Modernism and family diversity Flashcards
What is modernism?
Modernism refers to the notion that society is fixed, structured, rigid and predictable.
This society is suggested by perspectives such as Functionalism
Functional fit theory
What are modernism theories?
Functionalism
Marxism
Feminism
New right
Recap functionalism:
‘Functional fit’ between the nuclear family and modern society
Parsons sees the nuclear family as uniquely suited to meeting the needs of modern society for a geographically and socially mobile workforce and as performing 2 irreducible functions.
Because of the family’s ability to perform these essential functions we can generalise about the type of family we will find in modern society- the nuclear with division of labour between husband and wife
Other family types are considered dysfunctional, abnormal or even deviant
Why do functionalists believe that the nuclear family enables the workforce in modern society to be geographically and socially mobile?
Geographically mobile – it’s easier to move a 2-generation nuclear family then a 3-generation extended family.
Socially mobile – Modern society means status is achieved based on effort ability, not birth right. This is reinforced by the structural isolation from extend kin = no binding obligation (e.g. in times of harvest).
New right recap:
Conservative and anti-feminist perspective of the family
Firmly opposed to family diversity
1 correct family type- the traditional patriarchal nuclear family consisting of a married couple and their dependent children and a clear-cut division of labour between husband and wife. (FUNCTIONALISTS AGREE WITH THIS OUTLOOK)
New rights view on lone parents:
Lone mothers cannot discipline their children.
Lone mothers leave boys without an adult male role model, resulting in educational failure, delinquency and social mobility.
Lone mothers are likely to be poorer and thus a burden on the welfare state.
Phillips – 2011 riots were a result of boys growing up without fathers – lacked discipline and not taught to respect authority, think they can get away with it and blame others.
‘Cereal packet family’
These type of ideas have been extremely influential in western societies & have established the notion that the Nuclear Family is the ‘normal’, ‘ideal’ type of family in society…… this has led to the concept of the ‘Cereal Packet Family’.
How could you critique these views?
Some people cant work
Marriage isn’t always functional
Dark side of family
Ethnocentric – forcing western ideals onto minority cultures
Criticisms of the new right perspective:
There is no evidence to argue that children brought up in lone parent families are more likely to be deviant than a child brought up in a nuclear family.
Whilst some people see cohabitation as an alternative to marriage, Chester argues that the majority of couples cohabitating actually plan to get married. This is also supported by Coast who found that 75% of people who were cohabitating were planning to get married. Smart suggests that rates of cohabitation are higher amongst poorer families, and therefore it is not about cohabiting couples wanting to get married, it’s about them being able to afford it. Therefore the New Right’s perceptions of cohabitating couples being unstable and less committed than married couples, is greatly flawed, as the majority of cohabitating couples will marry.
Feminist Ann Oakley argues that the roles of husband and wife are not fixed due to biological differences, as these roles are socially constructed. The New Right’s ideas regarding men and women’s roles in the family are merely a reaction to feminists’ campaigns for gender equality.
Feminists argue that the roles in the traditional nuclear family are based on patriarchal oppression of women; it denies women the opportunity to work, restricts their decision making, whilst simultaneously making women dependent on men.
New right A01 points:
The nuclear family is beneficial for all members in the family.
The family has roles which are based on fundamental biological differences between men and women. This is why men should go to work and women should stay at home with the children and do the housework.
They believe that marriage symbolises commitment to the family unit, whereas cohabitation does not, which creates instability in the home.
New Right sociologists believe that the increase in lone-parent families has led to a breakdown in traditional values. They say that this causes issues when raising children as they are not socialised properly. They argue this has a profound effect on crime and deviancy in society.
