Family - Family Diversity - 2.7 Flashcards
Modernism & Nuclear Families (Key Studies)
> Parsons (Functional Fit)
> New Right (View on Family Diversity)
> Benson’s (New Right view on Cohabitation & Lone Parent Families)
> Chester (Neo-Conventional Family & Life Cycle)
> Rapoport (5 Types of Family Diveristy)
Parsons (Functional Fit)
> Conventional nuclear family with biologically biased gendered division of labour
> Suited to industrial society & family members.
> Alternative family types are dysfunctional as they can’t perform necessary functions
New Right (View on Family Diversity)
> Opposed to family diversity, share functionalist view that the nuclear family is the only right family, but undermined by divorce laws etc
> Alternatives to the nuclear family (such as lone parents) are unnatural, the value of marriage needs reemphasising e.g. the benefits for married couples
Benson’s (New Right view on Cohabitation and Lone Parent Families)
> Found that over the first three years of a baby’s life, the rate of family breakdown was much higher in cohabiting couples compared to people who were married.
A03 New Right (Key Study)
> Oakley (Gender Roles)
Oakley (Gender Roles) A03 New Right (Key Study)
> Gender roles are not natural but socially constructed, opposing diversity and justifying patriarchy, oppression & inequality
General Criticisms of New Right views on Diversity
> No proof that children from lone parent families are more likely to be delinquent than those in nuclear families.
> People may be cohabiting due to poverty or not wanting to marry at all.
Chester - The neo-conventional family and family life cycle
> Despite increased diversity, nuclear families still are dominant, main change has been from the nuclear family to the neo-conventional family
> The nuclear family is still seen as the norm that most people desire e.g. most people marry/have children & divorcees remarry
> Household statistics are misleading don’t look at how we spend most of our lives in a nuclear family
> Cohabitation has increased but for most it is a temporary phase, the extent of family diversity has been exaggerated
The Rapoports’ view on family diversity
> Families in Britain have adapted to a pluralist society where cultures and lifestyles are more diverse. Family diversity reflects greater freedom of choice, and the widespread acceptance of different cultures and ways of life in today’s society.
Rapoports 5 Types of Family Diversity
> Organisational
> Cultural
> Social Class
> Life Stages
> Generational
Organisational Diversity
> Differences in organisation of family roles e.g. some have joint conjugal roles and some have segregated roles
Cultural Diversity
> Different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures.
e.g. Black families have more lone parents, Asian families have greater ties with extended families
Social Class Diversity
> Differences in family structure are the result of income differences between household and social classes.
Life Stages Diversity
> Differences in organisation based on stage in life cycle
> e.g. Young couples with children compared with one person pensioner households.
Generational Diversity
> Older & younger generation have different views & experiences based on period they’ve lived
> e.g. different views on same sex couples and divorce.
