The Postmodern Perspective on The Family

Question 1

The Postmodern Perspective on The Family

Answer 1

Postmodernists argue that recent social changes such as increasing social fragmentation and diversity have made family more a matter of personal choice and as a result families have become more unstable and more diverse.

Question 2

Two social changes associated with postmodernity are of particular interest when considering effects on the family

Answer 2

Diversity and fragmentation – Society is increasingly fragmented, with a broad diversity of subcultures rather than one shared culture.

Rapid social change – New technology such as the internet, email and electronic communication have transformed our lives by dissolving barriers of time and space
As a result of these social changes, family life has become very diverse and there is no longer one dominant family type (such as the nuclear family). This means that it is no longer possible to make generalisations about society in the same way that modernist theorists such as Parsons or Marx did in the past.

Question 3

Criticisms of Postmodern Views on the Family

Answer 3

Late-Modernists such as Anthony Giddens suggest that even though people have more freedom, there is a still a structure which shapes people’s decisions
Contemporary Feminists disagree with Postmodernism, pointing out that in most cases traditional gender roles which disadvantage women remain the norm.