postmodern theories of family Flashcards
1
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Introduction (1)
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- Postmodernism is the most recent social theory; Postmodernists believe that recent social changes and diversity has made the family a more personal choice and that due to this families are becoming more unstable and diverse.
- They disagree with the traditional theories that believe that human behaviour is according to their socialisation or background, they argue that gender, ethnicity, and social class aren’t as influential on people’s behaviour.
2
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Paragraph one (part one)
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- Postmodernists blame two social changes for the increase of instability and diversity in families in the postmodern world; they blame diversity and fragmentation,
- they state that with the increase of broad subcultures people are creating their identity from a wide range of choices such as: youth subcultures, Sexual preferences, and social movements and this creates a diverse family that doesn’t confine to the traditional nuclear family causing instability.
3
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Paragraph one (Part Two)
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- They also blame Rapid social change for the increased diversity and instability in families, they blame technology such as the internet and online communication for the instability of families
- as it transforms patterns of work and leisure and quickens the pace of change causing life to be less predictable and ultimately takes away that stability of the family as we are more disconnected.
4
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Paragraph Two (Part one)
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- Postmodernism follows three themes; They state that gender equality means that the traditional male dominance is challenged, and the nuclear family is no longer the only possible family type.
- Anthony Giddens suggested that the cause of change in the family and marriage was triggered by greater equality between men and women, but at the cost of this equality was that relationships were unstable.
- Postmodernists follow the second theme that individualism means that people choose to act on the basis on what’s good for them and not on a sense of how others may expect or think, this causes the family to continue to separate as people are doing what’s in favour for themselves and not the family.
5
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Paragraph Two (Part Two)
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- Stacey in 1998 stated that women have more freedom than ever before and their new family arrangement has freed them from patriarchal oppression, she found that women are the driving force behind changes in family.
- Lastly, they follow the third theme that modern society is fragmented and there are few connections between various groups so the influence of society on behaviour has weakened.
- David Morgan in 1996 claimed that the routine in the family was what gave us a sense of being a family member rather than relationships and with the fragmentation of society, routine has changed rapidly.
- This theme is also supported in 1993 by Cheal stating that the family has undergone major change because society is no longer predictable.
6
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Paragraph Three (Part One)
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- Postmodernists also argue that with the greater acceptance of same sex relationships, lone parents and those who don’t marry or have children, it has changed the family dynamic as its more widely acceptable to choose other family types than the nuclear family.
- Stacey in 1998 examined the lives of Californian women after they had a divorce, she examined the relationships they developed with others and the different support networks that emerged.
7
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Paragraph Three (Part Two)
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- She found out that some women developed support networks from their friends who became defined as a surrogate family that performed key family functions such as emotional support and childcare,
- she also discovered that many maintained relationships with their former partner and created a shared parenting system. This study points out the changing family and the acceptance of different family types in the post-modern world.
8
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Paragraph Four (Part one)
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- However, sociologist, Weeks, in 2000 agrees that change was linked to sexual behaviour as sexual freedom is caused by loss of religious values but opposite to the postmodernist theory, he states that many families tend to remain traditional and that the acceptance of change is growing.
- Many contemporary feminists also disagree with the postmodern view on gender equality and point out that in most cases traditional gender roles that disadvantage women remain the norm.
- Furthermore, many writers such as Chomsky have claimed that this theory is vague and based on solely theory not evidence.
9
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Paragraph Four (Part Two)
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- Postmodernists overlook the persistence of the nuclear family and the importance of traditional marriage to most people.
- Postmodernists also overstate the amount of social change in society, Hakim states that many women don’t want to work and would choose the domestic life if they could.
- Lastly the language used to discuss the postmodern theory can be complex and difficult to understands, many critics claim that this is a way of covering up the weaknesses of the theory.
10
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Paragraph Five
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- Meanwhile, the postmodern view on the family explains family change and diversity, it acknowledges that different types of the family exist and offers descriptions of these families.
- It also emphasises how emotions and choice are important aspects of family life. Postmodernists have pointed out the role of government policy in imposing ideology and judging what people choose to do.
- Lastly postmodernists point out the importance of life course and decision on making family life.
11
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Conclusion
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- To conclude, I agree to some degree with the postmodern view in terms that they acknowledge social change and different family types,
- but I disagree that social change is bad as its causing growth in people and acceptance of other family types and overall causes a more understanding and educated society with their attitudes to different families such as same sex families and lone parents.
- It is useful to understand that families have changed but isn’t useful as it has little supporting evidence.
