Families and Households - Postmodernity

Question 1

‘incredulity towards metanarratives’
(lack of faith in how how society should be run/ how people should live e.g traditional views such as marriage and politics)
- increased diversity, choice and fragmentation in social life
- people have ability to choose from vast array of lifestyles and identities, do not have to conform
- society changes rapidly as new technology and improved communications/ media saturated society lead to globalisation of social life

Answer 1

Lyotard

Question 2

postmodern families are ‘diverse, fluid and unresolved’
- varied structure
- constantly changing
- not set structure that is regarded as the ideal
e.g gay relationships cannot model themselves into the heterosexual nuclear family

Answer 2

Judith Stacey

Question 3

A03 of Judith Stacey

Answer 3

• research based on very small sample size of families
• exaggerated degree of fluidity by picking atypical examples
• underestimating continuing appeal of nuclear family