Sociologists for Family Diversity Flashcards
Smart and May
They believe family diversity is happening
They believe your ‘personal life’ is more neutral and flexible because it goes beyond the idea of marriage and biological kin to include newer types of relationships where people commit to each other but can live apart or have an open relationship/friendship
Rapaport and Rapaport (husband and wife)
Feminist
They believe family diversity is happening.
People are moving away from the traditional nuclear family to create different family forms.
They express a widespread of acceptance of diversity and greater freedom of choice
What are Rapaport and Rapaport 5 types of family diversity?
Organisational: organise the family differently (work/household chores)
Cultural: differences with people of different ethnic backgrounds
Social Class: being born in a different social class background would result in children being raised in different ways. (families having different income)
Life stage: depending on what stage in life you are effects family diversity
Generational diversity: older and younger generations have different views
Individualisation Thesis
The choice to choose what relationship you want to have.
Traditional roles are lost.
In the past people had duties and obligations that they had to follow. They had to do what people told them to do and follow the traditional views.
Now there is individualisation-people can decide for themselves how they want to live their lives - this allows them to make their own DIY biography where they are creating their own diversity.
Disembed people to be free and act the way they want and do what they want
Family diversity is happening and it is giving people freedom of choice
Giddens
Family diversity is happening.
There is more equality between men and women (invention of contraception - giving women the right to choose whether to have a child or not)(women are getting more rights)
As a result relationships between men and women are becoming pure (Pure Relationship) because they can decide on how they want t live theirs live.
Beck
Family diversity is happening.
People (society) have less influence and people (individuals) have more choice.
There is greater gender society.
There is more of a risk society- this is when things that were stable in the past (relationships) are not stable anymore.
Zombie families (metaphor) - they are alive but they could easily die
Families are more equal but they are in danger because people in those relationships are able to leave
Stacey
Postmodern Feminist
She believes that family diversity is happening.
Patriarchal oppression - ruled by men is becoming limited and constricted.
Women have many reasons
Gender quality is allowing women to make choices and decisions
They divorce extended family - have a divorce - become lone parents - but still want the ability to contact the grandparents/in laws
Criticism: sociologists are making it complicated (Morgan)
Weeks
Family diversity is happening.
There is sexual morality.
The growing acceptance of cohabitation and same sex relationships
It is not shameful anymore
There has been a long time shift since the 1950’s - the church has lost its power and influence on people (Secularisation)
Chester
Believe family diversity is not happening. (Neutral)
Doesn’t find it significant
The only change is that families are going from confential (ordinary) to a neo-confential (new ordinary) family.
There are more dual earner families where both adults work and have no children.
He believes the only change is that women have gone to work
New Right
They are against family diversity but it is happening anyway.
They only think that there is one normal and natural type of family and that is the nuclear family- where there are biological differences between the man and the woman and where they can naturally produce.
They believe family diversity is causing social problems like: divorce, women working, equality, same sex marriage, traditionalists etc
They believe that line parents families are the worst type of families because there is no male role model - this would create problems for the kids (social problems)
They believe that woman can’t bring up their own children - they are very narrow minded and believe that this would bring a bearded in the child
Murdock
Male, functionalists
Defined the traditional nuclear family and said the family is universal. He also said the family has 4 main functions - reproductive, sexual, educational and economic
