Theories Of Family - Personal Life Perspective Flashcards
Problems pointed out by the personal life perspective
-they assume the nuclear family is a dominant type- families are now diverse
-They are all structural theories that assume that individuals are passive puppets ignoring choices involved in the personal and family relationships
What does smart believe about understanding the family?
In order to understand the family, we must understand the meanings individual family members give to their relationships. We now have new family ties such as same-sex Charles and families were gay or trans. People may not be accepted by their biological families and self form new families made up of people not related to them. She also considers a figurative Ken which across people treated his family, e.g. Mum’s best friend who aren’t biological family.
What does smart argue about donor conceived children
-Smart found that the issue of blood and genes raised a range of feelings
-Some parents emphasise the importance of social relationships or a genetic ones
-Time and effort and more important than the cells that start off
-However difficult feelings arose when someone remarked their children resembled them
- for lesbian couples there were additional problems. Such as ensuring air quality between genetic and non-genetic Mother.
Evaluation of the personal life perspective
+ personal life perspective recognises his choice rather than imposing definitions
+ it recognise his family has its functions-to give us a sense of relatedness
-However it can be seen to be inconclusive. As it fails to appreciate the significance of relationships that are based on blood or marriage.
