Family Diversity👨👩👧👧👩👧👦👨👨👦👦 Flashcards
Functionalist view on family diversity
Other family types will not be able to perform the right functions which are needed
New Right view on the Nuclear Family
Expressive/Instrumental roles are correctly performed
Family diversity creates social problems
New Right view on ‘Lone-Parent families’
Lack of discipline for children
Lack of male role models for boys
Relying on benefits
Organisational differences in family roles
Either symmetrical or segregated
Cultural diversity
Different family structures among different cultures/religions/ethnic groups
Social class diversity
Different incomes among family affecting the family type
Life-style diversity
Depending on stage in life, structure of family will differ
Generalisations diversity
Having attitudes according to generation they lived in
Neo-conventional family
Both parents go to work/earn money
Similar to symmetrical family
Ann Oakley criticisms of the New Right
• ❌ evidence that 👩👧👦families ⬆️ likely to be delinquent
• 💍= commitment
👨👩👧❌💍= temporary phase
Chester - Neo-conventional family
only important change is a move from the dominance of the traditional or conventional family = division of labour and a male ‘breadwinner’ and female ‘homemaker’
- most people aspire to be in a nuclear family
New Right arguments on broken society and family
- return to ‘traditional values’ = prevents disintegration and damage to children
- laws and policies an easy access to gay marriage, divorce + availability to welfare benefits
Smart - breakdown of rs
poverty may be the cause for the breakdown of relationships
Feminists - nuclear family
prevents women from working, financially independent + making decisions that are seen as equal
Chester - ‘dual earner family’
the neo-conventional family is where both spouses go out to work and not just the husband
- symmetrical family
Chester - statistics
cohabitation has increased = seen as a temporary phase
most cohabit
Cheal (1993) - ❌predictable
we no longer live in a predictable society, we have now entered a more
- chaotic
- new
- postmodern stage
Advantage of greater diversity and choice
gives individuals greater freedom to plot their own life course
- choosing family structure, relationships that meet their needs
Disadvantage of greater diversity and choice
greater risk to instability; relationships more likely to break up.
Stacey - postmodern families
argues that greater freedom and choice has benefited women
- enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression = shaping their family to meet their needs
‘Divorce-extended family’
members are connected by divorce rather by marriage
Individualisation thesis
we have become freed from traditional roles and structures, leaving us with more freedom to choose how we lead our lives
