Family Diversity 2.0 Flashcards
Important trends
In the past 30 or 40 years, there has been some major changes in the family and household patterns
Trend of no. of traditional nuclear families households
Fallen
Trend of no. of divorces
increased
Trend of no. of first time marriages
Fewer
-more re-marriages
-people marrying later in life
Trend of no. of couples cohabiationg
increaisnf
Trend regarding same-sex rs
Legally recognised through civil partnerships
Trend of no. of children
women having less children
-having them at later age
Trend of no. of births outside marriage
increase
Trend of no. of lone-parent families
increased
Trend of no. of people living alone
increased
Trend of no. of stepfamilies
Increased
Trend of no. of couples w/o children
increased
What do New Right think of the trends?
Disapprove the trends
Which theorists hold a critical disapproving view of family diversity?
Functionalist
New Right
Robert Chester
Which theorists hold a consensus sapproving view of family diversity?
Postmodernists
Feminists
Give names of sociologists which hold a consensus approving view of family diversity?
David Morgan
David Cheal
Antony Giddens
Judith Stacey
Jeffrey Weeks
Overview
Functionalist and New right view on family diversity
that FD is not to be encouraged
-because they see the traditional nuclear family consisting of a married couple, w/ children and a gendered division of labour as being ‘natural’ and ‘normal’
-they argue that division of labour between an ‘instrumental’ male income-earner role, and an ‘expressive’ female housewife tole is ‘natural’
Overview
Postmodernist and Feminist
reject the view of Functionalist and New right
-they argue instead that a family is whatever arrangements those involved choose to call a family
Overview
Why do they hold that view?
Postmodernist and Feminist
are in favour of increasing FD because it brings people the freedom of choice to choose whatever arrangements best suit their needs
also frees women from the oppression of the traditional patriarchal family
Overview
Why do they hold that view?
Functionalist and New right
division between instrumental and expressive role is ‘natural’
-because it is based on biological differences between men and women which makes them suitable for each role
Who can you talk about when discussing Functionalist theory regarding FD?
PARSONS
Functionalist theory on family diversity
-FD IS BAD
according to Parsons:
-nuclear family is uniquely suited to meeting needs of modern society for a geographically and socially mobile workforce
ALSO
-performs two ‘irreducible functions’ of the primary socialisation
-and stabilisation of adult personalities
-and these contribute go overall stability and effectiveness of society
Which family type is the most adequate according to Functionalists?
-the nuclear family w/ a division of labour between husband and wife is besdt suited to perofrm its functions effectively in a modern soicty
Functionalists view on other types of families
-abnormal
-inadequate
-deviant
-because they are less able to perform the functions required by the family
Evaluation of Functionalists view on Family diversity
- tend to ignore the ‘dark side’ of the family
-they give insufficient attention to the dysfunctions of the family- the harmful effects it may HAVE ON WIDER SOCIETY
What consists of the ‘dark side’ of the family?
-conflict between husband and wife
-male dominance
-child abuse
Evaluation of Functionalists view on Family diversity
w/ evidence
Parsons
wrote in 1950s
-many western societies
-including the UK, have become more multicultural
-Religious and ethnic subcultural differences may mean that Parsons’ version of the family is no longer relevant in contemporary society
New Right theory
-FD IS BAD
-argue that decline of growth of the traditional nuclear family and the growth of FD are the cause of many social problems, such as higher crime rates and educational failure
New Right’s view on other types of families
Lone-parent families
-‘unnatural’ and harmful to children
-because they cannot discipline their children properly and are a burden on the welfare state
New Right argues that certain family types are
a burden on the welfare state
New Right’s view on financial support from welfare state benefits
Welfare state
-high levels of benefits undermine that traditional family by discouraging men from working to support their families
-encourage a ‘dependency culture’ of living off welfare benefits
Evaluation of New Right’s view on Family diversity
-little to no evidence that lone-parent families are a part of ‘dependency culture’ nor that their culture are more likely to be delinquent than those brought-up in a two-parent family of the same social class
Who can you mention for:
Evaluation of New Right’s view on Family
-Feminists
-Rhona and Robert Rapoport
Evaluation of New Right’s view on Family diversity
Feminist
-argue that traditional nuclear family favoured by the New Right
-is based on the patriarchal oppression of women and is a fundamental cause of gender inequality
-in their view it prevents women working, keeps them financially dependent on men, and denies them an equal say in decision-making
Evaluation of New Right’s view on Family diversity
Rhona and Robert Rapoport
-see increasing FD as a response to people’s different needs and wishes
-and not as abnormal or a deviation
-from the assumed norm of the nuclear family
Robert Chester
-FD IS BAD
argues that the extent and importance of FD has been exaggerated
Robert Chester view on family types
-C sees the nuclear family as being dominant
-but he recognised that the traditional nuclear family has changed to what he calls a “neo-conventional “ family
What has Chester stated traditional nuclear family has changed to?
neo-conventional family
Define neo-conventional family.
family in which
-both spouses go out to work and the division of labour is more equal than shared
What does Chester think that FD is more about?
Chester argues so called ‘FD’
-lifecycle than people choosing to live in new family arrangements
-most people in single-person households are either elderly widows or younger divorced people who aspire to live in a traditional nuclear family
Who can be used for:
Evaluation of Chester’s view on Family diversity?
Rapoports
Evaluation of Chester’s view on Family diversity
-Rapoport’s deny neo-conventionalism that diversity is of central importance in underestimating family life today
-they believe that we have moved away from the traditional nuclear family as the dominant family type, to a range of diff types
Families in Britain have adapted to a society in which cultures and lifestyles are more diverse
Postmodernists
-FD is GOOD
reject functionalist and new right view
-there is no ‘best’ family type which shapes its members behaviour
-this has increased FD to the extent that it no longer make sense to talk about a single ‘best’ type
David Morgan
Postmodernist
-FD is GOOD
argues that things like the family, friendships and other forms of RS M
-have become less clear-cut and the boundaries between them blurred because today’s society is more fragmented
What does David Morgan think FD has increased as a response to what?
society becoming more fragmented
-he uses the concepts of family practises to describe how we create our sense of ‘being a family member’ through actions such as feeding children or doing DIY
David Morgan sees the family as
‘what people do’ rather than as a concrete ‘thing’ or structure
Who can be used for evaluation of (Postmodernist) David Morgan’s view on Family diversity ?
Structuralist sociologists
Evaluation of (Postmodernist) David Morgan’s view on Family diversity ?
argue that that although life courses and family practises are the actions of individuals,
-they take place in the context of wider social structure and norms
Evidence to back structuralist sociologists’ evaluation of (Postmodernist) David Morgan’s view on Family diversity
GENDER NORMS AND DIFF IN JOB OPPORTUNITIES in wider society may dictate that
-males will be the major income-earners and women the homemakers
-and this will influence individuals’ expectations of each other w/in the family
David Cheal
Postmodernist
-argues that FD has increased because we now have more choice over the type of family we create
-only familieS plural-
David Cheal believes that FD has resulted in
family life has becoming more diverse than ever
David Cheal argues that today
-in today’s most postmodern society, there is no longer one single type of family that is dominant
Evaluation of (Postmodernist) David Cheal’s view on Family diversity ?
-some sociologists point out that greater freedom of choice in RS means a greater risk of
-instability
-since these RS are more likely to deteriorate and break up
Antony Giddens
Postmodernist
Giddens argues that FD has increased because:
-there is more quality between men and women
Antony Giddens believes as a result of increased FD
Postmodernist
the basis of marriage and the family have changed into one in which the couple are free to define their RS themselves
-rather than acting out roles that have been defined in advance by law or tradition
-E.G they can now choose whether to marry or cohabit
Evaluation of (Postmodernist) Antony Giddens’ view on Family diversity ?
Giddens HIMSELF
-points out that w/ more choice
-personal RS inevitably become less stable
-RS can be ended more or less at will by either partner
Judith Stacey
Postmodernist feminist
-argues that chnages in the position of women has increased the diversity of family tyoes
Judith Stacey’s reserach
-found that women have been the main agents of change in the family
-many of the women she interviewed rejected the traditional stay-at-home role
-instead created new types of family that better suited
In Judith Stacey’s research she found that women instead created new types of family that better suited what?
-their choice to:
- work
-return to education
-divorce
-re-marrry
One of these new family types Stacey calls the
‘divorce extended’ family
-whose members are connected by divorce rather than marriage
-these key members are birmally female and may include former-in-laws such as an ex-mother and daughter in-laws
What do such new family types such as ‘divorce extended’ families illustrate ?
illustrate the ifea that postmodern families are diverse that heir shape depends on the active chioces people make about hwo to live thier lives
e.g
-whether to :
divorce
cohabit
come-out as say gat
etc…
Jeffrey Weeks
-identifies a long-term shift in attitudes towards sexual and FD since 2950s
-these have become ore favourable towards issues such as cohabitation and homosexuality
-as such FD has increased
Evaluation of (Postmodernist) Jeffrey Weeks’ view on Family diversity ?
despite changing attitudes
-family oatterns tend ti ve fairly traduitonal
-many peipke stil live in a family
-most children are briught up in couples
-most couples marry
-and many divorcees re-marry
Evaluation of (Postmodernist) Jeffrey Weeks’ view on Family diversity
Some sociologists have suggested that changing attitudes has led to a
‘crisis in masculinity’
-in which some men experience anxiety about their role
-as such the result of this could be increase in domestic violence in an attempt to -re=assert their traditional masculinity
