Topic 3 Family diversity Flashcards
1
Q
give 10 family types examples
A
- nuclear family
- living apart
- lone parent
- same sex
- creative single hood
- beanpole family
- donor conceived
- extended
- cohabitation
- reconstituted
2
Q
What is family diversity?
A
- the idea that there is a range of different family types
- it is associated with the postmodernist idea that in today’s society, increasing choice about relationships is creating greater family diversity
‘diversity and choice = post modernism’
3
Q
What is the new right view on family diversity?
A
- they firmly oppose family diversity and see the nuclear family as the only acceptable family type, as it is natural
- Family diversity creates social problems (higher crime rates and education failure)
- they disapprove of women doing paid work (must be carers)
4
Q
Do the new right accept working women?
A
- They disapprove of women doing paid work
- They believe women should make caring for their family their priority
5
Q
Do the new right believe society is broken?
A
They argue the family and subsequently society is broken - they want to return to ‘traditional values’ including the value of marriage to prevent damage to children
6
Q
What is the new right view on cohabitation?
A
- they believe cohabitation creates family instability as it makes it easier for adults to avoid commitment and responsibility
which has a negative effect on children
7
Q
What is the new right view on taxation and benefits?
A
- they believe benefits are a perverse incentive (and reward people for doing bad things and punish responsible people)
- they oppose to high levels of taxation that are spent on welfare benefits as they encourage dependency culture
- benefits undermine the tradition family by discouraging men from working to support their families
8
Q
What is the new right view on single parent families?
A
- they are unnatural and harmful
- lone parent mothers cannot discipline their children properly
- they are a burden on the welfare state (benefits)
- they leave males without a male role model to discipline them leading to criminality and education failure
- believe single parent families are passed on in generations
9
Q
What do new right believe about roles within the family?
A
New right have a similar view to functionalists of having instrumental and expressive roles.
Man is the breadwinner and the woman is the home maker.
10
Q
What is Chester’s view on family diversity?
A
- changes in family types are minor
- basic features of family life have stayed the same since WW2
- He also argues that we are all in a nuclear family at some point and a snapshot of household types does not provide a valid picture of society
- life cycles make it inevitable that some people will not be a member of the nuclear family
- however he does recognise some change, that the male is no longer the sole breadwinner
- believes family are no longer conventional, they are neo-conventional
11
Q
What is Chester’s view on cohabitation?
A
- Chester believes cohabitation is a step for marriage
- it’s a temporary stage before marriage
- ‘try before you buy’
12
Q
What is Chester’s neo-conventional family?
A
- a dual earner family
- chester recognised that men are no longer the sole breadwinner
13
Q
What reasons does Chester give that oppose family diversity?
A
- everyone experiences the nuclear family
- people are still marrying
14
Q
What are the Rappoports 5 types of family diversity?
A
- Organisational
- Cultural
- Social class
- Life-stage diversity
- Generational
15
Q
What is the Post-modernist view on family diversity?
A
- Families have become more diverse because there is greater diversity and choice in society
16
Q
What did Judith Stacey (1998) discover in her study on women?
A
- many of the own she interviewed rejected the traditional housewife-mother role.
- they had worked, returned to education as adults, improve their job prospects, divorced and re-married.
- these women created new family types that better suited their needs
- 7 out of 10 divorces are initiated by a woman
17
Q
What does Judith Stacey (1998) argue?
A
- She argues that grater choice has empowered own and enabled them to free themselves from the patriarchal oppression that existed.
- Women are able to shape their family arrangements to meet their needs
18
Q
Why have women got more power in a postmodern society?
A
- more freedom of choice
- stigmas are changing to accept women’s choice
- legalisation is giving women more freedom
- women have more power within the family don’t feel obliged to stay in a relationship
- work gives them economic independence
19
Q
What is the divorce-extended family?
A
- a family type created by women when they were given choice and freedom
- members are connected by divorce rather than marriage
20
Q
what is the power of structures?
A
- may argues that structures such as class and gender are not disappearing they are simply being re-structured
- for example, while women have gained rights in voting, they do not have it all.
They are still expected to be heterosexual
21
Q
What do functionalists see the nuclear family as the best type?
A
- it helps to maintain the structure of society by carrying out particular functions
22
Q
According to functionalists, what are the two functions the nuclear family carries out?
A
- primary socialisation of children
- stabilisation of adult personalities (warm bath)
23
Q
What are the features of a modern society?
(beginning stage)
A
- nuclear family
- structured
- identity is fixed by class, gender, social norms
- fixed life chances
- industrial revolution
- meta-narratives tell big stories of the world
24
Q
What is involved with globalisation? What happened during it?
A
- technology
- trade
- travel (migration)
- companies having more power than one country
- global networks
- geographically mobile
25
What does Weeks discuss about the attitudes towards family diversity?
- there has been a shift in attitudes since the 1950s
- sexual mortality has became a matter of personal choice
- the church and state have lost their power to influence morality
- growing acceptance of family diversity
- attitudes are more favourable towards cohabitation and homosexuality
26
How has secularisation impacted the family?
- less religion allows for cohabitation, same sex relationships and divorce as they're no longer seen as a sin as people have become less religious
27
How many divorces are initiated by a woman?
7 out of 10
28
What does the individualisation thesis argue about family diversity?
- The individualisation thesis argues that traditional structures such as class gender and family have lost their influence over us
- individuals today have fewer certainties or fixed role to follow
29
What does Giddens argue about pure relationships?
- they exists solely to meet each partner's needs where couples stay together because of love and happiness rather than a sense of duty
- more choice leads to unstable personal relationships
30
According to Giddens, why have pure relationships formed?
- contraception has allowed for sex and intimacy rather than reproduction to become the main reason for the relationships' existence - he calls this plastic sexuality
- women have gained independence as a result of feminists and greater opportunities in education and work
31
How can Giddens theory be evaluated using Chester?
Chester argues that changes in the family have only been minor and the nuclear family is still dominant and there hasn't been a transformation
32
What does Beck argue about the risk society?
He argues we now live in a risk society where tradition has less influence and people have more choice. As a result, we're more aware of our risks, because making choices involves calculating the risks and rewards of the different courses of action
33
According to Beck, how has the patriarchal family been undermined?
Patriarchal family has been undermined by
- greater gender equality - challenged male domination in all spheres of life
- greater individualism - people's actions are influenced more by calculations of their own self-interest rather than an obligation to others (selfishness)
34
According to Beck, what is the negotiated family?
a family that varies according to the wishes and expectation of its members. There is more equality but less stability
35
Why does Beck describe the family as 'zombie category'?
it appears to be alive but in reality it is dead, people want it to be a haven of security in an insecure world, but today's family cannot provide this because of its own instability, so relationships are likely to break down
36
What is the connectedness thesis?
- Smart argues we are social beings whose choices are always made within a web of connectedness
- We live within networks of existing relationships and interwoven personal histories, and these strongly influence our range of options and choices in relationships
