family diversity - is good Flashcards
(18 cards)
Who argues that family diversity IS a good thing?
- Postmodernism (Stacey)
- Individualisation Thesis (Giddens & Beck)
- Beck’s ‘negotiated family’
- Connectedness Thesis (Smart)
What did Stacey argue had increased diversity of family types in the postmodernist explanation that family diversity IS a good thing?
Changes in the positions of women, as women have been the main agent of change in the family: rejecting the traditional stay-at-home role thus creating new types of family better suited to them
What is the new family type that Stacey identified which was created due to changing positions of women?
‘divorce-extended’ family - members connected by divorce rather than marriage (normally female and former in-laws)
What do ‘divorce-extended’ families illustrate about postmodern families?
That they are diverse and their shape depends on active choices people make about how they live their lives (to divorce, cohabitate, come out as gay)
What does Morgan argue about trying to make generalisations in the postmodernist argument that family diversity is good?
It’s pointless trying to make generalisations about the family, family is whatever an individual chooses to call their family. Which can be explored through the life course analysis
While not agreeing that we are in a postmodernist society what ideas do Giddens and Beck agree with about how society has changed, in the Individualisation Thesis?
That there has been effects of increased choice on personal relationships
What does the Individualisation Thesis argue about the past?
People’s lives were dictated by roles or social structures (class, gender, ethnicity), which prevented people from choosing their own life course. People were expected to marry and take up appropriate gender role.
What does the Individualisation Thesis argue about the present?
Today, people aren’t expected to follow roles, we have therefore become ‘disembedded’ from traditional roles, leaving us with freedom to choose a lifestyle.
What does Beck say about the ‘standard biography’/lifecourse?
It’s been replaced with a ‘do it yourself biography’ which individuals construct themselves.
What is an evaluation of the Individualisation thesis?
May - Class, gender and ethnicity have not disappeared, just because women have gained the right to vote, divorce, education doesn’t mean they ‘have it all’
What is the main principle of Beck’s “Negotiated family”?
Role and expectations of each family member varies depending on the needs of each individual family, thus a persons role is a ‘negotiation’ between themselves and the needs of the family
What are real life examples of Beck’s “Negotiated family”?
- teenager being a career for disabled parent
- role of father changing after divorce
What does Beck’s “Negotiated family” suggest about expectations from other family members?
There is more freedom in family life and more uncertainty in what’s expected from parents and other family members
What is an evaluation of Beck’s “Negotiated family”?
New Right - negotiated family is negative as it works against the traditional nuclear family
What does Smart propose in the Connectedness thesis?
An alternative thesis, instead of seeing us as disembedded with limitless choice, we are social beings whose choices are made ‘within a web of connectedness’
What does the Connectedness Thesis argue about our networks?
We live in networks of existing relationships and interwoven personal histories, and these strongly influence our range of options and choices in relationships
What is an example of how are networks influence our range of options and choices in relationships?
same sex relationships are similar to heterosexual ones due to increased acceptance
What is an evaluation of Beck’s “Negotiated family”?
After divorce, gender norms dictate that women should take care of the children so men are freer to start new relationship/family. Men also are better paid so again have more freedom and choice
