Family diversity Essay plans Flashcards
Women’s priorities have shifted
Sharpe: Interviewed a group of girls in the 1970s and then again in the 1990s and saw a shift in their priorities and plans for the future. In the 70s, girls prioritised marriage and motherhood, whereas in the 90s, they wanted a stable career and income and din’t want to be reliant on a male breadwinner. A rise in feminism means less women are getting married.
Women’s priorities for the future have shifted EVALUATION
Chester: A decline in marriage rates doesn’t mean a decline in the popularity of marriage, but a delay in the age of first marriage which rose by 7 years from 1978 to 2018, where it was 30 for women and 32 for men. He argues the only important change in a post industrial society was the shift to the neo-conventional family, where both parents went to work.
Greater choice and equality
Giddens: Contraception being more widely available means that sex doesn’t have to be purely reproductive but can also be for pleasure. This became known as ‘plastic sexuality’. A rise in feminism means man and women have more equal relationships at work and home, for example, in the division of domestic labour.
Greater choice and equality EVALUATION
Greer: There has not been enough progress in gender equality as there is still an 8% pay gap in the UK. Advocates for the introduction of all female households as heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive as they involve ‘sleeping with the enemy’.
Decline in religion
Weeks- Since the 1950s, sexual morality has largely become a matter of personal choice and the Church has lost much of its power to influence the state and the individual, especially amongst the under 35s, where cohabitation, sex before marriage and homosexuality are more widely accepted.
Decline in religion EVALUATION
Murray: Welfare policies have undermined the nuclear family and led to a dependency culture where and underclass live off benefits and see single parenthood and teen pregnancy as a roue to financial support and housing.
Family performs important roles in society
Parsons: The nuclear family acts as a ‘warm bath’ for the instrumental male, who goes to work to provide for the family. The breadwinner can soothe the stresses of work by spending time with his children. This ensures the emotional needs of the male are met, so he is energised to go to work the next day and fulfil the needs of capitalism.
Family performs important roles for society EVALUATION
Weeks- Since the 1950s, sexual morality has largely become a matter of personal choice and the Church has lost much of its power to influence the state and the individual, especially amongst the under 35s, where cohabitation, sex before marriage and homosexuality are more widely accepted.
The neo-conventional family
Chester: He argues the only important change in a post industrial society was the shift to the neo-conventional family, where both parents went to work.
The neo-conventional family EVALUATION
The Rapoports: The nuclear family is in decline. In 1971, 35% of families in the UK were nuclear, but in 2008, only 25% were.
