MT1 - Family diversity Flashcards
Who says family diversity is happening
Post-modernists - Rapoport & Rapoport
Individualisation thesis - Giddens and Beck
Postmodernist theory - Stacey
New Right
Who says family diversity is not happening
Functionalists - Parsons
Chester
Rapoport & Rapoport
The nuclear family is no longer the main family type in Britain, but a range of exist and none are the ‘right’ type of family and all should be accepted.
Family diversity is happening because:
Cultural diversity – (different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures)
Generational diversity - (older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences of family diversity)
Social class diversity - (there are differences between middle and working class families in relation to child-rearing and adult relationships)
Giddens and Beck
Family diversity is happening due to a greater freedom of choice
The individualisation thesis says we have become disembedded (freed) from traditional roles. In the past, family life and people's roles within the family were influenced by social factors such as class and gender however we now have greater freedom of choice and people can choose how they organise their family life – do they marry, have children, work, etc..
Smart and May
Crticises Giddens and Beck
the individualisation thesis exaggerates how much choice individuals have - individuals are not disembedded and free to make choices independently from the influence of wider social norms. Social factors such as class, gender and ethnicity can limit the choices individuals have when it comes to family life.
Stacey
Changes in the family have been instigated by women as they have taken the advantage of increased equality with men and pursued education and careers (women can choose a career over family, choose never to marry, choose to divorce, etc)
Divorce-extended family in which members are connected to each other by divorce, e.g. former daughter and mother in law
Parsons - NF
The nuclear family is the ideal family type because it has a functional fit - it meets the needs of society. (requires the family to be geographically mobile in pursuit of employment)
and individuals - social mobility (different lifestyle weakens bonds with wider kin) and welfare state (provides services used to be provided by the extended)
New Right
Nuclear family is the only normal, natural family type because it is based on biological differences between men and women.
Family diversity is damaging because it causes social problems such as anti-social behaviour, crime and educational failure. (Lone parent families = a burden on the welfare state - no male role mode and single mothers lack control over children)
Marriage is essential for creating stability, while divorce undermines family stability.
Chester
Family diversity is exaggerated -
The only and most important change in family life is the move from the dominance of the traditional/conventional nuclear family (segregated division of labour - breadwinner and housewife) to the neo-conventional family. (the modern dual worker family in which both partners work in paid employment).
The nuclear family is still the most common type of family
Other types of families are temporary due to family life cycles therefore, the statistics on family structures are a snapshot as they show us the type of family people live in at one given time.
Reasons for the increase in family diversity - ITS
Influence of the media: films promote romantic love so even if a person’s first marriage wasn’t successful, they do not give up on finding ‘the right one’.
Technology: enables people to meet online / long distance relationships
Social mobility: As people move through the social scales they develop a different lifestyle to the rest of their extended kin
Reasons for the increase in family diversity - CASE
Career opportunities for women: have freed women from having to rely on a husband for financial support
Attitudes: change in social attitudes among the younger generations / society has become more liberal and accepting
Secularisation: (decline in religious beliefs) means that people do not have to abide by religious rules
Economic: raising cost of living means people can’t afford to live alone
Reasons for the increase in family diversity - LAW
Laws change: Divorce Reform Act 1969 / Civil Partnerships Act 2005
Advances in medicine Contraception / IVF / Increased life expectancy
Welfare state: provides the service which used to be provided by the extended family such as benefits, education or healthcare.
