FAMILY+HOUSEHOLDS - Late modernists and the family

Question 1

How are late modernists different in their beliefs compared to post modernists

Answer 1

• Agree that people have more choice

- Disagree on the idea of having ‘full freedom’

Question 2

Give 3 examples of how people would suffer from consequences of living in a ‘late modern’ society

Answer 2

• People lees likely to get married duet to structural changes
• Gender equality = both partners have to work = less time for relationships = increase in divorce rates
• Less stability in relationships (particularly concerning patriarchal families)

Question 3

Define what it means for people to be reflexive

Answer 3

• They base they decisions off of what they see going on in society

Question 4

Beck

• What does he say about marriage
• What does he say about marriage in regards to the term ‘individualisation’

Answer 4

WHAT: increase in risk consciousness = less people getting married (people see married to fail, and Ardmore willing to avoid it)
INDIVIDUALISATION: A new norm where our individual desires are more important than social commitments = less marriages

Question 5

Giddens- building up on Beck’s idea

• What does Giddens say about thee typical relationship
• As a consequence, what becomes more likely to happen

Answer 5

WHAT: Is the pure relationship - one that will only last if both partners are happy - not because of tradition of sense of commitment
CONSEQUENCES: Cohabitation or serial monogamy more likely instead of marital commitment

Question 6

Giddens - Choice and equality

• What does he say about the transformation of the marriage
• What are the 3 characteristics that now define relationships
• However, what is a negative, inevitable consequence of greater choice
• Give a statistic to back this con up

Answer 6

WHAT: Greater choice and equality between men and women has transformed family and marriage
CHARACTERISTICS:
1) People define their relationships themselves rather than acting out their traditional roles - E.g. couples today can cohabitate instead of marry
2) Pure relationship
3) Relationships establish who we are
CONSEQUENCE: Personal relationships will become less stable
STATISTIC: 57% of teenagers in 2018 think their relationship will last only 1 year, so only 2% will progress to a marriage

Question 7

Criticisms for Feminism like Feeley?
Beck - the ‘risk society’ and the negotiated family
- What does he argue
- How does this compare with previous societies
- How does this relate to feminism and the patriarchy
- Though the patriarchal family was unequal and oppressive, what were some practical benefits of it, that are no longer with this new society
- These trends lead to an increase in negotiated families; define negotiated family
- What is a con and pro of this type of family

Answer 7

WHAT: Greater choice = More ability to calculate risks and rewards of different plans of action
COMPARISON: No stable nuclear families or traditional gender roles
FEMINISM: Undermines the patriarchal family due to greater equality and individualism
PROS: Provided a basis for the family with defining jobs for each member
NEGOTIATED FAMILY: A family that doesn’t conform to traditional family norms, and instead vary according to the expectations of its own members
CON: Less stable PRO: More equal