Sociology- Postmodernism and family diversity
- Created by: Daisymac
- Created on: 16-03-19 10:05
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- Postmodernism and family diversity
- What?
- Start from the view that we no longer live in a modern society
- There is no longer one single, dominant , stable family structure
- Family structures have now become fragmented into different types
- Stacey- Postmodern families
- 1998 -Argues that the greater freedom and choice has benefited women as they have been freed from patriarchal oppression
- Study of families in Silicon Valley found that women rather than men have been the main agents of changes in the family
- EG. Many of women interviewed had rejected traditional role of housewife and had created new types of family that suited their needs
- Divorce extended family- members connected by divorce rather than marriage
- Illustrate idea that postmodern families are diverse and their shape depends on the active choices people live about how to live their lives
- Morgan 2011 argues we cant make large scale generalisations about the family as if it were a single thing and we should focus on how people make their own diverse family lives
- Individualisation thesis
- Giddens and Beck explore the effects of increasing individual choice upon families and relationships
- It argues that traditional social structures such as class, gender and family have lost much of their influence over us
- In the past, peoples lives were defined by fixed roles that prevented them from choosing their own life course
- Now we have become disembedded ( freed) from traditional roles and structures
- Beck 1992 argues that the "standard biography" that people lived in the past has been replaced by a "do-it-yourself biography"
- Giddens- Choice and equality
- 1992- argues in recent decades, the family and marriage have been transformed y greater choice and a more equal relationship due to :
- Contraception has allowed sed and intimacy rather than reproduction
- Women have gained independence as a result of feminism and greater opportunities
- In past, marriage was held together by external forces like laws governing the marriage contract
- Couples today are free to define their relationships themselves rather than acting out roles set out by tradition
- 1992- argues in recent decades, the family and marriage have been transformed y greater choice and a more equal relationship due to :
- Pure relationships
- Giddens argues that pure relationships are not held together by law, religion or traditional institutions, but by individual choice and equality
- Key feature is that it solely exists to satisfy each partners needs -- Relationship exists as long as they want to
- Individuals are free to choose to enter and leave the relationship as they want
- But with more choice comes less stability as pure relations have a rolling contract that can be ended at the will of each partner
- This creates more family diversity as it creates lone parent families or one person households
- Same sex couples
- Giddens saw same sex relationships as leading the way towards new family types and creating more equal relationships
- Same sex couples not influenced by tradition and so have been able to develop relationships based on choice rather than traditional roles
- Enabled people in same sex relationships to negotiate personal relationships and to actively create family structures that serve their own needs
- Weston 1992 found same sex couples created supportive families of choice from among friends ,former lovers and biological kin
- Weeks 2000 found friendship networks functioned as kinship networks for gay men an lesbians
- Beck: The negotiated family
- 1992 argues that we now live in a risk society where tradition has less influence and people have more choice
- We are more aware of risks as making choices involves calculating the risks
- Although traditional patriarchal family was oppressive, it did provide a stable and predictable basis for family life
- Patriarchal family has been undermined by 2 trends
- Greater gender equality -- Women now expect equality from work and in marriage
- Greater individualism-- Peoples actions are influenced more by calculations of their own self interest than by tradition
- Beck and Beck-Gernsheim 1995 call this the negotiated family, which do not conform to the traditional family norm but vary according to the wishes and expectations of their members
- But its less stable as individuals are free to leave if their needs are not met
- The zombie family
- Beck- I appears to be alive, but in reality it is dead
- People want security in a security world
- The personal life perspective
- Agree there is more family diversity but disagree with Beck and Giddens' explanation of it
- Individualisation thesis exaggerates how much choice people have about family relationships today
- Budgeon 2011 notes this reflects the neoliberal ideology that individuals have complete freedom of choice
- Thesis wrongly sees people as disembedded, independent individuals and it ignores that our decisions are made within a social context
- Individualisation ignores importance of structural factos such as social class inequalities and patriarchal gender norms in limiting choice
- May- Giddens and Becks view of the individual is ' an idealised version of a white, middle class man' and ignore fact not everyone has same privilege
- The connectedness thesis
- Smart-Connectedness thesis
- Instead of seeing people as disembedded, isolated and with limitless choice,Smart argues that we are social beings whose choices are always mafe within a web of connectedness
- We live within networks of existing relationships and interwoven personal histories and these strongly influence our range of options and choices in relationships
- Finch and Masons 1993 study of extended families found whole individuals can negotiate the relationship they want, They are also embedded within family connections that restrict their choices
- Challenges the Pure family
- Eg. parents who separate remain linked by their children
- Emphasises the role of class and gender structures in which they are embedded
- Eg. After divorce, gender norms means women have the children, which may limit their opportunity to form new relationships
- The powerlessness of women and children compared to men means they lack freedom and so remain trapped in abusive relationships
- Power of structures
- Beck and Giddens argue there has been a weakening of structures of class, gender and the family
- May argues that these structures are just being reshaped eg, just because women have more rights that don't have it all now
- Einasdottir 2011 argues that while lesbianism is now tolerated, heteronormativity meant hat many lesbians forced to remain in the closet which limits their choices
- Personal life perspective does not see increased diversity simply as a result of greater freedom, but emphasises the importance of social structures in shaping the freedoms of many people now have to create more diverse types of family
- What?
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