Topic 6 - Family Diversity Flashcards
Key features of modernity
Industrialisation, capitalism, ascribed, status, extended families
* Functionalism and the new right
society has fixed structure, that’s predicatable
* nuclear family’s the best family type for society
* It maintains the essential functions for society
What are the key features of postmodernity ?
- Globalisation, Interconnectedness, technology/ media
unstable, unpredicatable and uncertain, achieved status - society is fragmented and there’s an increassed in diversity
- people choose the identities they want for themselves from a wide range of choices - includes their personal relationships and family life
- there’s rapid social change
- societies chaotic and there’s not just one dominant family type
- More risk of instability
Moderism and Postmodernism - functionalism
parsons
what is the functional fit theory?
What is the irreducible function?
Functional fit theory
Nuclear family fits the needs for modern industrial society
Geographically and socially mobile workforce
2 irreducible functions
Primary socialisation of children
Stabilisation of adult personalities
modernism and the nuclear family - functionalism
Whats the main family type?
What does this perform for society?
What other family types seen as and why?
In modern society, the nuclear family is the main family type
It performs essential functions and contributes to the stability and effectiveness of society
Division of labour between husband and wife
Other family types are seen as dysfunctional and abnormal because they cannot perform these functions
New right
What do they think about the best family type?
Best family type = traditional, patriarchal nuclear family, consisting of a married couple and their dependent children
There should be a clear division of labour between husband and wife
They are opposed to family diversity
What are the new right reasons?
Nuclear family is natural
It is based on fundamental differences between men and women
The nuclear family is the cornerstone of society
It is a place of refuge, contentment and harmony
New right
Why are new right critical of lone parent families - argues that they are harmful for children
- Lone mothers cannot discipline and socialise their children adequately
- Boys don’t grow up with an adult male role model = leads to educational failure, delinquency and social instability
- These families are likely to be poorer and are a burden on the welfare state
what did Benson say about cohabitation vs marriage
Couples are more stable when they are married
Marriage requires a commitment to each other
When cohabiting, couples can avoid such commitment and responsibility
What are new right solutions?
Argue that the family and society are broken. They put forward solutions:
Society needs to return to traditional values to avoid social disintegration and damage to children
Government needs to encourage couples to marry, through policies that support marriage, rather than those that enable easy access to divorce
What are A03 Evaluation - New right
- Conventional nuclear family is a cause of gender inequality
- There is no evidence that children from lone-parent families are more likely to become delinquent
- Marriage does not always mean there is greater commitment. It depends on the meaning attached to the relationship by those involved.
What did chester say about the neo-conventional family? and conventional family?
neo-con = dual earner couple, both husband and wife working, nuclear family is still the ideal family
con-nuclear family = division of labour between husband and wife, breadwinner and homemaker
what did chester say about little change to modern families?
Cohabitation is a temporary phase for most couples, they move on to marriage
Divorce has increased but most divorcees remarry = most marriages continue until death.
Most people live in a household headed by a married couple
what did chester say about life cycles?
- What kind of theory is it?
- A03?
- deterministic theory
- life cycle may look like lone parent family –> living alone/freinds –> cohabiting couple –> nuclear family –> elderly widow
- A03 = People may choose to remain single, it isn’t a universal experience
The Rapoports
What do they argue?
what kind of society is it?
What do they get from this?
- Argue that we have moved away from the traditional nuclear family, to a range of family types
- Pluralistic society – diverse cultures and lifestyles
- Greater freedom of choice and acceptance of different ways of life
The rapoports
What are the 5 types of diversity?
1.** Organisational** - differences in how family roles are organised
2. Cultural - different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures
3. social class - differences in family structure are due to income differences
4. Life stage - family structures differ according to the stage reached in the life cycle
5. Generational - older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences
What are the 5 examples for the types of diversity?
- organisational
- cultural
- social class
- life stage
- generational
- segregated gender roles and joint conjugal roles
- lone parent, co-parent , nuclear ( any type of family )
- Nuclear family vs low parent family
- fertile window, if you have kids at 21, you have a longer time to have kids rather than at 43.
- Older gen. = husband working, woman = expressive role, New Gen
post modernism and family diversity
what are the key characteristics of post modern society?
What impacts does this have on families?
- unpredictable
- chaotic
- diversity
- fragmented
- rapid social change
- increased use of mass media
- globalisation
Family structures have become fragmented
Individuals have more choice and freedom in their relationships
There is greater risk of instability of relationships
Stacey - postmodern families
Key feature of it? What does it enable and shape?
Key feature - greater choice, freedom and individual
- enabled women to free themselbes of patriarchal oppression
- they can shape their family arrangement to suit their needs
stacey postmodern families
What does research method =
What are the 4 points to it?
Research method = life history interviews
Women were the main agents of change in the family
These women rejected their ‘traditional role’
They had returned to work/education, improved their job prospects, divorced and re-married
Created new family types to suit their needs
Stacey - Postmodern families
What do they say about ‘divorced extended family?
- Members are connected through divorce, rather than marriage
- Includes former in-laws, a man’s ex-wife and his new partner
- Postmodern families are diverse and their structure is dependent on their needs and how they want to live their lives
Giddens and Beck - Individualisation thesis
4 points about this
- Explore the effects of increasing individual choice on families
- CAGE has lost its influence on individuals
- We no longer take up the ‘fixed roles’ that society had once dictated to us
- We have become disembedded/disconnected/detachedfrom traditional roles and we now choose how to lead our lives
What does the 2011 consensus show ? ( criticism of diversity overall)
86.1% of the UK is white
13.9% ethnic minorities
→ 7.5% Aisan/British Asian
→ 3.3% Black
→ 2.2% mixed/multiple
