a adult male role model > resulting in educational failure, delinquency etc
- likely to be poorer and thus a burden on the welfare state & taxpayers
What does Benson think the main cause of lone-parent families is and why?
- collapse in cohabitating relationships
- cohabitation allows partners to avoid commitment & responsibility
- marriage is more stable as it requires a deliberate commitment to eachother
What do the New Right believe can fix a broken society?
- only a return to traditional values e.g. marriage can prevent social disintegration & damage to children
- the government need to encourage couples to marry by means of policies > same sex marriage undermines NF
How can the New Right be criticised?
- Oakley> assume that husbands & wives roles are fixed by biology, cross-cultural research show otherwise
- Feminists> NF based on patriarchal oppression of women & cause of gender inequality
- no evidence that children in LPF are more likely to be delinquent
- ignore fact that many see cohabitation as a ‘trial marriage’
How does Chester view family diversity?
- does not regard it in a negative light, FD exaggerated
- only important change is the move from the traditional NF to the neo-conventional family
- a dual-earner family in which both spouses go out to work & not just husband (symmetrical family)
What does Chester argue about the NF?
- people are still choosing to stay in the NF on a long time basis > still remains ideal to which most people aspire
- most people will have been part of a NF in the past or will be in the future
- changes in family structure are temporary > largely due to life cycle patterns
How to criticize Chester view on family diversity?
- view is overly conservative, doesn’t fully acknowledge the variety of family types that have been normalized in contemporary society e.g. same-sex
- does not account for long term shifts in societal values Stacey> family life is characterized by greater individual autonomy leading to more family types
What do the Rapoport’s argue about family diversity?
- diversity as positive response to peoples different needs & wishes
- moved away from traditional NF to a range of diverse family types > families have adapted to a pluralistic society
- family diversity reflects greater freedom of choice & acceptance of different cultures
What are the five types of family diversity in Britain did the Rapoport’s identify?
- organisational diversity> differences in way family roles are organised
- cultural diversity> different family structures based on ethnicity, religion, culture etc
- class diversity> differences in family structure based on income differences
- life-stage diversity> structure differ based on stage in life cycle e.g. widows
- generational diversity> older & younger generations have different attitudes that reflect period to which they have lived
How to criticize the Rapoport’s view on family diversity?
- overstate the extent of diversity> NF still remains dominant in society (Chester)
- obscures challenges and inequalities that arise within diverse family forms e.g. child outcomes, financial security or social support = less stability for children & women
- ignore broader structures that shape family forms e.g. political structures
What do postmodernists such as Cheal argue about society?
- no longer live in a modern society
- family structures have become fragmented into many different types > individuals now have more choice
What does Stacey argue about postmodernism & family diversity?
- greater freedom of choice has benefitted women > enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression & shape family arrangements to meet their own needs (flexible, adaptable)
- women she interviewed created own family types e.g. ‘divorce extended family’ > members are connected by divorce
