postmodernism and family diveristy

key idea

In postmodern society, there is no single dominant family type (like the nuclear family). Instead, individuals have freedom of choice in how they live and form relationships.

main points

• 1. 🌈 Greater Family Diversity

  • No family type is seen as the “norm” anymore.

  • Rise in: lone-parent families, same-sex families, cohabitation, LATs (Living Apart Together), stepfamilies, single-person households, chosen families, etc.

  2. 🔄 Individual Choice & Fluidity

  • People can choose their family type based on personal needs.

  • Family life is more unstable, but also freer and flexible.

movement from modernity to postmodernity

• modernity - traditional workplace , religion was central to life and values , traditional gender roles , nuclear family was the norm

• postmodernity - flexible and remote office places

• consumer culture and media pop influence

• equality and fluid gender roles

• diverse family structures

The rapoports

• carried out research into family life , found number ways in how family life was diverse

• CLOGS

• cultural - different cultural religious and ethnic groups have different family structures , values and roles

• life stage - type of family structure a person is in depends on their stage in life

• organisations - families varys in how they organise roles like breadwinning and childcare

• generational - different generations have different attitudes , values and family structures

• social class - a family’s social class can affect its structure and child rearing practices.

Stacey - divorce extended family

• View: Family life is no longer dominated by one type (like the nuclear family).

• Studied women in California — found they were the drivers of family change.

• Coined the term: “Divorce-Extended Family” – new supportive networks formed after divorce (e.g. ex-in-laws, female friends).

• Families are fluid, diverse, and shaped by individual choices.

✅ Supports diversity and sees it as empowering, especially for women.

Beck - Risk Society & Negotiated Families

• Beck talks about “Late Modernity” (sometimes called “Risk Society”).

• Traditional structures and norms (like fixed family roles) are breaking down.

• Families are now negotiated rather than given by tradition.

• People face greater risks and uncertainty (job insecurity, divorce, changing gender roles).

• This creates “negotiated families” where roles and relationships are more fluid, based on negotiation and choice rather than fixed norms.

• Because of these risks and uncertainties, individuals seek more equal relationships within families.

✅ Beck highlights individualisation and the decline of patriarchy but notes this can cause anxiety and instability.

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Giddens - Reflexive Project of the Self & Pure Relationships

• Giddens describes modern society as “reflexive” — individuals constantly reflect on and revise their identities and relationships.

• Family and relationships have changed because of:

  • Contraception (separates sex from reproduction),

  • Greater gender equality,

  • Increased individual choice.

• Introduced the idea of “pure relationships” — relationships entered into only for their own sake, based on emotional satisfaction and equality, rather than tradition or economic necessity.

• These relationships can be fragile because if they don’t satisfy both partners, they end.

• Family diversity increases because people create relationships that best suit their needs, not societal expectations.

✅ Giddens focuses on individualisation, choice, and equality but notes this can lead to relationship instability.

chester

• family diversity is exaggerated he argues that most people still live in a nuclear family in some point in thier life and the only major change is a move from the traditional nuclear family to the neo-conventional family where both partners work.

critisisms for postmodernism and family diveristy

• criticise with functionalism - Parsons, etc

• new right - sees the nuclear family as going under threat - Murray - underclass, welfare dependency, and critical of single-parent families

• Dennis and Erdos - families without families - boys need a male role model

• Critisisms of Giddens and Beck - overemphasise individual choice, ignoring structural factors like social class, gender, and ethnicity

• not everyone has the same ability to choose freely; some groups face more constraints than others

• ignore the continuing importance of traditional family structures for many people