diversity

Question 1

what does new right claim is the main cause of lone parent families

Answer 1

collapse of relationships between cohabiting couples

Question 2

Benson

Answer 2

Over first 3 years, rate of family breakdown was much higher among cohabiting couples
Marriage is more stable because it requires deliberate commitment to each other
Cohabitation allows partners to avoid commitment and responsibility

Question 3

New right thinkers and conservative politicians

Answer 3

Only a return to traditional values can prevent social disintegration and damage to children
Regard laws and policies as undermining conventional family
Government needs to encourage couples to marry by means of policies that support marriage

Question 4

Oakley evaluation of cohabitation vs marriage

Answer 4

Wrong assume that husbands and wives roles are fixed by biology
Cross cultural studies show evidence in the roles they perform within the family
Negative reaction against feminist campaign

Question 5

feminists evaluation of cohabitation vs marriage

Answer 5

Conventional nuclear family based on patriarchal oppression of women
Fundamental cause of gender inequality

Question 6

Smart evaluation of cohabitation vs marriage

Answer 6

May be poverty that causes breakdown of relationship

Question 7

Chester - neoconventional family

Answer 7

Some increased family diversity in recent years
Doesn’t regard this as significant
Only important change is move from dominance of traditional or conventional nuclear to neo conventional nuclear family
Neo conventional family - dual earner family in which both spouses go out to work
Doesn’t see any other evidence of major change
Most people aren’t choosing to live in alternatives to nuclear family
Although many people aren’t part of nuclear family at any one time, its due to life cycle

Question 8

Rapoports

Answer 8

Diversity is central importance in understanding family life today
Believe we have moved away from traditional nuclear family as dominant family type to range of different types
Families in Britain have adapted to pluralistic society
Family diversity reflects greater freedom of choice and widespread acceptance of different cultures and ways of life in todays society
See diversity as positive response to peoples different needs and wishes

Question 9

Rapoports - 5 types of family diversity

Answer 9

organisational diversity, cultural diversity, social class diversity, life stage diversity, generational diversity

Question 10

organisational diversity (Rapoports)

Answer 10

Differences in the ways family roles are organised

Question 11

cultural diversity (Rapoports)

Answer 11

Different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures

Question 12

social class diversity (Rapoports)

Answer 12

Differences in family structures are partly result of income differences between households of different social classes

Question 13

life stage diversity (Rapoports)

Answer 13

Family structures differ according to stage reached in life cycle

Question 14

generational diversity (Rapoports)

Answer 14

Older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences that reflect historical periods in which they have lived

Question 15

Since late 20th century, society has entered new postmodern phrase, with 2 key characteristics

Answer 15

rapid social change and diversity and fragmentation

Question 16

rapid social change - postmodernism

Answer 16

Transformed our patterns of work and leisure
Accelerated pace of change
Makes life less predictable

Question 17

diversity and fragmentation - postmodernism

Answer 17

Society is increasingly fragmented with ever greater diversity of culture of lifestyles
More a collection of subcultures

Question 18

society has entered a new, chaotic postmodern stage

Answer 18

No longer one single dominant stable family structure
Family structures have become fragmented into many different types
Individuals have much more choice

Question 19

Stacey - postmodernism

Answer 19

Greater freedom and choice has benefited women
Enables women to free themselves from patriarchal oppression and shape their family arrangements to meet their needs
Found women have been main agents of change in the family
Divorce extended family

Question 20

what is divorce extended family according to Stacey

Answer 20

members are connected by divorce rather than marriage

Question 21

Morgan - postmodernism

Answer 21

Pointless trying to make large scale generalisations about family as if it was a single thing
Family is simply whatever arrangement those involved choose to call family

Question 22

individualisation thesis - Giddens & Beck

Answer 22

Influenced by postmodernist ideas about todays society
Explore effects of increasing individual choice upon families and relationships
Argues traditional social structures have lost much influence over us
In the past, peoples lives were defined by fixed roles that largely prevented them from choosing own life course
Individuals in todays society have fewer certainties or fixed roles to follow
Therefore, we have become freed or disembedded from traditional roles and structures, leaving us with more freedom to choose how we lead our lives

Question 23

Giddens - choice & equality

Answer 23

In recent decades, family and marriage have been transformed by greater choice and more equal relationship between men and women
Transformation has occurred
Basis of marriage and family has changed
In the past, traditional family relationships were held together by external forces
Today, couples are free to define relationship themselves, rather than simply acting out roles that have been defined in advance by law or tradition

Question 24

how has transformation occurred, according to Giddens

Answer 24

Contraception has allowed sex and intimacy rather than reproduction to become main reason for relationships existence
Women have gained independence as result of feminism and greater opportunities of education and work

Question 25

pure relationship

Answer 25

intimate relationships are based on choice and equality
Typical of todays late modern society, in which relationships are no longer bound by traditional norms
Couples stay together because of love, happiness or sexual attraction
Individuals are free to choose to enter and to leave relationships as they see fit
However, personal relationships inevitably become less stable, producing greater family diversity

Question 26

same sex couples as pioneers

Answer 26

Leading the way towards new family types and creating more democratic and equal relationships
Same sex relationships aren’t influenced by tradition to the extent heterosexual relationships are
Same sex couples have been able to develop relationships based on choice
Enabled those in same sex relationships to negotiate personal relationships and actively create family structures that serve their own needs

Question 27

Beck - negotiated family

Answer 27

Now live in a ‘risk society’ where tradition has less influence and people have more choice
more aware of risks because making choices involves calculating risks and rewards of different options
Contrasts with earlier time when peoples roles were more fixed by tradition and rigid social norms dictated how they should behave
Patriarchal family has been undermined by 2 trends
Don’t conform to traditional family norm but vary according to wishes and expectations of members
Less stable leading to greater family diversity
Zombie family

Question 28

patriarchal family has been undermined by 2 trends (Beck - negotiated family)

Answer 28

greater gender equality - challenged male domination and women now expect equality at work and in marriage
greater individualism - peoples actions are influenced more by calculations by own self interest

Question 29

zombie family - Beck

Answer 29

Family relationships now have greater risk and uncertainty than ever before
It appears to be alive, but in reality its dead
People want a haven of security in an insecure world, but todays family can’t provide it because of its own instability

Question 30

Smart & May (personal life perspective)

Answer 30

Now more family diversity
Criticise individualisation thesis

Question 31

evaluation of individualisation thesis

Answer 31

Exaggerates how much choice people have about family relationships today
Wrongly sees people as disembedded, independent individuals - ignores that our decision and choices about personal relationships are made within social context
ignores importance of structural factors

Question 32

Budgeon - evaluation of individualisation thesis

Answer 32

Reflects neoliberal ideology that individuals today have complete freedom of choice
Traditional norms limit personal relationship choices haven’t weakened as much as the thesis claims

Question 33

connectedness thesis - Smart (personal life perspective)

Answer 33

Fundamentally 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 range of options and choices in relationships
Emphasises importance of always putting individuals in context of their past and web of relationships that shape choices and family patterns