modernist view on family diversity

what do statistics tell us about family diversity today (2023)

• married/civil partner couples accounted for 66% families

• cohabiting couples are 18%

• lone parents are 16% (15% fathers 85% mothers)

• 8.4 million people living alone (30% all UK households)

what is the functionalist view on family diversity

• Parsons- the nuclear family is ‘functionally fit’ for modern society

• family diversity moves us away from: social/geographical mobility, socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities

what is the evaluation of the functionalist view

• ignores homosexuality

• many families can provide these functions and NOT be nuclear

• not all nuclear families are working (unhappy/abuse/empty shell marriages)

what is the new right view on family diversity

• agreed with the functionalist ideas

• “the advanced welfare state provides a great deal of person freedom in all areas of life except economic ones”- Murray

• benefits give people the freedom to do what they like and not work- it robs individuals of responsibility which leads to the rise of the underclass

• cohabitation is a sign of low commitment

• lone parents are irresponsible

• lone mothers provide inadequate discipline and lack male role models

what do other perspectives say about the nuclear family

• Chester- neoconventional family (the new normal) describes how the nuclear family has just revolved and it is similar but just consisting now of dual earners

• he says people still aspire to live in a nuclear family but often live in others, not by their own choice

• he suggests the reason for some other households is the life cycle- some one person households are widowers or unmarried people. this is a ‘misleading snapshot’ of the family

what did the Rapoports say about diversity (EVAL of chester)

• diversity is central to understanding family life today

• they argue we have moved away from the nuclear family and now have more diverse lifestyles which is a positive

• they discuss many types of diversity such as: cultural (differing family structure in different cultures), generational (age determines your attitude towards family)