SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES AND THE FAMILY



SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES AND FAMILY VARIETY

Sociologists have differed in their responses to the breakdown of the traditional ‘nuclear’ family and the emergence of a variety of different family types.

They can be divided into 2 broad ‘sides’ when looking at these changes -

▪ MODERNISTS

▪ POSTMODERNISTS

MODERNISTS

What they all have in common

▪ They think that one type of family – the nuclear family – ‘goes with’ modern industrial society.

▪ They assume that the traditional nuclear family is the ‘best’ one suited to our kind of society.

DIFFERENT THEORIES UNDER MODERNIST UMBRELLA

(A)FUNCTIONALISTS

Functionalists like Talcott Parsons argue that - -

▪ Whereas an extended family was ‘right’ for a pre industrial society, the nuclear family is ‘right’ for a modern industrial society

▪ This is because it performs certain functions for that society – creating a mobile workforce, socialising children into the society and creating the stable adult relationships needed in a modern society and economy.

▪ Any other kind of family is ‘wrong’ for a modern society.

(B)THE CONSERVATIVE NEW RIGHT

This is a right wing branch of the Conservative Party (which dominated it in the 1980s and 90s under Mrs Thatcher and those who supported her.

Their view is - -

▪ The traditional nuclear family is the only correct and normal type of family – with a mother, father and children and clear cut roles between the male and female.

▪ This family type is the ‘natural’ one – others are not

▪ This family type is the foundation of society and is it declines then society itself will be in danger.

▪ The modern decline of this traditional family is the cause of social problems and social breakdown – drugs, crime, disrespect for authority etc

▪ They see lone parent families as unnatural and harmful to children who grow up usually without a father figure and are more likely to ‘go off the rails’ as a result. It also leads to welfare benefit dependency

▪ They value traditional marriage rather than cohabitation because marriage leads to stability and a good environment for bringing up children.

CAUSES OF FAMILY BREAKDOWN

The New Right mostly blame the welfare state and liberal divorce laws. Welfare benefits –

(a)Encourage lone parent families – because the mother knows they will be paid for by the state

(b)Encourages ‘dependency’ where people become reliant on benefits and don’t have the incentive to work to provide for themselves

(c)Makes it OK for the male not to work - and so damages the traditional family.

CONSEQUENCES

▪ The New Right blame these changes for many of our social problems

Eg the rate of family breakdown is much higher among co-habiting couples (20%) compared with married couples (6%) proving the value of marriage.

▪ Their main concern is for the children of non traditional families who have higher rates of crime and anti social behaviour than the children of ‘normal’ married couples. A study done in 2000 showed children in lone parent families are

at much higher risk of poverty, failure at school, crime,

health problems.

SOLUTIONS

▪ Cut welfare for lone parents and families to reduce welfare dependency

▪ Return to traditional values and the traditional nuclear family.

CRITICS

▪ Feminists attack their views as right wing and anti female – wanting a return to the traditional housewife and mother role

▪ Others challenge their claim that children of lone parents are more prone to crime and poor behaviour – this depends on other factors like neighbourhood and environment not on the fact that the child has one parent.

(C)ROBERT CHESTER – THE SURVIVAL OF THE NUCLEAR FAMILY

In his article – ‘The Rise of the Neo Conventional Family’ argues that the traditional or ‘conventional’ nuclear family is not dead it has just changed because today the parents both tend to go out to work rather than just the husband (he calls this a neo or new conventional family). He argues that –

▪ Most people still live in a nuclear family headed by a married couple.

▪ Most people still marry and then have children

▪ Most marriages go on until one partner dies (ie do not end in divorce)

▪ Even divorcees tend to re-marry and set up another nuclear family

▪ Couples who co-habit usually intend to marry eventually – and usually do when they have children

So the traditional nuclear family still dominates – family change and variety has been exaggerated.

(D)RAPOPORT – FAMILIES HAVE BECOME MORE DIVERSE.

They (Rhona and Robert Rapoport) argue that families ARE more diverse – we live in a ‘pluralistic’ society in which there are a range of different family types.

They claim that there are 5 types of family diversity in Britain today - -

▪ ORGANISATIONAL DIVERSITY – the many different ways in which modern families are organised – some have 2 wage earners, some have one male wage earner, some have a main female breadwinner etc

▪ CULTURAL DIVERSITY – Britain is now a ‘multi cultural society’ with people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Each one has a slightly different family structure eg Asian families tend to have more extended families, Caribbean families more female headed families.

▪ SOCIAL CLASS DIVERSITY – there are differences in child rearing and work relationships between working class and middle class families eg working class families tend to be more traditional and male dominated, middle class ones more equal.

▪ LIFE STAGE DIVERSITY – the family changes according to the stage of the family in life eg couples with young children are different to elderly couples whose children have left home.

▪ GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY – younger people are more likely to co-habit and accept same sex relationships than older ones.

POSTMODERNISTS

▪ These sociologists reject the idea that the family performs a ‘function’ or role in society and this decided what kinds of families we have

▪ Instead they emphasis the people have choices about how they live their lives and the choices they make determines the kinds of families we now have.

▪ In the ‘post-modern’ world we have more choices than ever before so we are bound to have a variety of different kinds of families.

THE IDEAS OF INDIVIDUAL POSTMODERN THINKERS

TAMARA HAREVEN - ‘Life Course Analysis’.

She uses an idea called ‘life course analysis’ - - -

▪ She means that at different stages in their life people have different choices to make – the choices they make then decided the kinds of families we have eg at a certain stage they might decide to get married or not, decide to have children or not, decide to leave their partner or not and so on. Each decisions will lead to a different kind of life and a different kind of family situation.

▪ This view is supported by other sociologists like Holdsworth and Morgan. Their view is that - -

▪ The way to really understand families is to examine how family members themselves see their situation and how they react to it ‘from the inside’. For example, if you want to understand why there is a rise in divorce or a rise in women wanting to remain single you need to find out their reasons and feelings - not simply see this as evidence of social breakdown or dysfunctionality. The real reasons will be found in their values and attitudes and how they see their relationships with other members of the family.

▪ The family and society are not functional ‘machines’ like a car engine in which the family is a part which performs a ‘function. Human beings decide their own future and have free will to make choices. So to understand what they do you have to understand their ideas, beliefs and experiences.

DAVID MORGAN - ‘Family Practices’

▪ Morgan agrees and argues that if you want to understand ‘family practices’ – the way family members behave towards each other – you need to understand their beliefs about what a family is fort and what the different roles of family members should be

Eg if the male partner believes that it is the role of the woman to do the housework and look after the children – and the woman believes that these things should be shared because her values are different – then there will be conflict in the family.

▪ However, Morgan does accept that a lot of these values come form the wider society around us –if the dominant view is that men and women should now be equal then this will be reflected in the family relationships.

▪ The important point is that what people believe about the family and how it should be is what decides the kinds of families we have.

CHEAL AND FAMILY DIVERSITY

▪ Cheal agrees that the kinds of families we now live in comes from our values and personal choices.

▪ He then goes on to say that we live in a ‘post-modern’ world which means that our society is now far more diverse than ever before – with different cultures, lifestyles, values and beliefs.

▪ This gives people more choices about how they live their lives than ever before – and so people increasingly freely CHOOSE the kinds of relationships and families they wish to live in.

▪ This in turn leads to much greater diversity in family types – the traditional nuclear family is no longer dominant. Freedom of choice rules.

ANTHONY GIDDENS ‘Choice and Equality’

The prominent sociologists Giddens also agrees that the family has changed in recent years because of greater choices and also because attitudes have changed to make men and women more equal. He argues that –

▪ The main reason why men and women have relationships today is not simply to reproduce (have children) but it is based more on love and intimacy (made possible by contraception)

▪ Women have become more independent because of work, education and feminists values.

▪ Both mean that the reasons for marriage and having families have changed from ‘doing what society expects’ to ‘doing what you want and like’. You can now choose to live together, to break up, to have or not have children as you please and not have the pressures of tradition or social expectation.

▪ This means that we now have ‘pure relationships’ based on genuine affection and happiness – not just ‘doing our duty’.

▪ The downside – relationships are now less stable because people demand so much more from them than they used to.

ULRICH BECK ‘RISK SOCIETY AND THE NEGOTIATED FAMILY’.

He agrees with Giddens that in our society we are less bound by traditional values and expectations - and more free to choose. This means that we now weigh up the ‘risks’ – calculate the possible outcomes – before we enter into any relationship.

He argues that - -

▪ In the past social expectations and traditions pretty well determined your life for you –you were expected to get marries, have children, stay married.

▪ Today these expectations have gone and we have more freedom of choice in our lives

▪ The rise of female equality and individualism – people wanting what’s best for themselves and not society – means that all our family relationships now are not based on tradition but ‘negotiated’ – in others words partners now come to their own arrangements about how they will live and organise their family.

▪ The downside is that we are also now freer to break up these relationships and family ties – so families are now more unstable.

JUDITH STACEY AND THE ‘DIVORCE EXTENDED FAMILY’.

She argues - -

▪ Equality has particularly give more choice to women – they are no longer simply the junior partner in the family. It is mainly women who have changed the family and rejected the traditional housewife and child carer roles

▪ Because their expectations are so much greater they are more willing to divorce if they are unsatisfied – and often re-marry.

▪ This leads to a new kind of family – the ‘divorce extended family’ whose members relate to each other - divorce is now so common that the way the post marriage arrangements are made gives rise to all kinds of new family structures – step families, different arrangements for the children of related marriages – increasing family complexity.

JEFFREY WEEKS – GROWING ACCEPTANCE OF DIVERSITY

He argues that there has been a long term change in our attitudes since the 50s or 60s –

(a)Sexual behaviour is now a matter of personal choice – not of social values and expectations

(b)A more secular society has developed which has removed the moral power of religion

(c)As a result there is acceptance or more family diversity- things like co-habitation and homosexual relationships are now widely accepted .

This is a long term but permanent change.

SUMMARY - FAMILY DIVERSITY – FOR OR AGAINST?

ARGUMENTS AGAINST DIVERSITY

▪ Functionalists argue that the traditional nuclear family performs vital functions in a modern society and any departure from it is harmful.

▪ The New Right agree that any other type of family is ‘unnatural’ and harmful for families and especially children

▪ Other types of family or ‘dysfunctional’ – meaning harmful to the well being of society.

FOR DIVERSITY

▪ Postmodernists argue that there is no ‘natural’ family – people are simply free to choose the kinds of relationships and family arrangements they like.

▪ This choice leads to diversity – but because it is freely chosen it is a good thing not a bad thing (people should not be forced to accept only one kind of family as ‘right’)

▪ This may lead to less stable families – because people who are dissatisfied will break up their families and relationships and seek new ones. This is not bad but an expression of personal choicer and preference.

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Ian Duncan Smith – a current New Right thinker

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