Decline of nuclear family
Is the nuclear family in decline? The family is an integral part of the social structure, responsible for primary socialisation of the next generation of society, an important unit of economic consumption and a stabilising influence on its members. Over recent years there has been intense debate about the decline of the nuclear family as an institution and the consequences of this decline for society as a whole. There are many factors cited as evidence of a marked decline of the traditional nuclear family, these will be examined below. Many social commentators argue that the family is vital to harmony and consensus in society. Functionalists view the nuclear family as being the ideal family form to promote the social integration, satisfaction, value consensus and social solidarity necessary to hold society together. Therefore any perceived changes to the nuclear family tend to be seen as having a negative impact on social order as other family forms are not seen as being as effective in providing the necessary functions for society's existence. The New Right also take this view and claim that the emergence of an underclass with single parenthood, particularly female headed households, the dominant family form poses a considerable threat to society as we know it. They argue that single parenthood transmits deviant norms and values through inadequate socialisation by only
Symmetrical Family
Outline and evaluate the claim that the family is now a symmetrical institution Many argue that the nature of the relationships between men and women within families has changed over the past 50 years. These changes are characterised in a more egalitarian or symmetrical family structure where men take a more active role in childrearing and domestic chores and women can go out to work and contribute to the family income. In this type of family responsibility is shared more equally between men and women for important decisions that affect the family. However there are others that argue that the family continues to be a patriarchal institution that oppresses women, where women are still held responsible for keeping the home and raising the children and where men still have control over the purse strings. Methodological and theoretical weaknesses with the work of the major exponents of the 'symmetrical' family have been highlighted by Ann Oakley and other feminist theorists who suggest that the changes to the family are, in fact, negligible. This essay will outline and evaluate the claim that the family is now a symmetrical institution by examining the arguments outlined above. Willmott and Young studied changes to the family structure of working class families over time. From their research they identified four main stages of the family. The stage 1 family was common
Education policies
In the past there have been a lot of policies to try and change the educational system for the better. They have introduced the 1944 education act to try and give equal opportunities to pupils within a free system of state education. There was also the tripartite system that consisted of the three different types of secondary schools and the 11-plus exams. There were also other policies and they all tried to do the same thing; improve the education system to make it better for everyone to achieve good qualifications and get a good job in the labour market. They also tried to close the gap between the working class pupils and the upper class pupils. One policy that had the most significance during its time was the 1944 education act. After the 2nd WW, there was a debate about the kind of society that should follow the war. Education was significant in this debate. It was felt that the talents of people were not being made full use of, particularly working class. Changes were made in the education system to try and fix this. The act aimed to give equal opportunities to pupils to develop abilities to the full within a free system of state education. The act reorganized the structure of the education system in England and Wales into three stages. There was primary schools for 5-11 year-olds, then secondary schools for 11-15 year-olds and lastly further/higher education for anyone
Gay Marriage - persuasive essay.
Gay Marriage Everyone dreams of one day becoming married and having a family, and most of the time this dream is fulfilled, that is, if they are straight. As each year passes by, there seems to be an increasing number of gay couples that aspire to become married. Even though gay marriage is becoming an extremely popular topic, people begin to realize that it does either one of two things (unless they are apathetic on the issue); gay marriage puts a strain on the outlook of society or it opens up many opportunities for the gay couples themselves. Bishops and other religious figures of the church feel that gay marriage is appalling, and should be abolished from society. The article mentioned in the National Catholic Reporter, "Bishops Warn of Dangers to Marriage," it is revealed that bishops believe same-sex marriage is "one of the most troubling developments in contemporary culture." (Roberts 2). According to text, the first command given to Adam and Eve was "be fertile and multiply" (National Catholic Reporter). The culture of America is perceived to be a family consisting of one mother, one father, and however many kids are desired; however, if same-sex marriage were to be allowed, it would diminish all natural aspects of our culture. Bishops of the Church believe that it is "in the offspring" where "married love finds its crowning glory" (Roberts 2). To reiterate into
Some sociologists argue that, with the rise of the symmetrical family, the patriarchal power of the husband has disappeared and relationships have become more equal and democratic. Using relevant sociological theories how far do you agree with this view.?
Some sociologists argue that, with the rise of the symmetrical family, the patriarchal power of the husband has disappeared and relationships have become more equal and democratic. Using relevant sociological theories how far do you agree with this view.? The family is the basic structural unit of society. The detailed structure of the family varies enormously due to circumstances such as social class, ethnic background and cultural influences. The family system in Britain is sometimes loosely referred to as 'patrilineal'. This is down to surnames and titles are inherited from our fathers not our mothers, but there is no moral code in Britian that says a mothers family is not important, it is usually down to personal preference. Britain can be best described as 'multi-lineal' system. All though Britain is not strictly 'patrilineal' some people believe we still live in a patriarchy society, where men have more power than women. And some feminists believe there is still the patriarchal family. Where the family is dominated by the male and women are classed as inferior and have no equality. This paper is going to look at the way relationships between men and women have changed within the family in Britian. Firstly it will look at the way structures of men and womens roles within the family have changed with time and the social and demographic occurances for these changes. It
Assess the view that the nuclear family is no longer the norm
Assess the view that the nuclear family is no longer the norm (24 Marks) A nuclear family consists of two married parents and their own children. This family type became very popular after industrialisation as, according to Talcott Parsons, people had to become geographically mobile. For many years, the majority of families have been nuclear with just a small minority of step-, single-parent-, same-sex couple- and reconstituted families. But has the majority become the minority. Is the nuclear family no longer the norm? Functionalist sociologists believe that the nuclear family fits in to the fixed structure of society and performs essential functions, making it the 'best' type of family. Because of this ability to perform essential functions, they say that it is possible to generalize and call the nuclear family the 'norm', stating that other family types (such as lone-parent or reconstituted families), are abnormal and deviant as they are less suitable to perform the essential functions. Talcott Parsons talked about a 'functional fit' between modern society and the nuclear family saying that it was uniquely suited to meeting society's needs for a geographically and socially mobile workforce and the 'irreducible functions', socialising children and stabilising children, vital to the overall stability and effectiveness of society. New Right sociologists are more radical in
Assess the functionalist position on the role of family
Assess the functionalist position on the role of family Functionalist sociologists believe that for society to run smoothly and to maintain a successful stable economical system, certain functional perquisites need to be met; these are there to ensure social order. So societal norms and values need to pass on to the next generation and for this to happen the family is of great importance to achieving this. That is why functionalists support the family as it is the basis of each society; they carry out the job to teach them the four functional perquisites needed for survival. In 1949 Murdock found that in 250 societies that he had studied there was some form of the nuclear family that existed therefore he claimed that that the family provides four essential functions for its members and the rest of the society. These four were the; reproductive, sexual, educational, and economical functions. Firstly they look at reproduction from the aspect of producing the next generation for society. This ensures survival of the community which can't be done without children and these new members also benefit society in regard to taking up jobs which will be more effective to society. The second one to look at would be the sexual function of a family; this does not just serve the society in a positive way but is beneficial for the individuals themselves. Unapproved sexual behaviour can
TO WHAT EXTENT CAN THE CONTEMPORY FAMILY BE CONSIDERED MORE DEMOCRATIC AND EQUAL?
TO WHAT EXTENT CAN THE CONTEMPORY FAMILY BE CONSIDERED MORE DEMOCRATIC AND EQUAL In the course of this essay I shall be looking at the role of the family. In doing so I shall be examining various studies carried out, showing what the role of the family should be. This will include views by Willmott and Young, and contrasting ones of such authors as Ann Oakley, a feminist. The family is often looked upon as a social institution, a bond that joins individuals into families. This bond is reinforced by marriage, economic co-operation and sexual activity leading to the eventual conception of new life. This is typical of the viewpoint taken by functionalists such as Murdock, who saw that each member of the family had a role to play in order for it to be a success. This was a positive outlook for the family, however feminists such as Oakley believed this was not the case. From the late nineteenth century until the 1950's traditional relationships between a man and his wife could best be described as male dominated. This "Patriarchy" was based around the view of this era that the father was the undoubted head of the household. Whatever his viewpoints, values and needs were these would always be listened to and met. The views of women on the other hand were very much repressed. Fletcher, pointed out that both women and children were frequently exploited both inside and
Examine the relationship between Industrialisation and the changes in the family
Examine the relationship between Industrialisation and the changes in the family The industrial revolution caused huge changes within Britain during the 1750's and the 1850's. There were four main changes due to the industrial revolution and these were; Production moved from agricultural to industrial, Mechanisation (the introduction of machines to replace labour and speed up production), Urbanisation (the movement of population from land and into towns). This led to the development of cities, Population explosion - this is due to the increase in birth rate and decrease in death rate. These things had an impact on the family and led to changes in the structure and the roles of the family. Parson believed that every era would have a dominant family structure and it was the "best fit" for the economic conditions, which all fits in with the functionalist march of progress theory about social evolution. He believed that the pre industrial family (extended family) was in control. They maintained health for members, provided welfare for members and pursued justice for any family member who was in the wrong. He believed that three industrial changes were made to the family and they were that mass education was introduced. This was that nuclear families were formed due to family members moving away to get better opportunities such as education and these were put out due to
Evaluate sociological theories of the role of the family in contemporary society
Evaluate sociological theories of the role of the family in contemporary society [35 marks] In contemporary society, different sociological perspectives view the family very differently. Perspectives such as functionalism and the New Right view the stereotypical nuclear family as being a positive function within society, without which society can not be maintained. Other perspectives such as feminism and marxism, see the nuclear family negatively and believe it does more harm than good to its members. Functionalists view the family through ‘rose tinted glasses’ and idealise the stereotypical nuclear family structure of the instrumental male figure and expressive female figure. Murdock, after looking at 200 different societies, concluded that there were four essential functions of the family that maintain society; sexual, reproductive, educational and economic respectively. The family creates an outlet through sexual gratification that prevents conflict, allows adults to know the biological parents of children and therefore reproduce and carry on the family line. The family also educates the children by passing on knowledge and skills and economically, the family acts as a productive consumption unit. Parsons then suggested that with the change in and progress into an Industrial society, functions were lost to other institutions and now the family fulfils two
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