Postmodernism and Sociology of Personal Life Flashcards
What is the personal life perspective on the definition of the family?
It takes the definition of the family beyond the ties of blood and marriage.
What is friendship according to the personal life perspective?
Friendships are feelings of closeness, such as ‘like a sister/brother’.
What are fictive kin?
Close friends who are treated as relatives.
What does the term ‘chosen families’ refer to?
Supportive networks of friends, ex-partners, and others, often within LGBTQ communities.
What are relationships with dead relatives according to the personal life perspective
They live on in people’s memories and shape their identities and actions.
What role do pets play in the concept of family according to the personal life perspective?
Children often see pets as part of the family according to Tripper
What does the personal life perspective suggest about choosing families?
We choose the families we want and need based on past experiences rather than open choice.
What did Smart & Nordqvist find in their study of donor conceived children?
Mothers linked their definition of being a mother more to the time taken to raise their child than to the genetic relationship.
What is a criticism of the personal life perspective?
It can be accused of taking too broad a view and overlooking the significance of blood and marriage ties.
What is a positive of the personal life perspective
helps us to understand how people themselves construct and define “family” relationships
What is the Individualisation Thesis proposed by Giddens & Beck?
Traditional social structures have lost influence over people’s actions and decisions.
How have traditional social structures like class, gender, and religion changed in their influence over individuals?
People were once defined by ascribed roles tied to these structures, limiting life choices. Today, we’ve become disembedded, gaining freedom to choose our own paths and family types.
What factors have contributed to the transformation of family structures according to Giddens?
He credits advances like contraception and female independence, which have shifted relationships from obligation to emotional fulfillment.
What are ‘Pure Relationships’ as defined by Giddens?
Relationships based on mutual satisfaction and emotional connection rather than traditional roles.
How has greater freedom and choice benefitted women according to Stacey?
It has enabled women to free themselves from patriarchal oppression and shape family arrangements based on their needs.
What is the Divorce-Extended family?
A family type where key members include ex-in-laws, ex-partners, and their new partners, who support each other despite not being connected by blood or marriage.
How does the personal life perspective criticise the Postmodern view of the family?
It exaggerates how much choice people have; traditional structures still exist and influence choices.
What factors influence people’s decisions and choices, according to criticsms of Personal Life Perspective
Personal experiences and the media, which are part of their social context, influence people’s decisions and choices.
What is the Connectedness Thesis proposed by Carol Smart?
People are social beings living in a web of connectedness that influences their options and choices.
What critiscm did Vanessa May argue about Beck and Giddens
“Beck and Giddens view of the individual is simply an idealised version of white middle class man.”
True or False: Stacey’s research suggests that men have led changes in family structures.
False; Stacey argues that women have led the change.
