Assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today
Assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today (24 marks) Rhona and Robert Rapoport (1982) argue that diversity is of central importance in understanding family life today. They believe that we have moved away from the traditional nuclear family as the dominant family type, to a range of different diverse types. Families in Britain have adapted to a pluralistic society; a society in which cultures and lifestyles are more diverse. In their view, family diversification represents greater freedom of choice and the widespread acceptance of different cultures and ways of life. Unlike the New Right, the Rapoports see diversity as a response to people different needs and wishes, not as abnormal or deviation from the assumed norm of the nuclear family. The Rapoports identify five different types of family diversity. Organisational diversity refers to the differences in the ways family roles are organised. For example, some couples have joint conjugal roles and others have segregated conjugal roles. Cultural diversity is the belief that different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures. Social class diversity is the differences in family structure that are partly the result of income differences between households of different classes. Life stage diversity states that family structures differ according to the stage
Assess the view that the growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family.
Bethan Ayers 2 D Sociology Essay Assess the view that the growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family. (24marks) Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an intimate relationship, particularly an emotionally and/or sexually intimate one, on a long-term or permanent basis. Before 1970, cohabitation was illegal in certain countries e.g. America. Due to a change in the law, Cohabitation is now a common pattern among people around the world, as well as sex/birth outside of marriage, leaving at least 50% to 60% of couples cohabitating, starting from the late 1990’s. This leads to the amount of traditional nuclear families decreasing as people want to live in companionship as nearly half the amount of marriages end in divorce, also cohabiting is an easier way as it’s much cheaper and doesn’t cause much hassle. The New Right see the decline of the traditional nuclear family and the growth of family diversity as negative trends in modern society. From the New Right perspective, these changes are the cause of many social problems in Britain today. Seeing as in today’s society there is plenty of access to contraception, married couples/couples in general are not having children for various reasons which has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family, also known as the ‘Cereal
Describe and discuss the Functionalist perspective in relation to the family.
Amie Wright Mrs Livings Sociology. Describe and discuss the Functionalist perspective in relation to the family. The Functionalist view of the family is the idea of the nuclear family, which involves a husband and wife, with their children. Within in the family unit, each member has a role, this is like the Functionalist view on society, that every part of society has a certain function, with the analogy of the body, and the different parts work together to allow society to function efficiently. The Husband in the family has an instrumental role, geared towards working hard and achieving at work, he is the bread winner for the family, and the Wife, an expressive role, which involves primary socialisation of the children and meeting the family’s emotional needs, she is the homemaker and a full time house-wife, rather than a wage earner. These roles in the family are what sociologists call segregated conjugal roles. This means that the husband and wife spend their days, as well as leisure time apart. Functionalists argue that this division of labour is biologically suited to the husband and wife, with women being naturally suited to nurturing and caring, and men being able to provide for the family. Functionalists believe that this
To investigate how the ideology of childhood has changed over the years, I interviewed my granddad who is in his 60s,
What has happened to childhood? Childhood in its simplest term is defined as the period of time that a person is a child, for a something that sounds so simple childhood is an extremely complex concept. No-one’s childhood is ever the same, similar, yes! But our childhood experiences are unique. Affected by many factors such as; personal experiences, personality, restraints (money, rules, laws) , period born, place that we were born, gender etc… . Childhood is understood to be social constructed, therefore the definition of an ‘ideal’ childhood never says the same for long even in the same society expectations of childhood is constantly evolving, circumstances change; new laws are passed, enhancements in science and technology, war all contribute to the social construction of childhood. It is thought as years have passed that the childhood has improved; more toys, more places to go, better education, entering a technological era, greater understanding of health, all are a part of the life we all now know. However, no matter how many toys, recent gadgets, new clothes a child is given is it really any consolation to the loss of quality time with their parents? Money does not grow on trees, and in recent years percentage of both parents having to work has increased dramatically, you are far less likely to see a stay at home mum but two working parents that
Using the item and your own knowledge, assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to the understanding of family roles and relationships
. Using the item and your own knowledge, assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to the understanding of family roles and relationships. When understanding the roles of the family and relationships there are many different views. Feminist take the negative view of the family and argue that relationships and the family are gender based. An example of the idea that relationships are gender based is the fact that women do most of the domestic labour. This is referred to in item 2b. Feminists also argue that we live in a patriarchal society. The 3 types of feminists (Liberal, Radical and Marxist), all take different views. Liberal feminists fight for more equality between men and women. This supports the negative view of the family and relationships because there view shows that men and women are unequal. Radical feminists believe that the main rival of women is patriarchy, which guarantees male domination and the control of women at work and in the home. In their view men inflict physical and sexual violence over women. This shows the negative view of the family and relationships. Marxist feminists believe social class affects the life chances of women; it is a key factor in the relationship between men and women. They believe capitalism has lead to increase of conflicts between the sexes and that introducing communism would solve this. Under capitalism women are
Assess the view that marriage is no longer a popular institution in todays postmodernist society
Assess the view that marriage is no longer a popular institution in today’s postmodernist society According to Marxists and functionalists, in modern society an individual’s identity is largely fixed and can be generalised. Marxists see our identity as stemming from our class position, while functionalists see it as a result of being socialised into a shared culture. However, some sociologists believe we are now moving into a new and very different type of society. The social change, that began to accelerate 300 years ago, has continued at such a pace that the theories and assumptions we had about modern society no longer explain the society we find around us. A postmodern society is a post-industrial society in which change is increasingly rapid, where people have lost faith in the ability of science to bring about progress. While the Rapoports identify a range of types of family diversity, postmodernists such as David Cheal (1993) go much further. Postmodernists argue that we no longer live in the ‘modern’ world, with its predictable, orderly structures. Instead, society has entered a new chaotic postmodern stage where in today’s society family structures are fragmented and individuals have much more choice in their lifestyles, personal relationships, and family arrangements. As a result family life has become more diverse than even the Rapoports recognise. In
Sociology Family Unit - Family Concepts and Definitions
Emma Rudd BMA 26th November Sociology – Family Unit - Family Concepts and Definitions What is the Family? The majority of the world’s population experience a form of family; this can involve a wide variety of options. For example, in the Toda culture in India a woman may be simultaneously married to several men at the same time. In the Netherlands gay couples can marry, in Bali twins can marry, as it is believed that twins have already been intimate in the womb, in the Banaro culture of New Guinea the husband is forbidden to have sex with his wife until she has born a child by another man chosen specifically for this purpose. In Western culture the nuclear family (both parents and children) is seen as the natural / desirable way to live. This is known as the dominant ideology. Even though there are diverse types of families in Western culture the nuclear family is seen as the ‘best’. Nuclear and Extended Families There are a number of characteristics that are associated with the nuclear family. They are as follows: It is a small compact structure that is composed of a mother, father and usually two or three children, who are biologically related. It is assumed that the relationship between the adults is heterosexual. The nuclear family is reinforced by marriage; it is assumed that marriage encourages fidelity and therefore family stability. There is
Assess the Marxist view on the role of education in society
Assess the Marxist view on the role of education in society Marxists have many different theories on the role of education in society. These theories are the ‘hidden curriculum’ which was found by Bowles and Gintis (1970), reproducing the working class workforce which was studied by Willis and that education is a Ideological State Apparatus which was found by Athusser. However, each of these theories can be criticised for factors such as being unable to generalise the study, feminist’s beliefs and disregard of gender ethnicity and culture, etc. One way in which Marxists believe the role of education in society is to teach pupils the ‘hidden curriculum’. This is where pupils are informally taught things such as norms, values and beliefs. This was found by Bowles and Gintis (1970) through their study ‘Schooling in capitalist America’. The hidden curriculum is said to teach motivation to pupils by trying to encouraging achieving good grades. This is then used when the pupils leave school as they are motivated to work hard to attain a wage. It also teaches people to accept the hierarchy. It does this by teaching the pupils about authority and power relationships. This then leads to the pupils believing that they should follow the instructions of a person with more authority them such as the police. Also, the hidden curriculum teaches Subservience. This is where
Sociology Family Revision Notes
Sociology Family Revision Notes Topic 6 Family diversity and the life course Modernism and the nuclear family ‘Society shapes us/individuals’ Modernists include Functionalists and New Rights Modern society is fairly fixed, clear cut and predictable structure Best family type is Nuclear family this structure helps perform certain essential functions E.g. Talcott Parsons states that there is a ‘functional fit’ between the nuclear family and modern society. The nuclear family is uniquely suited to meet the needs of modern society; Geographically and socially mobile workforce Performs two ‘irreducible functions’ (difficult) primary and secondary socialization of children. The stabilization of adult personalities (All contribute to the overall stability and effectiveness of society) This explains the functionalist’s view that because of the nuclear family’s ability to perform these functions, therefore we can assume that this would be the most common family in modern society. Hence, other family types are viewed as abnormal, inadequate and unusual, since they are less able to perform the functions required of the family. The New Right Conservative and anti-feminist perspective on the family Firmly opposed to family diversity One correct and normal family type; Traditional or Conventional Patriarchal Nuclear Family Married
Is a successful marriage a utopia today?
LIU 2 21/03/06 Task: essay IS A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE UTOPIA TODAY? The latest marriage statistics should make every couple doubt about whether their relationship shell be sealed with a marriage. Beside the fact that considerably less couples decide to marry at all, in the US every second, in Austria (as an example for middle Europe) every third marriage is divorced. This is not a particularly promising prospect for a couple planning to marry and swear to love each other for the rest of their lives. Therefore the question must be raised: Is a successful marriage Utopia today? When I take a closer look at our society, I can imagine some reasons why successful marriages, which mean staying together happily for a lifetime, have become so rare. One reason might be a shift in our society towards more self-realization and less responsibility. In my opinion many couples may not detect the enormity of their decision to marry. Before making that decision each partner should think about all consequences a marriage might have on the relationship and all consequences a marriage definitively has when it comes to legal terms. Taking the decision whether or not one wants to marry his or her partner should not be made hasty in a romantic mood or occasional feelings of perfect happiness and love. Nevertheless many couples fix their marriage either before really knowing each other or not
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