Changing Patterns and Family Diversity
Divorce
40% of marriages now end in divorce - six times than 50 years ago
Legal changes
In the 20th, legal changes made divorce easier
Less stigma
In the past, divorce was stigmatised. Since the 1960s the stigma has declined rapidly
However, social factors may be more important than legal ones
Made divorce more acceptable. So stigma was reduced
Secularisation
Decline in the influence of religion on society
This means churches' opposition to divorce carries less weight
Higher expectations of marriage
Higher expectations of marriage are leading to higher divorce rates. Marriage is now based purely in love, not on economic factors
Functionalists argue that the high rate of re-marriage shows divorcees haven't rejected marriage as such
However, Feminists argue that functionalists fail to explain why it's mainly women who seek divorce
Women's financial independence
More women are now in paid work and this makes them less economically dependent on their husbands
Feminist explanations
Women becoming wage-earners creates a new source of marital conflict
At home women are expected to perform a triple shift
The awareness of patriarchal oppression at hme may result in divorce
Modernity and individualisation
In late modernity traditional norms lose their hold
Individuals become free to pursue their own self-interest. This resuls in more divorce
Modernity encourages both sexes to pursue their career ambitions and adopt a free market
Partnerships
Marriage
There are fewer first marriages
CHANGING ATTITUDES
ALTERNATIVES
WOMEN'S ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
IMPACT OF FEMINISM
RISING DIVORCE RATES
More re-marriages/ later marriages/ fewer church weddings
COHABITATION. More people do it because they don't need the financial security of marriage
Trial marriage
An alternative to marriage
Gay marriage and same-sex relationships
There's now greater acceptance towards legal equality and policies treating all couples equally
Parenting
Lone-parent families
Numbers have tripled since the 1970s, due to increased divorce and decline in stigma of births outside marriage
However, the New Right blame welfare benefits for creating perverse incentives
However, this families are poor because fathers don't pay maintenace
Stepfamilies. Increasing due to the divorce and re-marriage. They are at a higher risk of poverty because they have more children
Ethnic differences
More black lone parents than white or Asian
Black women values independence more highly
Larger Asian households
Due to the cultural importance of the extended family and need for support when migrating
The extended family today
Functionalists argue that in modern society the nuclear family replaces the extended family
The "beanpole family" is extended through three generations. It's the result of increased life expectancy and smaller family sizes
Obligations to relatives
Many people still feel obligation to the wider extended kin
The extended family continues to perform important functions (financial and domestic help)
This is a very different version of Parson's classic extended family
Perspectives on family diversity
Modernism -Functionalism and New Right
Functionalism
PARSONS - sees the conventional nuclear family, with a division of labor based on biological differences, as uniquely suited to the needs of modern industrial society and of family members
New Right
It takes a conservative view of the family and opposes diversity
Sees the conventional nuclear family as the only "natural" one
Other family types as seen as unnatural and producing social problems (delinquency)
HOWEVER Feminists argue that gender roles are social constructs. They say the New Right justifies patriarchal oppression
Chester: the neo-conventional family
Neo-conventional family: both spouses work - dual earners
Cycle - Many of those not currently in a nuclear family either have been or will be
The Rapoports: 5 types of diversity
Against Chester. They see diversity as central to the family today and not an abnormal thing. Diversity meets people's needs
- ORGANISATIONAL - joint or segregated conjugal roles. Differences in the ways roles are organised
- CULTURAL - ethnic groups have different family structures. More Afro-Caribbean single moms / More Indian extended families
- CLASS - differences in family structures are the result of income differences
- LIFE CYCLE - structures differ from according to the stage in life
- GENERATIONAL - generations have different attitudes and experiences
Postmodernism and family diversity
High levels of family diversity come from greater individualism and choice
The individualisation thesis PLP
Today, the patriarchal family has been undermined by individualism. It has left us free choice of how we lead our lives
GIDDENS- argues that family and marriage have been transformed in recent decades due to greater choice and more equality between men and women
BECK - THE NEGOTIATED FAMILY. More emphasis on the needs of individuals, rather than those of the family, and individuals are free to leave if these aren't met
The conectedness thesis PLP
SMART proposes the conectedness theory as an alternative
Traditional patriarchal norms and structural inequalities still limit people's choices about relationships, identities and families
We aren't disembeded individuals. We make decisions about relationships within a social context
Parents who divorce remain linked by their children, often against their wishes
Other family types are dysfunctional
Lone mothers can't discipline their children properly
No male role models
More likely to be poor and be a burden to the welfare state and taxpayers
New Right claim that the cause of lone parent families is the collapse between cohabiting couples
BENSON - Marriage is more stable because it requires commitment, cohabiting allows thme to avoid commitment and responsibility
Wrongly assume that roles are fixed by biology
Most adults marry and have children. Even after divorces people remarry
Most people live or have lived in a household headed by a married couple
Like functionalists, he sees the nuclear family as dominant. However, he sees a shift to a neo conventional type
In postmodern society there no longer is a single structure (nuclear family)
Instead, family structures have become fragmented into different types and individuals now have more choice
Postmodernists argue that society has entered a chaotic, new, postmodern age
Advantages: Individuals have greater freedom to choose the kind of family and relationships that meet their needs
Disadvantages: More fredom of choice means greater risk of instability
STACEY - Postmodern families
Greater freedom and choice has benefitted women. It has made them able to free themselves from patriarchy and shape the family to their own needs
Interviews in Silicon Valley. Stacey found that women rather than men were agents of change in the family
Postmodernists argue against them saying that it is impossible to try make large-scale generalisations about the family
Class, gender and family have lost their influence on us
Contraception has allowed sex and intimacy rather than making reproduction the main reason of a relationship
Feminism has allowed women to gain independence
Pure relationship - Relationships nowadays are based on individual choice and equality, not traditional institutions
Relationships are no longer bound by traditional norms
Couples stay together beause of love and attraction rather than for the sake of the children or tradition
Giddens sees same sex relationships as leading the way towards new kinds of families and more equal relationships
Couples developed on choice rather than on traditional roles
The patriarchal family has been undermined by 2 factors
GREATER GENDER EQUALITY, because women now expect equality in marriage
GREATER INDIVIDUALISM, people's actions are influenced by calculations of self interest
CRITICISMS - Exaggerates how much choice people have about family relationships today. -Ignores social class and ethnicity -Wrongly sees people as "free-floating individuals", ignores the fact that decisions are made on a social context
Where lives have become embedded, it becomes impossible for relationships o simply end
MAY argues that structures aren't dissapearing, they're being re-shaped