FAMILIES & HOUSEHOLDS - FAMILY DIVERSITY

STARTER - Why is there an increase in same sex relationships?

The 2014 act - where same sex marriages became legal, this meant there was an increase as it was now legal/allowed

It also became more normalized in society

STARTER - Why is there an increase in one person households?

Women have increase independency - and they earn their own income, so don't marry and be financially dependent on their partners - so may buy a house and live alone

STARTER - Why are women choosing to have children later or not at all?

Women are more career focused, so many wait until after the peak of their career to settle down and have children

What is globalization?

The growing interconnectness of societies across the world with the spread of the same culture, consumer goods and economic interests across the globe

As early as 1964, Marshall McLuhan predicted what?

The emergence of what he called the 'global village'

What does the 'global village' mean?

We live in a society with no boarders, people can freely move around the world as they please

What did McLuhan liken communications and media in the 1960s with?

A giant central nervous system

What impact has globalization has on…

Trade?

International trade across the globe, provide materials, goods and services (imports, exports)

Happens 24/7, 365 days of the year

What impact has globalization has on…

Technology?

Restricted posts on social media, advances in technology and information is easily shared and leaked

What impact has globalization has on…

Travel?

Easier to access, more available, travel to more places

In terms of trade, historically, where did counties get their goods from?

Their own country

Countries would produce and consume their own goods as the was no trade links with no countries

So what has changed due to globalization?

There are now trade links between countries all over the world - countries import goods from other countries and exports their goods to other counties for profit

What does the idea of profit link to?

Capitalism

In modern societies, where has manufacturing industries been relocated to?

Developing countries such as China, where there is cheap labour

How does this idea link to content?

• capitalism and Marxism

• functionalists - “rose tinted glasses” and “social solidarity” (Everyone works together)

In terms of travel, what are families now doing?

Families are migrating into different countries due to the freedom of movement in Europe before Brexit

What is brexit?

British exit from the EU

What are examples of advances in digital forms of technology?

Development of internet, smart phones, satellite technology, digital television, texting

What have the improvements of all these things transformed?

The worlds concept of time, distance and space

Why?

In the past, people sent letters which would have taken weeks to get

Now, technology connects people instantly

Types of information?

News, political ideas, dissent, financial transactions and cultural products

How quickly can information be sent?

Transmitted instantaneously to most global destinations from any part of the world that has digital connection

What concept did Harvey come up with?

Space time compression

What does this mean?

Digital technology has produced instantaneous messaging via email and instant messaging

This has erased space and substituted physical space for virtual space

What does this idea allow people to do, in terms of jobs?

Allows people to get jobs around the world

As well as feeling connected to others

What does this also mean in terms of culture and news?

• cultures can be easily spread and transmitted

• information can also be shad that is not shared on the news

What are transnational companies?

Companies that operate in many different counties around the world

Examples of transnational companies?

• Kellogg

• Pepsi

• Amazon

• Coca-Cola

• Tesla

• Nestle

• Mondelez

What does all this mean in terms of family diversity?

Increases family diversity as people adopt different family styles - extended families

Why do functionalists disagree with other family types?

They believe other family types are dysfunctional - lead to a destruction of society

• they believe in order to socialize children, they need both parents who show the expressive and instrumental role

What does Parsons say about the nuclear family being suited to what?

Uniquely suited to meeting the needs of modern society for a geographically and socially mobile workforce

What does a geographically and socially mobile workforce mean?

Geographically - people can move around the world for jobs

Socially - people can move up the social class/ladder (either due to work, and earning a better income or marrying into the class)

What does Functioanlsits (specifically Parsons) say are the 2 functions of the family?

• the primary socialization of children

• stabilization of adult personalities

What theory does the "stabilization of adult personalities link to"?

"Warm bath theory" - men need their personality to be stabilized to continue to work and provide for the family

What are other family types considered as? Why?

Dysfunctional, abnormal, deviant

• due to them not being able to perform the 2 key functions of the family

Who agrees with these ideas of functionalists?

The New Right

What is the New Rights view of the family?

• favor the nuclear family

• believe non nuclear families lead to crimes being committed

• they believe that teenage girls purposely get pregnant in order to receive social housing

Who do the New Right blame for all this?

The welfare state - they say they are too generous

What perspective does the New Right have of the family?

Conservative and anti-feminist

What do the New Right like about the nuclear family?

There is a traditional patriarchal nuclear family

• married couple with dependent children

• clear divisions of labour - breadwinner and homemaker

What does the New Right believe about the importance of the male?

They believe the man should be the head of the house

• patriarchal and patrifocal

What did the New Right do in order to stop other family types?

Offered tax relief to married couples (heterosexual couples)

Which family type are the New Right concerned about?

Lone parent families - specially matrifocal ones

Why is this?

They believe that lone mothers do not discipline properly

Why do people oppose this idea about there being no male figure in the house and there not being any problems?

The father could be a bad influence

Ignores the “dark side of the family”

Boys could also have other male role models

Could also lead to boys being more understanding of women

What do they also argue lone parents rely on?

The welfare state

What is the name of a feminist who opposed this?

Ann Oakley

Why does she oppose this?

She said the New Rights traditional nuclear family is based on patriarchy and the oppression of women

What do critics argue about the correlation between children and lone parent families?

There is no correlation between lone parents and the children being delinquent any more than children who grew up in 2 parent households

So it can happen in any family

What do the New Right describe marriage as compared to cohabitation?

Marriage is a commitment and cohabitation is not (it is a permanent alternative to marriage)

Carol Smart states that what can be the cause of relationships and families to break down?

Poverty

Why is this?

Specifically with blended or extended families, there is more people to care for

Especially if this is only relying on 1 income as the mother may be receiving benefits or the father may be unemployed

What impact does globalization have on the nuclear family?

How it has - Murdock (in his time) studied over 250 societies and found the nuclear family was the most common

How it hasn't - Gives people lots of choices of diversity, but people still choose the traditional nuclear family

If the question asked to analyse, what MUST be included?

Why it did change as well as why/how it didn't change

What was the name of the person who came up write the "neo convential family" ?

Robert Chester

What does Chester recognize? + What is different to the New Rights views?

There had been some increased diversity

Unlike the New Right he does not regard this as very significant and doesn’t see this negatively

How does he describe this neo convential family?

A dual earning family where whither the man and the women go to work

What is the difference between the symmetrical family and the neo conventional family?

Symmetrical - focuses on spilt house roles (childcare, cooking, cleaning)

Neo-convential - both partners earn a wage

Chester does not agree with the gender roles (expressive and instrumental)

Who came up with the idea of the symmetrical family?

Wilmott and Young

Does Chester say there has been a decrease in the nuclear family? Why?

Yes - but other factors have not been considered (eg. Life cycles - widowed, single parents)

What are statistics believed to be in sociology?

Socially constructed

What does socially constructed mean?

Created by humans which only reflect a moment in time - not past/future

Someone put them together - may have been influenced

So what does Chester describe statistics as?

Misleading - they only give us a 'snapshot'

What does Chester identify about most households?

Most households live in a household headed by a married couple

Most adults marry and then have children

What does Chester say about marriage?

Most marriage continue until death

Although divorce rates are rising - most people remarry

Does he agree that cohabitation has increased?

Yes - but for most couples this is is 'temporary phase' before marriage

Why do most couples get married if they have children?

• Can afford to marry

• Can claim benefits

• Legally bound family

Have births outside of marriage increased?

Yes - however they are jointly register so both parents are committed to bringing up the children together

What is the name of the person who came up with the 5 types of family diversity?

Rhona and Robert Rapoport

Do the Rapaports believe there had been an increase or a decrease in the nuclear family?

Decrease - but they don't believe it is a bad thing

What do they think about how family has changed?

They believe we have moved away from the nuclear family as the dominant family type - it had become more diverse

What do they believe family diversity reflects?

A greater freedom of choice and widespread acceptance of different culture

What is the anagram to remember the 5 types of family diversity?

CLOGS

What does the C stand for?

Cultural diversity

What does this mean?

Different culture, religions and ethnic groups have different family structures

Eg. There is a higher proportion of female headed lone parent families among African Caribbean households

There is a higher proportion of extended families among Asian households

What does the L stand for?

Life stage diversity

What does this mean?

Family structure differ according to the life stages researched in the life cycle

Eg. Young newlyweds, couples with dependent children, retired couples whose children have left home (empty nest family), widows, living alone

What does the O stand for?

Organizational diversity

What does this mean?

Different way families are organized

Eg. Joint conjugal roles - do house chores together and spend leisure time together

Segregated conjugal roles - expressive and instrumental - leisure time is spent separately

Who came up with "joint conjugal roles and segregated conjugal roles"?

Elisabeth Bott

What does the G stand for?

Generational diversity

What does this mean?

Older and younger generations have different attitude and experiences

Eg. Different views on mortality, divorce and cohabitation

What does the S stand for?

Social class diversity

What does this mean?

Difference in family structured are partly the result of income differences between households and social classes

Who came up with the idea that "the more women earn, the less they have to do" (higher class women pay people to look after children)

Man Yee Kan

Do working class families, look after their children or not?

Yes - they look after children, which means they don't have time to work