The Nature and Role of Family in Society
Mindmap on the nature and role of the family. This is part one. Part two is also provided.
- Created by: needhelp
- Created on: 28-11-12 17:42
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- The nature and role of family in society
- Families and households are always the same thing
- households = people who live togehter who may not be family or have kinship ties
- 2001 census foud 24.4million households in the uk
- social trend = increase of people living along
- A family is a type of household where the people are related
- Kinship means related by birth or blood
- Families can be related through non kindship ties as well - foster, guardians, mother in law etc
- Nuclear family = two generations living together (mother father and dependent children)
- Extended families: three generations living together
- Beanpole family: nuclear family with one or two chilren who maintain regular contact with grandparents
- single parent families: 25% of families. More than tripled since 1970's. 90% headed by women. 1 in 5 children.
- Same sex families: increasing.
- reconstituted families: made of adult couple, married or unmarried, living with at least one child from a past relationship of one of the partners
- Functionalists emphasise the positive role of the family
- See every institution in society as essential to the smooth running of society
- MURDOCK: family so useful to society that its inevitable and universal - you cant avoid having family units
- MURDOCK: looked at 250 societies, different cultures, found four basic functions
- Economic: pools resources and provides for all its members, adults and children
- Sexual: stable relationship for adults, controls the sexual relationships of its members
- Reproductive: provides new babies - new members of society
- Educational: teaches children value and norms of society, keeps the values of society going
- Economic: pools resources and provides for all its members, adults and children
- Sexual: stable relationship for adults, controls the sexual relationships of its members
- Economic: pools resources and provides for all its members, adults and children
- Educational: teaches children value and norms of society, keeps the values of society going
- Economic: pools resources and provides for all its members, adults and children
- TALCOTT PARSONS:2 basic, irredcible functions. 1. primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities. "Factories" where next citizens are produced. Sanctuary from the stress of everyday life.
- Some functionalists ignore the negative aspects of family life
- Criticised for idealising the family.
- MORGAN (1975) says murdock makes no reference to alternative households or to disharmony and problems in families
- Widespread criticism issues such as conflict, class or violence in families arent talked of by parsons or murdock
- Feminists say they ignore the exploitation of women
- Because they ignore things, their position looks weak
- Marxists see the family as meeting the needs of capitalist system
- Like functionalists they see the family as performing essential functions for modern industrial society
- Argue that family benefits the minority in power (bourgeoisie) and the economy, but disadvantages the working class majority (proletariat)
- ENGELS (1884) family had economic function of keeping wealth within the bourgeoisie by passing it on to the next generation. (inheritance) rich person dies - kids get money
- ZARETSKY (1976) focused on how family helped capitalist economy. Said family is the one place where proletariat have power + control. Woking man = kind of his own castle. Relive frustration of workers, helping to accept oppression and exploitation of workers.
- Roles of women is as "housewife" means workers are cared for and healthy. Makes them more productive. Great benefit capitalist class get for free.
- Family is a unit with the desire to buy goods produced by capitalist industry. Theyre a unit of consumption.They buy goods for more than they cost to make and the bourgeoisie get the profit.
- Their view is criticised for being to negative. Its always about being a tool of capitalist oppression, never nice things, like bedtime stories or trips.
- Entirely focused on benefits to the economy, and benefits to the working mans boss, never talking about other benefits to individuals in society.
- Assumes the worker is male, and that women are housewives
- No explanation for why family flourishes as in instituation in non-capitalist or communist societies and little reasearch on alternatives to the family.
- Families and households are always the same thing
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