Family Notes

Families and Households

Topic 1-Couples

The Domestic Division of Labour

Parsons:

-Expressive role- Women as the homemakers.

-Instrumental role- Men as the breadwinners.

Criticisms of Parsons:

- Young and Willmott argue that men are doing more domestic work and wives are

becoming wage earners. Sociological ‘New Man’.

- Feminist sociologists argue that the division of labour is not natural and is there to

benefit men only.

Joint and Segregated Conjugal Roles

Segregated Conjugal Roles- Where a couples have separate roles. The male is the

breadwinner and the female as the homemaker. Their leisure activities are also separate.

Joint Conjugal Roles- Where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and

then spend their leisure time together.

The Symmetrical Family

Young and Willmott take a ‘March of Progress’ view of the family.

They see family life as gradually improving for all of its members, becoming more equal and democratic, arguing that there is a trend away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles and the ‘symmetrical family’.

Symmetrical family means:

-Women now go out to work

-Men help with housework and childcare

-Couples now spend leisure time together, instead of separate.

Young and Willmott Study

In their study of London, they found that symmetrical families were more common amongst young couples.

They concluded that this increase in the Symmetrical nuclear family type was due to:

-Changes in women’s position (married women go out to work)

-Geographical mobility (More couples live away from the communities that they grew up in)

-New technology (labour saving devices)

-Higher standards of living.

The March of Progress view

This is the view that there is greater equality between men and women, and the division of
labour is more equal.
Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare and women are going out to work and earn wages.

Feminist view of Housework

Feminists reject the march of progress view. They say that little has changed, and men and

women still remain unequal in society. Women still do most of the housework and this

inequality is from the fact that family and society is male dominated.

Feminist sociologist Oakley argues that the view of the symmetrical family is exaggerated,

and women still do most of the work, while men take part in the pleasurable activities of

childcare and playing with the children, while women are left to do the domestic work.

Taking Responsibility for Children

Boulton argues that although fathers help by taking part in specific tasks relating to

childcare, it is usually the mother who takes responsibility for the child’s security and well-

being.

This view is supported by studies:

-Ferri and Smith found that fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4%

of families.

-Dex and Ward found that although 78% of fathers had high involvement in their

children and playing with them, but when it came to care for their sick child, only 1%

of fathers were the main carers.

-Braun, Vincent and Ball found that in 3 out of 70 families, the father was the main

carer.

Emotional work and the triple shift.

Hochschild says that women also have the responsibility of emotional work, where they are

responsible for managing family members emotions and feelings, therefore, they have to

perform a triple shift of housework, paid work and emotional work.

The Gender Division of Labour

There are 2 explanations for the gender division of labour:

1) The cultural or ideological explanation of inequality

This is the view that the division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values

that shape the gender roles in our culture. Women therefore do domestic labour

because that is what society expects them to do.

2) The material or economic explanation of inequality

This is the view that women earn less than men generally, so it is economically rational

that they do more housework and childcare while men spend more time earning from

paid work.

Evidence for Cultural explanation

From this explanation, equality can only be achieved through change in gender norms.

Gershuny - couples whose parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share

housework equally themselves. This suggests that parental role models and influence is

important.

Evidence of Material Explanation

From this view, if women go out to work and earn as much as men, then we should see

change in the amount of domestic work and childcare that men take part in.

Kan -found that for every £10,000 a year more a woman earns, she does two hours less

housework per week.

Resources and Decision Making in Households

Money Management

There are two main types of control over family income:

The allowance system- where men give their wives an allowance out of which they have
to budget to meet the needs of their family, with the man keeping any surplus income
for himself.
Pooling- where both partners have access to income and hold a joint responsibility for
expenditure, such as a joint bank account.

Decision-Making

It is assumed that pooling means there is equality in decision making and control over

resources, but the pooled income actually tends to be more controlled by men.

Pahl and Vogler found that even where there was pooling, men usually made the major financial

decisions.

Studies found that:

Very important decisions, like those to do with finance, a change of job or moving to a
new house, were usually taken by the man alone, or the couple jointly decided, by the
man having the final say.
Important decisions such as those about children’s education or where to go on holiday
were usually taken jointly.
Less important decisions like choice of home decor or children’s clothes and food was
usually taken by the woman alone.

Feminists argue that inequalities in decision making aren’t simply the result of inequalities in earnings.

They argue that societies patriarchy and the idea of men being decision-makers is due to the cultural definition and how it is ingrained in society in men and women and instilled through gender role socialisation. However, if both partners keep their money separately, this doesn’t always mean inequality.

Vogler et al found that cohabiting couples were less likely to pool their money, to maintain independence, yet, evidence suggests that cohabiting couples are more likely than married couples to share domestic work equally.

The Personal Life Perspective argues that we need to understand the different meanings money can have within a relationship.

For example, different couple types such as
lesbians and gays were perfectly happy to allow their partner have control and make
decisions in regard to money as they did not see control of money as meaning either
equality or inequality in their relationship.

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is widespread so it can’t be the work of a few disturbed individuals.
According to Women’s Aid Federation, domestic violence accounts for between a sixth
and a quarter of all violent crimes.
Domestic violence does not occur randomly, but it follows a particular social pattern,
and these patterns have social causes.
The most striking of these patterns is that it is usually men who commit acts of violence against women.
For example, research found that women are more likely than men to have experienced
intimate violence.

2 types of explanations for domestic violence:

1) The radical feminist explanation

This emphasizes the idea of patriarchy, cultural value and institutions.

2) The materialist explanation

This emphasizes economic factors such as lack of resources.

Radical feminist explanation

Radical feminists believe that society is founded on patriarchy and there are key divisions

between men and women. Men play the role of the enemy; they are oppressors and

exploiters of women. They also see family and marriage as key institutions in society that

are the main source of women’s oppression.

Materialist explanation

These focus on factors that are economic such as inequalities in income and housing to

explain why some groups are more at risk than others. For example, some sociologists see

domestic violence as a result of stress on family members, and that stress being caused by

social inequality.

Topic 2- Childhood

Childhood is a social construct

Sociologists see childhood as a social construct, as something that is created and defined by
society.
The meaning of childhood, the children’s position in society is never fixed, but it
changes between different times, places and cultures.

The modern western notion of childhood

In western society, childhood is seen as a special time in life and children are very different from adults.
They are seen as physically and psychologically immature and not yet able to take responsibility for themselves and run their own lives.
The most important thing about the western idea of childhood is its separateness.
Childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage and children in society have a separate status than that of adults.

Cross-cultural differences in childhood

Children in simpler, non-industrial societies are generally treated differently from modern

western societies, in 3 ways:

They take responsibility from an early age- In rural Bolivia, children are expected to
take work responsibilities in the home and local community from the age of 5.
Less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority- In Tikopia,
doing as you are told by a grown up is considered as a concession to be granted by a
child, rather than a right to be expected by the adult.
Children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently- Among the Trobriand
Islanders, sociologists found that adults took an attitude of ‘tolerance and amused
interest’ towards children’s sexual explorations and activities.

The globalisation of western childhood

Sociologists argue that the western notions of childhood are being globalised by International humanitarian and welfare agencies who have exported and imposed on the rest of the world, western norms of what childhood should be.

For example, campaigns against child labour reflect western views about what childhood should be, however, this might just be the norms in those societies and cultures which are accepting of this & not reflect the views of all societies.

Historical differences in childhood

The position of children differs over time. For example, in the Middle Ages, the idea of childhood did not exist.
Children were not seen as having different needs as adults, once they had passed the stage of physical dependency.
The law also didn’t differ between children and adults, in the Middle Ages. This is because they were seen as ‘min adults’ and so they were given the same punishments for crimes as adults, despite the severity of the punishment.

The modern cult of childhood

Elements of the modern western notion of childhood come from the Middle ages. This is because:

Schools which previously allowed adults to attend, started specialising in young
children only.
There was more of a distinction between adult and child clothing, so children were set
apart from adults.
By the 18th century, handbooks on childrearing were more available which showed that
child centred families were more common, and children were being given separate
identities.

Reasons for the changes in the position of children:

Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work.
The introduction of compulsory schooling
Laws and policies that apply specifically to children
Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates have encouraged parents to make a greater financial and emotional investment in their children.
Industrialisation- the shift from agriculture to factory production is the reasons for many of the changes in the position of children. For example, modern industry needs an educated workforce, which requires compulsory schooling of the young.

The Future of Childhood

As childhood is socially constructed, we can expect it to change with time, as things begin to change even more in the future.

The disappearance of childhood:

Neil Postman argues that childhood is disappearing at a ‘dazzling speed’. This is because there has become an increase in the trend of giving children and adults the same rights.

Moreover, there are other things such as the disappearance of children’s unsupervised traditional games, children’s clothing becoming more and more similar to adult clothing and even children who are committing adult crimes such as murder.

In Postman’s view, the cause of childhood first emerging and now disappearing is due to the rise and fall of print culture and then transition to television culture.

The information hierarchy

Postman argues that childhood emerged in the 19th Century.

This is because printed word culture created a barrier between adults who were able to read, and children who weren’t.

Adults were able to talk about adult things such as money, violence, sex, illness, death, and have the power and knowledge to keep these things secret from children.

However, television has blurred the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy. This is because TV doesn’t require any special skills to access it and it is easy for both adult and child to understand, so the boundary between adult and child is broken down as the innocence and ignorance of childhood is replaced by knowledge and cynicism.

Childhood in postmodernity

Postmodernist Jenks argues that childhood is not disappearing, but is just changing.

He argues that childhood is a creation of modern society (especially the 20th century) which was concerned with futurity and childhood was seen as preparation for the child to evolve into an adult in the future.
To achieve this transition to adult, the vulnerable child needs to be nurtured, hence why there were ‘child-centred’ families.
However, Jenks argues that childhood is undergoing change once again as society moves from modernity to postmodernity.
In modern society, adult relationships were more stable, but in postmodern society the pace of change has sped up, so relationships are more unstable, hence why there is an increase in divorce.
Divorce results in feelings of insecurity and so relationship with their child becomes more important as a sense of stability and identity for the adult.
Therefore, in postmodern society, adults become more preoccupied and involved with their
children, constantly feeling the need to protect them which strengthens the view of children
as vulnerable and in need of protection.
Overall, childhood continues to be a separate status that is changing but not disappearing.

Has the position of children improved?

The March of Progress view

The March of progress view argues that the position of children in western societies has steadily improved and today is much better than it has ever been.
Aries argues that children today are protected from harm through exploitation and child
labour, they have better healthcare and education and have more rights than previous generations.

The child-centred family

March of progress view sociologists argue that the family is more ‘child centred’, so children are no longer to be ‘seen and not heard’ as they were in the Victorian times.

Now children are seen as the focal point of the family.

Moreover, now they aren’t only seen as the focal point of the family, but also of society as a whole.

For example, leisure activities are designed specifically for children.

The conflict view

Conflict sociologists such as Marxists and Feminists argue that the march of progress view of

modern childhood is based on false and idealised images that ignore important inequalities.

They criticise the march of progress view for 2 reasons:

There are inequalities among children in terms of opportunities and risks as many
children are uncared for properly and aren’t protected properly.
The inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever as children today experience greater control, oppressions and dependency, not greater care and protection.

Inequalities among children

Not all children share the same status or experiences as there are inequalities.

Children of different nationalities are likely to experience different childhoods and life
chances. (905 of low birth weight babies are born in developing countries.)
There are also gender differences between children. (Boys are more likely to be allowed to
cross or cycle on roads or go out after dark unaccompanied) (Girls do more domestic labour-
especially in lone parent households).
There are ethnic differences which are a reason for inequalities among children. (Asian
parents were more likely to be strict towards their daughters- ideas of izzat (honour) could
be a restriction).

There are also class inequalities between children.

Poor mothers more likely to have low birth weight babies, which is linked to delayed
physical and intellectual development.
Children of born in poor families are more likely to die in infancy or childhood or to
suffer longstanding illnesses, to be shorter in height, to fall behind in school.

Inequalities between children and adults

March of progress sociologists argue that ‘protection’ from paid work is not a benefit to children but a form of inequality which forcibly segregates children, making them more dependant, powerless and subject to adult control.

Control over children’s space

Children’s movements in Britain are highly regulated, for example, shops may display ‘no
schoolchildren’ signs and children are told to play in some areas and forbidden to play in
others.
This control and surveillance contrasts with the independence of children in
developing countries such as Sudan where children are allowed to roam freely both in the
village and several kilometres outside.

Control over children’s time

Adults in modern society control children’s timings, including when they wake up, eat, go to
school, come home, go out, play, watch television, and sleep.
They also control the speed at which children ‘grow up’ as they decide whether a child is old enough to participate in a certain activity.
This contrasts with Samoans who are told they are never too young to participate in a certain task.

Control over children’s bodies

Adults exercise control over children’s bodies. From how they sit, walk, run, what they wear,
their hairstyles, when they are washed, fed, when their hands are held, patted, cuddled, and
disciplined.

Age patriarchy

Gintis uses the term ‘age patriarchy’ to describe the inequalities between adults and
children.
Just as feminists use the term patriarchy to describe male domination in society, the term age patriarchy is used to describe adult domination in society.
The ‘new sociology of childhood’
There is danger of seeing children as merely passive objects who have no part in making
their own childhoods and seeing them as ‘socialisation projects’ for adults to mould, shape and develop.
The ‘new sociology of childhood’ argues that we must take the perspective of the child and it sees children as active agents who play a major part in shaping and creating their own childhood

Topic 3 – Theories of the Family

Functionalists Perspective of the Family

Functionalists believe that society is based on value consensus, which is a set of shared

norms and values, into which society socialises its members.

Functionalists regard society to be made up of different parts that are all dependent on one another.

This is called organic analogy- like the organs of a body function to make the body work, society’s sub-systems depend on each other to function properly.

The family is seen as a very important sub-system as it plays an important role in society.

Murdock- The 4 Functions of the family

Sexual Function
Educational Function ( i.e, Socialisation)
Economic Function
Reproductive Function

Criticisms of Murdock

-Feminists see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women.

-Marxists see family as a means of meeting the needs of capitalism, not those of family

members.

Parsons ‘Functional Fit’ theory

The family will need to perform functions and meet other needs too. The functions that the

family performs will affect family structure. Parsons distinguishes between 2 types of family

structures:

1) Nuclear family- of parents and their dependent children living under one roof.

2) Extended family- Of 3 generations living under one roof

Parsons argues that the nuclear family fits the needs of industrial society and the extended

family meets the needs of pre-industrial society.

Parsons ‘Functional Fit’ theory states that Industrialisation created the need for families to

be:

-Geographically mobile-The nuclear family is better fitted to the need that modern industry

has for a geographically mobile workforce. It’s harder to move around 3 generations under

one roof.

-Socially mobile- The nuclear family is better suited for social mobility to be possible, as a

son can go out and achieve their own status through ability and hard work, and there would

be no conflict, unless the son was to be in an extended family, where the conflict would be

with his father.

Functionalism argues that the Nuclear family is the most efficient from of family in meeting

societies functional pre-requisites.

Loss of Function

According to Parsons, when a society industrialises, it loses its functions. For example, the

family ceases to be a unit of production, as work moves into factories and the family only

remains as a unit of consumption. It loses many of its functions to other institutions such as

healthcare and education. As a result of this loss of functions, the family comes to specialise

in performing 2 functions:

1) The primary socialisation of children- equip them with basic skills and values that

help them to integrate into society.

2) The stabilisation of adult personalities- the family is a place where adults can relax

and release tensions, enabling them to return to the workplace and meet its

demands.

Marxist Perspective of the Family

Marxists see society as based on conflict between two social classes:

- The capitalist class, who own the means of production (also known as the

bourgeoisie)

- The working class, whose labour the capitalist class exploit (also known as the

proletariat)

Marxists have identified several functions that they see the family as fulfilling:

1) Inheritance of property

The key factor that determines the shape of all institutions is the mode of production-

who owns society’s productive forces (raw materials, machinery, tools, labour, land etc)

In modern society, this is the capitalist class. As production forces developed in society,

so did the wealth and with wealth came the introduction of private property and the

class of men who were able to secure the means of production. Then came the

importance of monogamy for the inheritance of private property. The rise of the

monogamous nuclear family bought women’s sexuality under male control and left

women as instruments for the production of children.

2) Ideological Functions

Marxists believe that the family performs key ideological functions for capitalism. One

way in which they do this is by socialising children into the idea that hierarchy and

inequality are inevitable. Parental power over children accustoms them to the idea that

there is always someone who has to be in charge.

3) A unit of consumption

Capitalism exploits workers by selling the products of their labour for more than it pays

them to produce these commodities. The family therefore plays a major role in

producing profits for capitalists.

-Advertisers urge families to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ by consuming the latest

products.

-The media aim at children who use ‘pester power’ to persuade their parents to buy

them what they want.

Therefore, family performs several functions that maintain capitalism in society.

Feminists Perspective of the Family

Feminists take a critical view of the family, as they argue that it oppresses women. There are

4 different types of feminists who take a different approach to their views on the family.

These are:

1) Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminists’ campaign against sex discrimination and for equal rights and

opportunities for women.

- They argue that women’s oppression is getting better as people’s attitudes are

changing. For example, there have been changes I n the law such as the Sex

Discrimination Act (1975). They believe that society is getting better and moving

towards greater equality, although they are not completely equal yet.

Feminists hold a ’March of Progress’ view as they believe that full equality has not yet.

Been achieved but there is a gradual movement towards equality between men and

women.

2) Marxist Feminism

Marxist feminists argue that the reason for women’s oppression is not men, but

instead it is capitalism. This is because women’s oppression serves the needs of

capitalism.

-Women reproduce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour and

primary socialisation of the next generation.

-Women absorb anger that would be taken out on capitalism. Ansley describes

women as ‘takers of shit’ who take the anger and frustration that their husbands feel

and vent due to the exploitation they experience at work.

-Women are a reserve army of cheap labour that can be used when extra workers are

needed, and when they are no longer needed, employers can ‘let them go’ to return

to their primary roles as unpaid domestic labourers.

3) Radical Feminism

Radical feminists believe that all societies have been founded on the basis of

patriarchy. The key divisions in society is between and women are:

-Men are the enemy: the source of women’s exploitation.

-The family and marriage key institutions in patriarchal society. Men benefit from

women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services and dominate women through

violence or the threat of it.

For women, this patriarchy which society is built on, must be abolished for women to

overcome oppression. Radical feminists believe that the way they can overcome this

oppression is through separatism-women must organise themselves to live

independently. Many argue for ‘political lesbianism’ as heterosexual relationships will

always be oppressive as they involve sleeping with the enemy.

Difference Feminism

Difference feminism argues that we can’t generalise about women’s experiences.

Every woman will have a different experience. For example, by saying that family is

negative, white feminists ignore the racial oppression that black women might face

and instead black feminists view family as a support system against racism.

The Personal Life Perspective on families.

The personal life perspective argues that Functionalist, Marxist and Feminists all have

2 weaknesses:

1. The assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant family type,

ignoring the increased diversity of family types today.

2. They are all structural theories, so they assume that families and its members are

puppets that are manipulated by the structure of society to perform functions.

The Sociology of Personal Life

This perspective is influenced by interactionist and postmodernist ideas and argues

that to understand families we need to gain an understanding of the individuals

concerned and the meanings that they give to relationships. This contrasts with other

perspectives as;

-Functionalism; Marxism and Feminism take a top-down approach.

-Personal life takes a bottom-up approach. It emphasises the meanings that family

members hold and how these shape relationships.

Beyond Ties of Blood and Marriage

By focusing on people’s meanings this perspective highlights other ranges of personal

or intimate relationships that are important to people even though they may not be

defined as family conventionally. These include;

-Relationships with friends.

-Fictive kin (close friends who are treated as relatives e.g. aunty-mum’s best friend).

-gay and lesbian ‘chosen families.’

-relationships with dead relatives (who live on in people’s memories).

-relationships with pets.

Evaluation of Personal Life Perspective

Personal life perspective argues that we must focus on the meanings people give to

relationships and on how they define what counts as family. However, critics argue

that by including a wide range of different kinds of personal relationships, we ignore

what is special about relationships that are based on blood and marriage

Families and Households

Topic 4 – Demography

The Study of population and the characteristics is called demography. These characteristics

include:

-Size: this is whether a population is large or small, growing or declining?

-Age Structure: this is the average age of the population - rising or falling?

Factors that most directly affect the size of a country’s population are:

-Births: how many babies are born

-Deaths: how many people die

-Immigration: how many people enter the country from elsewhere

-Emigration: how many people leave the country to live elsewhere

Births

The number of births affects population size. Sociologists use birth rate to measure birth.

The birth rate is defined as number of live births per thousand of the population per year.

The Total Fertility Rate

These factors that determine birth rate are, firstly, the proportion of women who are of

childbearing age (this is usually 15 to 44) and secondly how fertile they are- how many

children they can have. The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children

women will have during their fertile years.

The total fertility rate in the UK is lower than it has been in the past although it is rising in

recent years it is still low. Changes in fertility and birth rates reflect the fact that:

-Women are remaining childless than in the past

-Women are postponing having children the average for giving birth now is 30 and fertility

rates for women in their 30s and 40s are on the increase. Older women are less fertile and

have few fertile years remaining, so they produce fewer children.

Reasons for Decline in Birth rate

There are a number of social economic cultural legal political and technological factors that

are reasons for the long-term decline in birth rate since 1900.

1) Changes in women’s position- the major changes in the position of women during

the 20th century are:

- Legal equality with men including the right to vote.

- Increased educational opportunities girls now do better at school than boys.

- More women are in paid employment and there are also laws against an equal pay

and discrimination.

- Changes in attitudes to family life and women’s role

- Easier access to divorce.

- Access to abortion and contraceptive methods, which gives women control over

their fertility.

Decline in infant mortality rate

The infant mortality rate measures the number of infants who died before their first

birthday per thousand babies born alive per year. Reasons for the decline in infant

mortality rate in the UK is due to several reasons:

- Approved sanitisation and housing such as flushing toilets and clean drinking water

this reduced infectious diseases and so infants are less likely to get ill.

- Better nutrition including that of mothers

- Better knowledge of hygiene so there was more child health and welfare that are

spread through magazines and newspapers.

- Print services for mothers and children such as antenatal and postnatal clinics.

3) Children are now an economic liability

In the past children were economic asset to the parents as they could be sent out to

work and earn an income from an early age however they are now an economic

liability. This is due to:

- Laws banning child labour, introducing compulsory schooling and raising the school

leaving age meaning that children remain economically dependent on their parents

for longer.

- Changing norms about what children have a right to expect from the parents in

material terms means that cost of bringing up children has risen.

As a result of these financial pressures parents feel less willing than in the past, do you have

Andres a bigger family.

4) Child centredness

The increasing child centredness of the family and society means that childhood is

socially constructed as a unique and important part of a person’s life. In terms of

family size this has led to the idea from “quantity” to “quality” so parents now have

fewer children and pay more attention to them and providing for them to the best of

their ability.

Future trends in Birth rates

As a result of these factors birth rates, fertility rate and family sizes have fallen over the past

century. However, there has been a slight increase in birth rates, since 2001. The biggest

reasons for this increase in birth rate is immigration because on average mothers outside of

the UK have a higher fertility rate than those born in the UK. Babies born to mothers from

outside the UK accounted for 25% of all of birth in 2011. The projection for the period up to

2041 expects the annual number of births to be around 800,000 per year.

Effects of changes in fertility

Changes in the number of babies born affect several aspects of society. These include the

family, the dependency ratio, and public services and policies.

1) The Family

Smaller families mean that women are more likely to be able to go out to work

creating a dual earner couple, typical of many professional families. However, family

size is the only factor here. For example, better off couples may have larger families

but still be able to afford childcare that allows them to work full time.

The Dependency ratio

This is the relationship between the size of the working part of the population and

the size of the nonworking part of the population. The earnings, savings and taxes of

the working population must support the dependent population. Children make up a

large part of the dependent population, so a fall in the number of children reduces

the burden of dependency on the working population. However, fewer children or

babies being born will mean fewer young adults and smaller working population is

the battle of dependency may begin to rise again.

Vanishing children- Falling fertility rate mean fewer children. As a result, childhood

may become lonely experience as fewer children will have siblings, and more

childless adults may mean fewer voices speaking up in support of children’s interests.

Conversely, fewer children could mean they will come to be more valued.

3) Services and policies

Lower birth rate has consequences for public services. For example, fewer schools

and maternity and child health services may be needed. It also affects the cost of the

maternity and paternity leave and types of housing that need to be built. However,

we should remember that many of these are political decisions. For example, instead

of reducing the number of schools, the government could decide to have a smaller

class sizes.

An ageing population- One effect of women having fewer babies is that the average age of

the population is rising: there are more old people than young people.

Deaths

There are several reasons why the death rate declined during the 20th century.

Reasons for decline in death rate:

1) Improved nutrition

Improved nutrition accounted for up to half of the reduction in death rates. This

also was particularly important in reducing the number of deaths from

tuberculosis. Better nutrition increased resistance to the infection and increased

survival chances of those who did become infected

Medical improvements

The 1950s, approved medical knowledge, techniques and organisation did help to

reduce the rate. These advances in and includes the introduction of antibiotics,

immunisation, blood transfusion, improve maternity services, as well as the

setting up of the National Health Service. In recent years, improved medication,

bypass surgery and other developments have reduced death from heart disease

by one third.

3) Smoking and diet

Greatest falling death rate in recent decades has come not from medical

equipment but simply from reduction in the number of people who smoke.

However, the 21st century obesity has replaced smoking as a new lifestyle

epidemic. For example, in 2012 and quarter of the UK adults were obese.

Although obesity has increased dramatically, deaths from obesity have been kept

low due to medication and drug therapy. Harper suggests that we may be moving

to an American health culture where lifestyles are unhealthy but long lifespan is

achieved through the use of costly medication.

4) Public health measures

In the 20th century governments have passed and in force close to lead to a range

of improvements in public health and quality of the environment. These include

improvements in housing, pure drinking water, laws to combat the adulteration

of food and drink, the pasteurisation of milk and improved sewage disposal

methods. Clean Air Act is reduced air pollution such as the smog that led to

4,000 deaths in five days in 1952.

5) Other social changes

- The decline of dangerous manual occupations such as mining

- Smaller families reduce the rate of transmission of infection

- Greater public knowledge of the causes of illness

- Lifestyle changes, especially the reduction in number of men who smoke.

- Higher incomes, allowing for a healthier lifestyle.

Life expectancy

This refers to how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live. As death

rates have fallen, so life expectancy has increased. For example:

- Males born in 1900 England could expect on average to live until they were 50. (54 for

females)

- Males born in England in 2013 can expect to live for 90.7 years. (94 for females.)

Over the past two centuries life expectancy has increased by two years per decade.

The ageing population

The average age of the UK population is rising. In 1971 it was 34.1 years, by 2013 was

40.3 and by 2037 it is predicted to be 42.8. A way of illustrating the changing age

profile of the population is by the use of age pyramids. These show how older age

groups are growing as a proportion of the population, while younger groups are

shrinking. In fact, sociologists have noted the traditional age pyramid is disappearing

and being replaced by more or less equal size blocks representing the different age

groups. For example, by 2041, there will be as many 78-year-olds as five-year-olds.

Ageing of the population is caused by three factors:

1) Increasing life expectancy – people are living longer into old-age.

2) Declining infant mortality, so that nowadays hardly anyone dies in early life.

3) Declining fertility-fewer young people are being born in relation to the number of

older people in the population.

Effects of an ageing population

1) Public services

Older people consume a large proportion of services such as health and social

care as opposed to other age groups. This is particularly true of the ‘old old’

usually defined as 75 over, as opposed to the ‘young old’ (65 to 75).

However, there is the issue of over generalising, since many people remain in

relatively good health well into old age.

2) One-person pensioner households

The number of pensioners living alone has increased and one-person

pensioner households now account for about 12.5% of all households. Most

of these are female, both because women generally live longer and because

they are usually younger than their husbands.

3) The dependency ratio

The nonworking old or an economically dependent group we need to be

provided for those of working age, for example through taxation to pay for

pensions and healthcare. As the number of retired people rises, the

dependency ratio increases and the burden on the working population

increases as well. In 2015, there were 3.2 people of working age for every one

pensioner. This ratio is predicted to 2.8 to one by 2033.

Ageism, modernity and Postmodernity

Ageism

One consequence of the ageing population in modern society is ageism- the negative

stereotyping and an equal treatment of people on the basis of their age. Ageism is shown

discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in healthcare.

Modern society and old age

Sociologists argue that ageism is the result of structured dependency. Old people are

excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the

state. In modern society our identity and status both are largely determined by our role in

production. Those excluded from production by compulsory retirement have a dependent

status and a stigmatised identity.

Similarly, Marxist argue that old are of no use to capitalism because they are no longer

productive. As a result, the state is unwilling to support them and so the family, especially

female relatives, have to take on the responsibility of looking after the elderly.

In modern society life is structured in two stages such as childhood, youth and so on. Age

becomes important in role allocation, creating fixed life stages and age-related identities

such as worker or pensioner. The old people are then excluded from role in labour forces

and made a part of the dependency ratio.

Postmodern society and old age

Postmodernist sociologists argue that in today’s postmodern society, the next stages of life

have been broken down. For example, trends such as children dressing in adult styles, later

marriage and early retirement all begin to blur life stages. This gives individuals more choice

of lifestyle no matter their age.

In post man in society consumption becomes key to our identity. We can now define

ourselves by what we consume. This means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless

of age: our age no longer determines who we are and how we live.

As a result of becoming market for a range of body maintenance or rejuvenation goods and

services which they can create their own identities. These include surgery, exercise

equipment, gym memberships and anti- ageing products. These friends break down the

ageist stereotypes found in modern society.

Two other features of postmodern society also undermine old-age as a stigmatised life

stage:

- The centrality of media: media images now portray positive aspects of the lifestyles

of the elderly.

- The emphasis on surface features: the body becomes a surface on which we can

write our identities. Anti-ageing products enable the old to write different identities

for themselves.

Inequality among the old

While the ordinary stages of the life course may have broken down somewhat, inequality

such as class and gender remain important. Many of these are related to the individual’s

previous occupational position.

Class: the middle-class have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher

salaries. Poorer old people have a short life expectancy and have a more infirmity making it

more difficult to maintain a youthful self-identity.

Gender: women’s lower earnings and career breaks as carers means lower pensions. They

are so subject to sexist as well as ageist stereotype, for example being described as old hags.

Migration

In addition to natural change, the other factor affecting the size and age of the population is

migration. Migration refers to the movement of people from place to place can be internal

within a society, or international.

Immigration- refers to the movement into a society.

Emigration-refers to the movement out.

Net migration is the difference between the numbers of immigrants and the numbers of

emigrants and is expressed as a net increase or a decrease due to migration.

Immigration

F-rom the 1900s until the Second World War of the largest immigrant group were the Irish,

mainly for economic reasons, followed by the eastern and central European Jews who were

often refugees fleeing persecution. Also, most people were of British decent from Canada

and USA, very few people were non-white.

-By the 1950’s black immigrants from the Caribbean began to arrive in the UK, followed by

South Asian immigrants in the 1960’s and 70’s.

-One consequence of immigration is that there is a more ethically diverse society. By 2011,

ethnic minority groups accounted for 14% of the population. This has also resulted in more

diverse family patterns.

Emigration

From as early as the mid-16th century until the 1980s, the UK was almost a net exporter of

people: more emigrated to live elsewhere then came to settle in the UK. Since 1900,

immigrants have gone to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Reasons for immigration have been economic:

- Push factors such as economic recession and unemployment at home

- Pull factors such as higher wages or better opportunities abroad

The impact of migration on UK population structure

Recent years have seen an increase in immigration and emigration. These trends

affect the size of UK population, its age structure and dependency ratio.

Population size: the UK population is currently growing, partly as a result of

immigration:

-Net migration is increased (for example, 260,000 in 2014) with more immigrants

583,000 then emigrants 323,000. 47% of the immigrants were non-EU citizens, 30%

were EU citizens, mainly from Eastern Europe and 14% were British citizens returning

to the UK.

- There is also a natural increase, with births exceeding deaths. However, births to UK

born mothers remains low and births to no-UK born mothers are higher and account

for about 25% of all births but even with these, births remain below the level of 2.1

per woman.

Age Structure – Immigration lowers the average age of the population both directly

and indirectly:

Directly: Immigrants are generally younger. For example, in 2011, the average age of

UK passport holders was 41, whereas that of non-UK passport holders living in the

UK was 31.

Indirectly: Being younger, immigrants are more fertile, and thus produce more

babies.

The dependency ratio immigration has 3 effects:

- Immigrants are more likely to be of working age and this helps lower dependency

ratio. In addition, many older migrants return to their original country to retire.

- Because they are younger, immigrants have more children, thereby increasing the

ratio. However, over time these children will end up going to join the labour force,

bringing the ratio down again.

- The longer a group is settled in a country, the closer their fertility rate is to the

national average, so their impact on the dependency ratio is reduced.

Globalisation and Migration

Globalisation is the idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are

becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries. Globalisation is a result of

many processes including the growth of communication systems and global media, the

creation of global markets and the expansion of European Union.

Many see globalisation as producing rapid social changes. One change is international

migration- the movement of people across borders. There are several trends in global

migration:

1) Acceleration: there has been a speeding up of migration. For example, according to

the United Nations (2013), between 2000 and 2013, international migration

increased by 33%, to reach 232 million.

2) Differentiation: since the 1990’s, globalisation has led to ‘super diversity’ , migrants

now come from a much wider range of countries.

There are also class differences among migrants:

-Citizens with full rights such as voting and benefits (since the 1990’s, the UK has

made it harder for immigrants to acquire these rights)

- Denizens are privileged foreign nationals that are welcomed by the state.

(billionaires, highly paid employees)

- Helots (literally slaves) are the most exploited group. States and employers regard

them as ‘disposable units of labour power’, a reserve army of labour. They are found

in unskilled and poorly paid work and illegally trafficked workers.

3) The feminisation of migration: Almost half of all global migrants are female. This has

been called the globalisation of the gender division of labour, where female migrants

find that they are fitted into patriarchal stereotypes about women’s roles as carers or

providers of sexual services. Hochschild found that care work, domestic work and

sex work in western countries is increasingly done by women from poor countries.

This is a result of:

Western women have joined the labour force and are less willing to perform

domestic labour.

Western men remain unwilling to perform domestic labour

The failure of state to provide adequate childcare.

Migrant Identities

Migrants develop hybrid identities. For example, Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain created

hierarchical identities: they saw themselves as Muslim first, then Bengali, then British.

Transnational Identities

Migration patterns have become more diverse due to globalisation, and people moving back

and forth rather than having permanent settlements, so people are less likely to see

themselves as belonging completely to one culture and instead may develop transnational

‘neither/nor’ identities.

The Politicisation of Migration

Migration has become and important political issue. States now have policies that aim to

control immigration, absorb migrants into society and deal with increased ethnic and

cultural diversity. More recently immigration policies have been linked to national security

and anti-terrorism policies.

Assimilation- this was the first state policy approach to immigration. It was to encourage

immigrants to adopt the language, values and customs of the host culture to make them

integrate.

However, the problem with this is that migrants with transnational identities or hybrid

identities may not be willing to abandon their culture.

Multiculturalism accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate identity. However, this

acceptance may be limited to the more superficial aspects of cultural diversity. For example,

there is Shallow diversity, and Deep diversity.

Shallow Diversity: such as regarding chicken tikka masala as Britain’s national dish.

Deep Diversity: such as arranged marriages or the veiling of women , is not acceptable to the

state

Families and Households

Topic 5 -Changing Family Patterns

Divorce

Changing Patterns of Divorce

Since the 1960’s, there has been a great increase in the number of divorces in the UK. The

number of divorces doubled between 1961 and 1969 and doubled again by 1972. The

upward trend continued peaking in 19333 at 165,000.