all of family diversity

rapoport and rapoport

five types of family diversity:

• organisational diversity

• cultural diversity

• social class diversity

• life-stage diversity

• generational diversity

rapoport and rapoport - organisational diversity

families vary dependent on being dual earners, solo earners or having segregated roles etc. who performs the instrumental and expressive role.

rapoport and rapoport - cultural diversity

families varying by differing traditions and practices often, often dependent on ethnicity and religion.

examples of cultural diversity

caribbean families are usually matrilocal. asian families are more likely to be more traditional and marry more.

rapoport and rapoport - social class diversity

families varying by the family's household income and the material quality of life.

examples of social class diversity

under class live on benefits/budget live. working class usually have female centred pooling. middle class has labour saving devices.

rapoport and rapoport - life-stage diversity

families varying by the stages in the life cycle. e.g if the family is young with infants children or older with grown up children.

rapoport and rapoport - generational diversity

families values and attitudes vary depending on when the parents were born.

examples of generational diversity

adults born in 1950s may have very different values and attitudes compared to adults born in the 1990s.

(criticism) chester

family diversity exaggerated

(criticism) chester - family diversity exaggerated

argues that the decline of the nuclear family has been exaggerated. 2 reasons: 1. less than 23% live solo, therefore majority of people live in nuclear families as it consists of 2 parents with multiple children. nuclear is still standard. 2. majority of people would've once lived in a nuclear family at some point in their lives.

(criticism) reynolds, ethnic diversity

black caribbean families, lone mothers and visiting relationships

reynolds - black caribbean families, lone mothers and visiting relationships

found that black caribbean single mother families in the UK often had visiting relationships with an adult male playing a vital role visiting and supporting the family regularly. so it's wrong to stereotype them as single mothers as it's much more complex/diverse.

(criticism) qureshi et al, ethnic diversity

asian families and generational diversity

qureshi et al - asian families and generational diversity

examined asian families having the lowest rate of divorce and lone parenthood. found that over 30 years, the number of asian single parent families have almost doubled. younger generations are more accepting of divorce and single parenthood. (major changes in attitudes between generations)

willmott

dispersed extended family

willmott - dispersed extended family

wider family members maintain contact but physical interaction becomes infrequent due to geographical distance, so intergenerational links between parents/aunts/uncles or children and their cousins have weakened as a result.

newman

accordion family

newman - accordion family

families become vertically extended with children and grandparents but then shrink back as grandparents die and children grow up and move away.

beck and beck-gernsheim

negotiated families and risk

beck and beck-gernsheim - negotiated families

families that are continually being reorganised/restructured and often abandoned with new arrangements being sought.

brannen

beanpole family

brannen - beanpole family

families which are vertically extended. brannen argues that these families have strong intergenerational links which often involves grandparents taking over childcare roles

mirza

independence of caribbean mothers

mirza - independence of caribbean mothers

argues that caribbean 'single' mothers are actually a network of mothers, and more than a third of them are traditionally married too.

giddens

• romantic love

• plastic sexuality

• reflexivity

• confluent love

• pure relationship

giddens - romantic love

marriage used to be very formal arrangements which required the woman to remain a virgin and monogamy was then maintained for life before modernity

giddens - plastic sexuality

sex is now for the purpose of gratification rather than to have children (recreational). as a result virginity is no longer expected or prized.

giddens - reflexivity

the process in which individuals reflect on previous experiences and imagine outcomes of possible choices in order to make decisions. reflexivity is being used in relationships, we now think in self-interest - explaining the move from romantic love to plastic sexuality.

giddens - confluent love

relationships are now contingent on meeting certain expectations (love, sex, loyalty etc) , partners understand if they aren't met the relationship will end.

giddens - pure relationship

an equal and mutually satisfying arrangement which meets the demand's of one's self-identity. confluent love is caused by the desire for this relationship. it's part of the 'project of self'

giddens - reflexive project of self

individuals are able to craft and revise their own identities - our identities are a constantly evolving and adapting project.

beck and beck-gernsheim

• risk

• individualisation thesis

• negotiated family

beck and beck-gernsheim - risk

relationships are now very vulnerable and prone to coming to an end

beck and beck-gernsheim - individualisation thesis

relationships are now a matter of individual choice

beck and beck-gernsheim - negotiated family

families that are continually being reorganised/restructured and often abandoned with new arrangements being sought.

(postmodernist) stacey

divorce-extended family

(postmodernist) stacey - divorce-extended family

families with a complicated structure - consisting of children, step-children, grandchildren and even step-grandchildren from previous marriages and relationships. this is due to divorce and feminism

Pam and Dotty

case study of 2 women in america who got married in the 1960s to w/c men. both were unhappy married, inspired by feminism, divorced. both tried a number of relationships. dotty took back her abusive husband only when she could control the relationship (when he was sick). pam remarried in a non-traditional, non-patriarchal arrangement. ended up in complicated households with numerous children, stepchildren, grandchildren and stepgrandchildren.

(personal life perspective) smart

connectedness thesis

(personal life perspective) smart - connectedness thesis

individuals have immensely strong attachments to loved ones and are so embedded in personal lives that include a network of parents, siblings, children, friends and wider relatives. these relationships are strong due to memories, sexual/emotional attachment and lived experiences.

(personal life perspective) budgeon

criticisms of the individualisation thesis

(personal life perspective) budgeon - criticisms of the individualisation thesis

argues that gidden's is a neoliberal view that falsely claims we live in an age of freedom and choice. many have cultural, social and family pressures to conform to. e.g women and the working class are subject to patriarchy and capitalism.

finch and may

criticism of negotiated family

finch and may - criticism of negotiated family

argues that negotiated family ignores the extent that families are often unequal and patriarchal with an adult male dictating roles and arrangements. yearnshire's research supports this as it shows how hard it is for women to even report abuse let alone walk away from a marriage and a family.

(new right) morgan

criticism of alternative families/families of choice

(new right) morgan - criticism of alternative families/families of choice

argues that these choices are disruptive for children and result on them lacking a male role model.