Section B: FAMILY

Question 1

Bean pole family

Answer 1

A family with a long thin structure. E.g migh be 4 generations alive but each gen hasn’t had many children.

Question 2

Birth rate

Answer 2

The number of babies born a year.

Question 3

Civil patnership

Answer 3

The legally or formally recognised union of a man and a woman (or in some countries) two people of the same sex in a committed relationship.

Question 4

Commercialization of housework

Answer 4

Where new technologies lead to new products which people buy to reduce to reduce amount of domestic labour at home.

Question 5

Dual burden

Answer 5

When someone does both paid work and a significant amount of domestic labour such as housework at home. According to radical feminists this is mainly women who suffer this.

Question 6

Economic factors

Answer 6

Refers to things to do with money

Question 7

Extended family

Answer 7

Family beyond the traditional near family, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc.

Question 8

Individualism

Answer 8

The process where individuals have more Freedom to make life choices and shape their identities because of a weakening of trad norms and values.

Question 9

Symmetrical families

Answer 9

A family where the husband and wife have similar roles.

Question 10

Nuclear family

Answer 10

Consists of a mother and father who are married with one or more children.

Question 11

Extended families

Answer 11

Families that include other kin members outside the family.
Young and wilmott argued the symmetrical family has spread to all classes.
Beck and beck gernsheim suggest we are undergoing a process of individualisation.
The ONS showed that less than 1% of households in the uk are multi family households.

Question 12

Lone parent families

Answer 12

Families that consist of only one parent in 91% of cases the child lives with the mother.
Pacino et Al found that 7% of lone parents remain so throughout their 5 years study with 3.9% becoming cohabitants and 1.9% got married.

Question 13

Reconstituted families

Answer 13

Families that consist of at least one child froma different/ previous relationship. In 2011 there were 544,000 reconstituted families with dependant children.

Question 14

Living apart together

Answer 14

Levin identified LATs as a newly emerging family form- individuals in intimate relationships who live alone.

Question 15

Trends in marriage

Answer 15

ONS in 1940 the number of marriages in England and Wales was 470,594 and by 2012 this number was nearly halved to 262,240.
In 1940 only 9% of marriages were remarriages while in 2012, 34% of marriages were remarriages.

Question 16

Cohabitation

Answer 16

ONS 2012 the number of people aged 16 or above has increased from 6.5% in 1996 to 11.7% in 2012.
This is the fastest growing family type in the uk.
Beaujouan and ni bhrolchain found that cohabiting before marriage had become the norm (80%).

Question 17

Singlehood

Answer 17

An increased proportion of people choose to remain single which has altered how society views singlehood from a negative status to a glamorous life choice.
Hall et Al suggested that many single people found freedom in being solo and chose to concentrate on their careers rather than establishing a long-term relationship.

Question 18

Changing social attitudes
Marriage and cohabitation

Answer 18

Until 1960s there was pressure on couples to conform to marriage but now it is socially acceptable to live together outside of marriage.
Park et Al argues that while in 1989 the British social attitude survey shows 71% agreed or strongly agreed to the statement “people who want children ought to get married”.
Duncan and Phillips found that 63% of people agreed that divorce was a ‘positive step to a new life’.

Question 19

The decline in family values

Answer 19

Some sociologists argue that the decrease of marriage leads to the weakening of traditional family values as marriage is the bedrock of stable family life as well as the bedrock to our society.
Morgan argues that in recent years the gov have given insufficient support to marriage both financial support and public support.

Question 20

Births, fertility, deaths

Answer 20

• the total fertility rate is calculated by the number of births subtracted by the number of deaths. The TFR shows that in 1900 was 3.5. This decreased to 1.63 in 2001 and 1.94 in 2012.
• there has been a significant decrease in the total birth rate between 1901 (1.1 million) and 2012 (812,970) even though in 2012there is a much larger population.

Question 21

Family size, change and types

Answer 21

-between 1870 and 1920 the average woman had 5m5 children. This decreased to 2.1 in 1921 and again in 2012 to 1.71 according to the ONS couples have on average 1.62 children.
- in 1971 only 8% of children were born outside of marriage. This changed 40.6% in 2002 and again by 2013 to 47.5%

Question 22

Postmodernists- social class

Answer 22

Social class no longer shaped family and personal relationships, instead individuals now have much greater choice in how they organise their personal lives.

Question 23

Marxist- social class

Answer 23

Rosemary crompton argues children still follow class reproduction. This is the idea that most children follow their parents footsteps in employment.
Bourdieu argues rich kids have a clear advantage due to the ability to afford private education.

Question 24

Individualisation- sexuality

Answer 24

Giddens argues that the acceptance of same sex relationships and the emergencies of same sex families is a part of transformation of intimacy whereby individuals have much greater freedom to choose what kind of intimate relationship they would like.

Question 25

Sexuality
Feminist

Answer 25

Calhoun- argued gay men and women have traditionally been treated as outlaws who have threatened that traditional family life. Modern life however, is now characterised by greater freedoms and choice which has led to same sex relationships becoming more accepted.

Question 26

Park- sexuality

Answer 26

Although gay relationships contribute to family diversity it remains relatively small and should not be exaggerated. Moreover, same sex relationships are nkt universally accepted indeed in the British social attitudes survey shows that 28% of respondents thought these type of relationships are ‘always wrong’ or ‘mostly wrong’.

Question 27

Family diversity- ethnicity

Answer 27

Berthoud- argues when we consider British ethnicities and their family norms on a scale from old fashioned to modern individualisation afrcaribbean families tend to be the furthest toward modern individualisation whilst South Asian families tend to be more toward the old fashioned.

Question 28

What do functionalist believe?

Answer 28

Believe that the nuclear family is the most functional for modern society.

Question 29

Functionalists

Answer 29

Murdock- carried out study of 250 societies and found there was some version of the nuclear family in each of the societies. He concluded that the nuclear family was universal and argued that it served four functions within society (sexual, economic, reproductive and educative).
Parsons- nuclear family carries out two key functions- stabilisation of adult emotions and socialisation of children- separate gender roles.
Popenoe (neo) roles reflected a biosocial reality that women were more suited to certain roles where men were more naturally suited to other roles. Children raised in families outside NF would be scarred as a result.

Question 30

What do new right believe?

Answer 30

Critical of non-nuclear families for leading to inadequate norms and values and socialisation of children.

Question 31

New right

Answer 31

Murray- underclass- overly generous benefits.- single.parent families.
Dennis and erdos- reject new right label but believe children raised by single.mothers have lower educational ability and poorer health.
Patricia morgan- there needs to be greater tax incentives for marriage.
Phyllis schlafly- maternal deprivation mother who choose to work interrupt bonding with children, role as mothers and Wives is most fulfilling role.

Question 32

What do feminists believe?

Answer 32

Feminists focus on gender division and conflict. They argue that the women are controlled by the patriarchal structure of society which is reflected within the patterns of family life. Feminists argue that women have been and still are subordinate within the family and wider society.

Question 33

Radical feminists

Answer 33

Delphy and leonard- argue the traditional forms of the family represent a form.of patriarchal control as women are restricted by the domestic sphere. Men are main beneficiaries of women’s unpaid domestic labour. Men still considered head of the household.
Stanko- domestic abuse happens every 6 seconds and is reported to police every minute.

Question 34

Marxist feminists

Answer 34

Benston- women’s unpaid domestic role within the family benefitted capitalism in two ways- raise future workforce and take care of men’s needs so they can work better.
Ansley- women are “takers of shit”.
Rosemary crompton- claimed that the capitalist system benefitted from the nuclear family as it leads to class reproduction meaning that the ruling class retain their position and WC retain their position.

Question 35

Liberal feminists

Answer 35

Somerville- was critical of the marxist and radical feminists view of the family as it does not acknowledge the increased choice that women have in modern society.
Unlike the new right, Liberal feminists argue that more support should be given to ensure that different family types are catered for through flexible working hours.

Question 36

What do marxist believe?

Answer 36

Believe that the nuclear family benefits the capitalist system and ruling class.

Question 37

Marxists

Answer 37

Engels- argued the nuclear family developed alongside capitalism as a result of the ruling classes desire to pass on their wealth to legit male heirs. If we lived under communist system, women role would he more equal as domestic work would be socialised.
Zaretsky- argued nuclear family benefits from capitalism in two ways 1. Socialising children 2. Unit of consumption (parents purchase goods for children)
Cooper- family acted as an ideological conditioning device which teaches us to accept hierarchy and differences in power due to the increased power of men within the family.

Question 38

Individualisation

Answer 38

Giddens- transformation in intimate relationships. Confluent love. Led to democratisation of family life.
Beck and beck gernsheim- risk based society in which people base decisions to avoid risk.

Question 39

Postmodernists

Answer 39

Lyotard- argued there is less acceptance of authority telling us what is best- people have freedom to choose family type they want.
Bernardes- choice in family type, freedom from traditional gender norms, diversity, ambivalence of what is normal.
Stacey- fluidity and diversity allows people to change their family lifestyles dependant of their changing circumstances and this is the key characteristics of postmodern life.
Bauman- argues changes are negative as there is no longer clarity in the roles and responsibilities of parenting.

Question 40

Are families actually diverse?

YES

Answer 40

Giddens- confluent love
Gittens- families are diverse but see nuclear family as norm due to media.
Leach- cereal packet family- media.

Question 41

Are families actually diverse?

NO

Answer 41

Chester- neoconventional families follow a lot of the norms associated with nuclear families.
Sommerville- many people not in nuclear families now will eventually form a nuclear family. Only 5% of people will never be married within their life.

Question 42

Is family diversity a good thing?

YES

Answer 42

Giddens- democratisation of family
Greer- relationships not based on patriarchal norms.

Question 43

Is family diversity a good thing?

NO

Answer 43

Charles murray- inadequate norms and values learned.
Morgan- should be incentives for marriage.
Beck and beck gernsheim- risk based society.
Parsons- socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult emotions.

Question 44

Perspectives on gender roles

Answer 44

Functionalism- biological gender roles
Young and wilmott- roles become more equal, families are symmetrical.
Giddens- family become democratised due to confluent love.
Feminism- gender role socialisation.
Postmod- cannot make broad generalisation.

Question 45

Domestic division of labour

Answer 45

British social attitudes survey- park et al- men spent average 8hrs a week doing domestic labour while women spend 13hrs.
Gershunny- 1997 women did 60% household work but gradual increase in men’s contribution.
Dunscombe and marsden- triple shift- paid work, housework, emotional work.
Hakim- if you add up amount of time mena and wen spend doing paid and unpaid work then it’s likely to be fairly similar- if anything men can be considered to work more.

Question 46

Diversity in the division of labour

Answer 46

Social class- man yee khan- middle class women do less housework suggest every £10,000 increase in annual income domestic work reduced by 2 hours.
Ethnicity- berthoud- South Asian families adopt traditional roles.
Sexuality- weeks- found same sex couples negotiated how domestic chores divided.

Question 47

Changes in childhood

Answer 47

Childhood is socially constructed meaning that it is created by society and dependant upon the society in which a person grows up.
Lawrence stone notes children were additional workers but now modern childhood means families have become more child centered in protecting them.
-extension of education
- greater rights for children
- concerns about children
-children as consumers

Question 48

Power between parents and children

Answer 48

The emergence of modern childhood suggests children now have far greater power.
Radford et al conducted survey of 6,000 children for the NSPCC and found 1 in 5 children experienced severe maltreatment.
Sue palmer challenged idea that childhood has become more positive as there emerged toxic childhood in which children had more power so we’re eating too much junk food and spending too much time on devices.

Question 49

Diversity in the childhood experience

Answer 49

Social class-27% children live in poverty. Margot and Dixon found wealthier parents able to spend more money on activities for children.
Gender- boy and girls raised very different, play is gendered (oakley)
Ethnicity- Bhatti found Asian families brought up children more strictly. Barn noted Pakistani and Bangladeshi more likely to be affected by low income and unemployment.

Question 50

Changes in motherhood

Answer 50

Jane Ribbens McCarthy- found women feel not only responsible for their own parenting but also make sure their partner is parenting well.
Shelly Park- attacked the idea of monomaternalism stating many children now have more than one mother whether that be as part of a reconstituted family or a same-sex family.

Question 51

Changes in fatherhood

Answer 51

Father generally spend more time with their children now than their fathers did. Seville found father spend 7x more time. Now 30 mins quality time compared to the 5 mins in 1970.
Gray- found father’s saw their time with their children very positive and didn’t see it as a chore.
Dermott- interviewed 25 father who said they are closer with their children than they were with their fathers.
Possible explanations for changes include higher divorce rates, new concepts of masculinity and changing patterns in male employment.

Question 52

Changes in grandparenting

Answer 52

As result of ageing population, grandparenting has become more important in recent years. Parents are now far more reliant on grandparents to aid in childcare. 5.8 million parents rely on grandparents for childcare.
Statham- 71% women work rely on grandparents in childcare responsibilities.
Ross et al- found grandparents spoke positively about role in childcare + children felt they could confide in their grandparents.
Chambers- grandlarenting was very gendered- grandmothers more likely to be significantly involved with caring for their grandchildren.

Question 53

What is patriarchal terrorism?

Answer 53

Feminists argue men occupy more power in family. They note the dark side of the family where women’s behaviour is controlled.

Question 54

What did Hardill et al find?

Answer 54

Found in middle class couples that women often defer to husbands to make bid decisions.

Question 55

Hakim

Answer 55

Significant differences between men and women in regard to power within the family arguing that around 20% of women were “work centred” where for most women, family is either equally as important or more important than their paid work.