Personal Life Perspective Flashcards
What does the personal life perspective argue?
That functionalism, Marxism, feminism all suffer from two weaknesses
What are the two weaknesses the theories believe in?
- Assume that the nuclear family is the dominant family type
- They are all structural theories
Why is being a structural theory negative?
Assume that all members of the family are passive puppets
Ignore the fact we have some choice in creating our family relationships
What approach does the personal life perspective take?
Bottom up
Interactionism
Individual family members hold and shape their actions and relationships
What does personal life perspective say about ties of blood and marriage?
Kinship
More personal/ intimate relationships
Relationships with friends
Gay and lesbian chosen family
Desd relatives
Pets
Evaluation of personal life perspective
Accused of taking too broad of a view- ignore what is special about relationships
What does May believe about the personal life perspective?
Functions of the family are carried out by others
People construct their own network of individuals to fill their needs
What does smart believe about the person life perspective?
Family is ethnocentric = focused on the white middle class
Connectedness thesis
5 key concepts influenced personal life
What were smarts 5 key concepts?
Memory
Biography
Embeddedness
Relationalitity
Imaginary
What is memory according to smart?
Memory of joy and trauma with members out of the family that can make people bond
What is biography according to smart?
The history of the relationship
What is embeddedness according to smart?
More commonalities with individuals out of the family rather than in
What is relationality according to smart?
Shared interest = emotional support
People look to escape the family unit as it is a source of oppression
What is imaginary according to smart?
How important the relationship is
