Topic 1 (Part 2 - Family diversity) Flashcards
What are the two modernist approaches?
1.) Functionalism
2.) The New Right
1.) Functionalism
-According to Parsons, there is a ‘functional fit’ between the nuclear family + modern society.
-In the functionalist view, therefore, because of the family’s ability to perform these essential functions, we can generalise abt the types of family we find in modern society.
-Hence, other family types can be considered as dysfunctional, since they’re less able to perform the functions required for the family.
2.) The New Right
-Believed the trad nuclear family is the only correct family type as or is as natural and biological.
-Argue that the decline of the traditional nuclear family + the growth of family diversity are the cause of many social problems.
-See L.P.F as harmful to children bc: ▪️Lone mothers cannot discipline their children properly.
▪️Lone-parent families leave bouts with out a male role model —> ed failure, delinquency + social instability.
▪️Such families are also likely to be poorer + thus a burden on the welfare state.
2.) The New Right; Cohabitation versus marriage
-The NR claim the main cause of L.P.F is the collapse of relationships between cohabiting couples.
-Benson (2010; 2011) argues marriage is more stable than cohabitation - less divorces than break ups.
-Argues it’s more stable bc it requires a deliberate commitment to each other, whereas cohabitation allows partners to avoid commitment + responsibility.
-Argue that only a return to ‘trad values’, can prevent social disintegration + damage to children.
Criticisms of the NR
❌ 0 evidence you suggest children in L.P.F are more likely to be delinquent.
❌ Cohabitation is high among poorer social groups. Smart argues it may be poverty that causes the breakdown of marriages.
❌ Cross-cultural studies show great variation in the roles men + women perform within the family.
Chester: the neo-conventional family
-Chester argues the only relevant change is a move from the dominance of the trad/conventional family to the ‘neo-conventional family’
-Chester defines the neo-conventional family as a dual-earner family in which both spouses go out to work.
-Although many ppl are not part of a nuclear family at any one time, Chester argues that this is largely due to the life cycle.
-Many of the ppl who are currently living in a one-person household, such as elderly widows, divorced men or cohabitants, were either part of a nuclear family in the past/ will be in the future.
-See the stats as a snapshot in time (F + NR are over exaggerating).
Evidence to back Chester’s view that little has changed
-Most ppl live in a household headed by a married couple.
-Most adults marry + have children.
-Most marriages continue till death.
-Cohabitation as ^ but for most it’s a trial.
The Rapoports: 5 types of family diversity
-Believe we have moved away from the trad nuclear family as the dominant family type.
-Families in Britain have adapted to a pluralistic society (cultural + lifestyle diversity).
-See diversity as a positive response to people’s different needs + wishes.
What are the 5 types of family diversity according to the Rapoports?
1.) Organisational diversity; differences in the ways family roles are organised.
2.) Cultural diversity; Different cultural, religious + ethnic groups have different family structures.
3.) Social class diversity; Differences in family structure are partly the result of income differences between households of different social classes.
4.) Life-style diversity; Family structures differ according to the stage reached in the life cycle.
5.) Generational diversity; Older + younger generations have different attitudes + experiences that the reflect the historical periods in which they have lived.
Postmodernism + family diversity
-PM such as Cheal start from the view that we no longer live in ‘modern’ society with it’s predictable, orderly structures (The nuclear family).
-In PM society, there is no longer one single, dominant, stable fam structure.
What are the two key characteristics of postmodern society?
1.) Diversity + fragmentation; -Society today is ^ fragmented, with an ever greater diversity of cultures + lifestyles.
-People can ‘pick n mix’, creating their identities + lifestyles from a wide range of choices.
2.) Rapid social change; New tech have dissolved old barriers of time + space, transformed our patterns of work + leisure, and accelerated the pace of change, making life less predictable.
-Family life is therefore less stable, but at the same time it gives indv’s more choice about their personal relationships.
Stacey: postmodern families
-Stacey (1998) argues that greater freedom + choice has benefited women (enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal opp + to shape their family arrangements to meet their needs.)
-Found that women rather than men have been the main agents of changes in the family.
-For example, many of the women interviewed had rejected the trad housewife-mother role. They had worked, returned to ed as adults, improved their job prospects, divorced + re-married (new types of fam to match their needs).
-For example, Stacey describes (Pam created a divorce-extended family. Pam married young, then divorced + cohabitated for several years before re-marrying.)
-By the time the children from Pam’s 1st marriage were in their 20’s, she had formed a divorce-extended family W the women cohabiting W her first husband (helped each other financially + domestically).
-Illustrates the idea that PM families are diverse + that their shape depends on the active choices people make about how to live their lives.
