Modernism and the nuclear family

Question 1

Functionalism
-Pason-there is a “functional fit” between the nuclear family and modern society

Answer 1

he sees the nuclear family as uniquely suited to meeting the needs of modern society for a geographically and socially mobile workforce, and as performing two functions = The primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation.
-because of the family’s ability to perform these essential functions
we can generalise about the type of family that we will find in modern society(nuclear family)
with a division of labour between husband and wife.
-In the functionalist view because of the family’s ability to perform these essential functions
-Other family types are seen as dysfunctional, abnormal or even deviant=they are less able to perform the functions required of the family.

Question 2

The new right

Answer 2

have a conservative and anti-feminist perspective on the family.They firmly oppose family diversity.
-Like functionalists, the New Right hold the view that there is only one correct or normal family types.
-Like functionalists, they hold the view that there is only one correct or normal family types.
-This is the traditional or conventional patriarchal nuclear family consisting of a married couple and their dependent children and a division between breadwinner and homemaker
-they see nuclear family as “natural” and based on fundamental biological differences between men and women.
-they oppose changes in family patterns that such as cohabitation,gay marriage and lone parenthood.
They argue the decline of the traditional nuclear family and the growth of family diversity are the cause of many social problems.

Question 3

New right concerns

Answer 3

-the growth of lone parents family-see them as harmful
-lone parents mothers cannot discipline their children properly
-they leave boys without a male role model results to educational failure,deliquency,social instanbility
-they are more likely poor and a burden to the welfare system

Question 4

Criticism of New right
-The feminist Oakley argues that the New Right wrongly assume that husbands and wives’ roles are fixed by biology.

Answer 4

Oakley believes that the New Right view is anti-feminist and dont want equality
-Feminists also argue that the conventional nuclear family is based on the patriarchal oppression of women and it prevents women working, keeps them financially dependent on men, and denies them an equal say in decision-making.
-Critics of the New Right argue that there is no evidence that children in lone-parent families
are more likely to be delinquent than those brought up in a two parent family of the same social class.-

=Smart (2011) points out, it may be poverty that causes the breakdown of relationships, rather than the decision not to marry.

Question 4

Cohabitation VS marriage
-Benson argues that couples are more stable when they are married.

Answer 4

the rate of divorce among married couples is lower than than the rate of breakups among cohabiting couples.
-marriage is more stable because it requires a deliberate commitment to each other
whereas cohabitation allows partners to avoid commitment and responsibility.
-Benson argues that government needs to encourage
couples to marry by policies that support marriage.

Question 5

New right criticism of the governments
law

Answer 5

They argue that only a return to “traditional values”, including the value of marriage, can prevent social’s disintegration and damage to children.

They regard laws and policies such as easy access to divorce, gay marriage and widespread availability of welfare benefits as undermining the conventional family.

Question 6

Chester:the neo-convetional family
-recognises that there has been some increased family diversity in recent years.

Answer 6

Chester argues that the only important change is a move from the dominance of the traditional or conventional nuclear family, to what he describes as the “neo-conventional family”
(is a dual-earner family in which both spouses go out to work and not just the husband)
This is similar to the symmetrical family(Young and Willmott)
-Chester sees the nuclear family as dominant.

Question 7

Chester identified a number of patterns:

Answer 7

-Most adults marry and have children.
-Divorce has increased, but most divorcees remarry.
-Cohabitation has increased, but for most couples its a temporary phase before marrying or remarrying.
-Most couples get married if they have children.

Question 8

the important difference between Chester’s view and that of the functionalists is that Chester sees a change

Answer 8

from a conventional to a neo-conventional nuclear family where both spouses play an “instrumental” or breadwinner role.

Question 9

The rapoports:
five types of family diversity
-Rhonda and Rapoport (1982) argue that diversity is of central importance in understanding family life today.

Answer 9

They believe that we have moved away from the traditional nuclear family as the dominant family type, to a range of different types.
In their view, family diversity reflects greater freedom of choice and the widespread acceptance of different cultures and ways of life in today’s society.
-see diversity as a positive response to people’s different needs and wishes
and not as abnormal or a deviation from the norm of a “proper” nuclear family.

Question 10

(Five different types of family diversity): Cultural diversity

Answer 10

Different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures.
There is a higher proportion of female-headed lone-parent families among African-caribbean households and a higher proportion of extended families among Asian households.

Question 11

(Five different types of family diversity): Social class diversity

Answer 11

Differences in family structure are a result of income differences between households of different social classes.
Likewise, there are class differences in child-rearing practices.

Question 12

(Five different types of family diversity): Life stage diversity

Answer 12

Family structures differ according to the stage reached in the life cycle, for example young newlyweds, couples with dependent children, retired couples whose children have grown up and left home, and widows who are living alone.

Question 13

Postmodernism and family diversity
-modernist perspectives emphasise the dominance of one family type in modern society(nuclear family)

Answer 13

Modernist take a structural or “top down” view.
-they see the family as a structure that shapes the behaviour of its members so that they perform the functions society requires
-Individuals have no choice about the pattern of family life.
Most people marry, go on to have children and so on.
there may be some limited variety in family life, such as the five types of diversity

Question 13

(Five different types of family diversity): Generational diversity

Answer 13

Older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences that reflect the historical periods in which they have lived.
For example, they may have different views about the morality of divorce or cohabitation.

Question 14

Cheal

Answer 14

Postmodernists view that we no longer live in “modern” society with its predictable structures(nuclear family)
but society has entered a new postmodern stage.
-there is no longer one single dominant stable family structure
Instead,family structures have been broken into many different types and individuals now have much more choice in their lifestyles
but greater freedom of choice in relationships means a greater risk of instability, since these relationships are more likely to break up.

Question 15

The individualisation thesis
-argues that traditional social structures such as class, gender and family have most of their influence over us.

Answer 15

-In the past, people’s lives were defined by fixed roles which prevented them from choosing their own life course.
Everyone was expected to marry and to take up their appropriate gender role.
But individuals in today’s society have fewer fixed roles
-we have become freed from traditional roles and structures, leaving us with more freedom to choose how we lead our lives.

Question 15

Stacey:postmodern families
-argues that greater freedom and choice has benefited women

Answer 15

-has enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression and to shape their family arrangements to meet their needs.
-used interviews to construct a series of case studies of postmodern families in California.She found that women rather than men have been the main agents of changes in the family.
-Many of the women she interviewed had rejected the traditional housewife-mother role.
-They had worked, returned to education as adults, improved their job prospects, divorced and re-married.
-These women had often created new types of family that better suited their needs.
-One of these new family structures Stacey calls the “divorce-extended family”,a family type where family members are connected through divorce, not marriage. People may maintain relations and connections with their ex-spouse’s family members, such as their parents,current wife/spouse

Question 16

Beck (1992)

Answer 16

life that people followed in the past has been replaced by the “do it yourself biography” that individuals today must construct.

Question 16

Giddens:choice and equality
argues that in recent decades the family and marriage is more equal and theres more choice between men and women

This transformation has occurred because:

Answer 16

-Contraception has allowed sex and intimacy to become the main reason for the relationship’s existence rather than reproduction
-Women have gained independence from feminism and greater opportunities in education and work.

Question 17

Giddens
-The basis of marriage and the family has changed.

Answer 17

-he argues that in the past, traditional family relationships were held together by external forces
(eg) laws governing the marriage contract and by powerful norms against divorce and sex outside marriage.
-Today couples are free to define their relationship themselves, rather than simply acting out roles
A couple nowadays don’t have to marry to have children
-divorce is accessible so they don’t have to stay together

Question 18

The pure relationship
-Giddens

Answer 18

-the key feature of the pure relationship is that exists solely to satisfy each partner’s needs
-Couples stay together because of love, happiness or sexual attraction,rather than because of tradition
-individuals are free to choose to enter and to leave relationships as they see fit.
Relationships become part of the process of the individual’s self discovery or self identity trying different relationships becomes a way of establishing “who we are”

Question 19

However, Giddens notes that with more choice; personal relationships inevitably become less stable.

Answer 19

The pure relationship can be ended by either partner
This produces greater family diversity by creating more lone parent families, one person households, stepfamilies and so on.

Question 20

Beck:risky society

Answer 20

-Beck argues that we live in a “risk society” where tradition has less influence and people have more choice.
As a result, we are more aware of risks.
This is because making choices involves calculating the risks and rewards of the different options open to us.
-this contrasts with an earlier time when people’s roles were more fixed by tradition and norms dictated how they should behave.
-In the past, people were expected to marry for life and men were expected to play the role of breadwinner and make the most important financial decision, while women took responsibility for the housework, childcare and care of the sick and elderly.
-Although this traditional patriarchal family was unequal and oppressive it did provide a stable and predictable basis for family life by defining each member’s role and responsibilities.

Question 21

Same-sex couples as prisoners

Answer 21

Giddens sees same-sex relationships as leading the way towards new family types and creating more equal relationships.
-In Giddens’ view they are not influenced by tradition like heterosexual relationships are they develop relationships based on choice.
-enabled those in same-sex relationships to create family structures that serve their own needs rather than having to conform to pre-existing norms

Question 22

Beck:risky society
The patriarchal family has been undermined by two trends:

Answer 22

gender equality-has challenged male domination in all aspects of life. Women now expect equality both at work and in marriage.

Greater individualism where people’s actions are influenced more by calculations of their own self-interest than by a sense of obligation to others.

Question 23

These trends have led to a new type of family replacing the patriarchal family
-Beck and Beck-Gernsheim call this the “negotiated family”

Answer 23

Negotiated families do not conform to the traditional family norm, but vary,they decide what is best for themselves
They enter the relationship on an equal basis.
-the negotiated family is less stable because individuals are free to leave if their needs are not met-this instability leads to greater family diversity

Question 24

Criticism of the individualisation thesis

Answer 24

-it exaggerates how much choice people have about family relationships today-Budgeon says this reflects the neoliberal ideology that individuals have compete freedom of choice.
-traditional norms have not weakened as much as the thesis claims.
-It ignores the fact that our decisions and choices about personal relationships are made within a social context.
-it ignores the importance of structural factors such as social class inequalities
and patriarchal gender norms in limiting and shaping our relationship choices.

Question 24

The zombie family
-Beck describes the family as appearing to be alive but in reality it’s dead.

Answer 24

-People want it to be a haven of security in an insecure world, but today’s family cannot provide this because of its own instability.

Question 25

The personal life perspective
-Smart and May agree that there is now more family diversity

Answer 25

but they disagree with Beck and Giddens’ explanation of it.They make several criticisms of the individualisation thesis.

Question 26

The connectedness thesis
-proposed by smart
-emphasises the importance of always putting individuals in the context of their past and the web of relationships that influenced their choices and family patterns now

Answer 26

Instead of seeing us as isolated individuals with limitless choice about personal relationships.
Smart argues that we are fundamentally social beings whose choices are always made “within a web of connectedness”
We live within networks of existing relationships and interlink to personal histories which have influence our range of options and choices in relationships.

Question 27

class and gender

Answer 27

The connectedness thesis emphasises the role of the class and gender structures in which we are embedded,limits our choices about the kinds of relationships, identities and family we can create for ourselves.
-After a divorce, gender norms generally dictate that women should have custody of kids,limiting their opportunity to form new relationships, identities and families.
By contrast, men are freer to start new relationships and second families.
-Men are generally better paid than women gives them greater freedom and choice in relationships
-powerlessness of women and children as compared with men means that they lack freedom to choose and so remain trapped in abusive relationships.

Question 28

The connectedness thesis
-Finch and Mason’s (1993) study of extended families found that they are also

Answer 28

embedded within family connections and obligations that restrict their freedom of choice, although individuals can to some extent negotiate the relationships they want.
-Such findings challenge the notion of the pure relationship-Families usually include more than just the couples that Giddens focuses on, and even couples relationships are not always “pure” relationships that we can walk away from at will.

Question 29

The power of structures
.

Answer 29

Beck and Giddens argue that there has been a disappearance or weakening of the structures of class, gender and family that traditionally controlled our lives and limited our choices.
–These structures are not disappearing, they are simply being re-shaped while women in the past 150 years have gained important rights this does not mean they now “have it all”

Question 30

While women can now pursue traditionally “masculine” goals such as careers, they are still expected to be heterosexual
-Einasdottir

Answer 30

argues, while lesbianism is now tolerated heterosexual norms mean that many lesbians feels forced to remain “in the closet” and this limits their choices about their relationship and lifestyles.

Question 31

The personal life perspective does not see increased diversity dimly as a result of greater freedom of choice, as beck and giddens do.

Answer 31

they emphasise the how structural factors such as patriarchy and class inequality are restricting people’s choices and shaping their family lives.

Question 32

Morgan argues, it is pointless trying to make large-scale generalisations about “the family” as if it were a single thing, as functionalists do.

Answer 32

Rather, a family is simply whatever arrangements those involved choose to call their family.
In this view, sociologists should focus their attention on how people create their own diverse family lives and practices.
One way of exploring this is by means of life course analysis.