Eversley & Bonnerjea (1982) then add another aspect to the Rapoports and this was regional diversity. They claim that people who live in the affluent south represent the higher class in society. The coastal areas are seen as for people who are retired OAP’s. Industrial areas (older) contain families with conventional structures, however newly industrial areas contain female/older workers and are mainly in the midlands. Rural areas contain strong kinship networks and the inner cities tend to have ethnic minority families and a high number of immigrants.
Although these points do tend to be quite strong and provable, however Eversley and Bonnerjea do generalise about the “typical British family” whereas Gittens (1985) disagrees with this and says there is no such thing as the British family.
As part of today’s society, gay and lesbian societies are more widely found and more socially accepted then they were many years ago. (Weeks et al, 1999) they also claim that roles in these relationships are more equal and there is more choice available and negotiation is also involved in the relationship. Feminists would strongly agree with this, especially Radical feminist’s as they see Lesbianism as the solution to unequal roles within the family.
New reproductive technologies can now give people the opportunity to have babies when they are in capable or infertile. This was first established in 1978 when the first test tube baby was born.
Macionis & Plummer said that surrogate motherhood is another option as well and stated that there is no doubt that there are more choices available then before. These technologies have now made it available for heterosexual, homosexual single and older women to have babies.
This increases the diversity already taking place as when these different types of families are created
Lone parenthood has never been uncommon, but the cause of it has changed. First it was caused through the death of a partner, but now it is now created through divorce. Statistically, 1 in 3 marriages end in divorce (2000) and nearly half of those divorced remarry within a year.
Lone parent families share a number of characteristics like; many are headed by women, they are less likely to be in employment and they are much more likely to be in poverty (1992, 75%) and claim income support.
However, we do have to look at lone parent figures carefully as they only tell us what is happening at that point in time and doesn’t represent the changing family life of many people. They also do not see how children may start off as a lone-parent family but then after a while turn into a re-constituted family through marriage or cohabitation.
Some conservative politicians say that the welfare state is to blame for the increase in lone parents however labour politicians do not agree to this willingly as they developed the new deal, which then encourages lone-parents to work rather then depend on the benefit system. However here are some reasons why it could be said that the welfare state is not to blame for encouraging lone-parents. Lone parents were existent before the welfare stare existed. (Established 1942). Perry (1993) said that lone-parents do not get priority when seeking housing from the welfare state, the homeless do so how can conservative politicians say that lone-parents depend on the welfare state when they know they will not be prioritised?
Diversity can also take place in the forms of ethnic minority. It has been said that ethnic minorities are influenced by their own culture, however there is a danger of generalising when quoting the typical ethnic minority family. Ballard (1982) point out the important changes within the Asian community. He states that their concerns for the wider kinship, loyalty to the family as a whole rather then to individuals and the separate roles taken on by the men and women, however Westwood & Bhachu 6 years later warn against generalising and state that Asian families are just diverse as white families, as most Asian families are now nuclear yet wider kin’s are still respected.
West Indian families do have certain characteristics based on Caribbean life. Driver (a982) found that these families had a large amount of matrifocal families (female headed), but Phoenix also emphasises the danger of generalising, as ethnic minority families are themselves diverse. Barrows, in 1982, looked at West Indian families and said there are 3 different types on families in the Caribbean. These are the conventional family, cohabiting and the matriarchal family. Chamberlain in 1999 looked at importance to the wider kin and stated that they do play an important part in the up bringing of children. Functionalists would support Berthound & Beishon (1997) who said that there was not so much importance given to a long term relationship or marriage, therefore divorce and lone-parent statistics were high including illegitimacy and unemployment.
Cypriot families in Britain, studied by Oakley in 1982 suggests that they have very strong ties with their extended families in Cyprus and this was maintained with few people after moving here with the elderly.
To conclude, I wound say these factors do very strongly take part in the increase in family diversity. Many points are very strong which to prove the fact that some people don’t mind this diversion, however strong point have been given to criticise these points too.
