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MT2 The Personal Life Perspective on the Family (Criticises previous…
MT2 The Personal Life Perspective on the Family
Criticises previous perspectives
Also criticises Giddens, Beck's postmodern theory of influenced by tradition or norms when they make these decisions
People are not entirely free to decide for themselves how to shape their families, and their family relationships
Criticises Functionalism and Marxism for making generalisations about family life which do not fit the realities of the society we live in today
Their focus on the nuclear family with fixed traditional gender roles does not recognise the complexity of contemporary family life.
Major contribution: The family is not the only significant relationship in people's lives
Their identity or sense of belonging comes from other meaningful relationships
Gay and Lesbian 'chosen families' offer emotional and maybe financial support
Dead relatives may be regarded as part of the family
Pets may be seen as more significant than uncles/aunts
Close friends may be treated as "Fictive Kin"
Subcultures/gangs may be regarded as family
The development of families and relationships is complex
The families and roles people are constructing have an element of individual choice but the choices people are making are constrained by a social context in three ways:
people are embedded in their past experiences or family history
the expectations of the society they currently live in
people are subject to structural factors such as social class, ethnic and gender inequalities
Evaluations
Positive
recognises that people are active in constructing family lives
Criticisms
It takes too broad a definition of the family