Post modernist view on family Flashcards
What are the key post-modernist thinkers to talk about?
Stacey “The Divorce-Extended Family”
Hareven “Life Course Analysis”
David Morgan
What does David Morgan argue?
it is pointless to try to make large scale generalisations about the fam as if it were a single thing
instead sociologists should focus on how people create their own diverse family life
What characteristics does post-modern society have?
1) diversity + fragmentation
2) rapid social change
What do postmodernists argue?
family structures have become fragmented into many different types, there is now greater diversity + choice
individuals now have much more choice
What does the characteristic rapid social change mean?
new technology eg internet have transformed our lives by dissolving barriers of time + space, made life less predictable
as a result, fam structure has become very diverse, no longer one dominant fam type, so impossible to make generalisations
What does Stacey argue?
women have more freedom than ever before to shape their family arrangement to meet their needs + free themselves from patriarchal oppression
women are the driving force behind changes in family, many reject traditional housewife role, choose extremely varied life paths
identifies new type of family “the divorce-extended fam” = people connected by divorce rather than marriage
What is the “divorce-extended family” ?
members are connected by divorce rather than marriage
Stacey
What is the approach of life course analysis?
focus on individual family members + the choices they make through out life regarding family arrangements
What does Hareven say?
advocates the approach of life course analysis
this approach recognises there is flexibility + variation in people’s lives eg the choices they make + when they make them
How do Contemporary Feminists criticise post modernism?
in most cases, traditional gender roles which disadvantage women remain the norm
How does late-modernist Giddens criticise post modernism?
even though people have more freedom, there is still a structure which shapes people’s decisions
Post modernist view summarised
similar to PLP, anything can be a family
nuclear family is no longer the norm
people choose what ever family arrangement suits their needs –> good thing
