Theories of the family.

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  • Theories of the family.
    • Functionalism
      • George Peter Murdock
        • The family provides 4 main functions:  Sexual, Reproductive, Economic and educational.
        • The Nuclear family is universal.
        • Ignores 'Darksides' E.g Domestic abuse
        • Nuclear family is best adapted to modern society
        • Feminists believe men benefit more
        • Marxists think it benefits capitalism not the family members.
        • Post modernists argue that there are many alternatives to the nuclear family.
      • Talcott Parsons
        • Primary socialisation of  children
          • Teaches children basic norms.
        • Stabilisation of adult personalities.
          • Warm bath theory.
      • Nuclear family
        • Value consensus
          • Ignores family diversity
    • Marxism (conflict)
      • sees family as meeting the needs of capitalism.
      • Engles (inheritance)
        • Passing on property
        • Women are the private property of their husbands.
      • Zaretsky
        • we can only gain fulfilment from family life.
        • Somerville argues that Zaretsky exaggerates the importance of the family to keep capitalism strong. She suggests that the underestimates the extent of violence within families.
      • Postmodernists criticise them for ignoring the variety of family types.
      • From an Interactionist perspective, They tend ti neglect the meanings families have for individuals and how family members interpret relationships.
      • Family has a key role in society in reproducing the social structure and order.
      • Althusser and Poulantzas
        • Family is seen as serving the functions of an Ideological state apparatus by socialising individuals into accepting the dominant ideology of the social group..
        • Feminists argue that they ignore that family ideology supports patriarchy since it suggests that men and women should have different roles in the family and society.
        • Functionalists reject the view that the family socialises children into capitalist ideology. Instead, the family enables children to internalise the culture of society to enable them to become effective functioning adults.
    • New Right
      • Some  politicians in the Uk and especially the USA have adopted
      • Conservative view of the family.
      • The family should be self-reliant.
      • Recognises importance of primary socialisation.
      • Blames victims. They do not look at the origins of the problems.
      • Their argument can be seen as greatly stigmatising lone parents.
      • Ignores family diversity
      • Charles Murray
        • Sees the Nuclear family as under threat from things like high benefits and family diversity.
        • Welfare benefits are too high and this creates a 'culture of dependancy' where an individual finds it easy and acceptable to take benefits rather than work.
        • He argues that single parents are a social problem.
      • Dennis and Erdos
        • Argued that children born outside of marriage and raised by single mothers have poorer health and lower grades than nuclear families.
        • Families are deteriorating and getting worse.
    • Postmodernism
      • Supportive of family diversity
        • Believe that the Nuclear family has become fragmented.
      • Individuals now have more choice and are able to construct their identities and lifestyles.
        • An individuals can experience lots of different family types in there life time.
      • Judith Stacey
        • Believes there is such a diversity of family types that there will never be one dominant type of family in Western Culture again.
      • Haraven
        • Used an approach called 'Life course analysis to understand' how people made sense of their lives and choices.
        • This means people have different flexibility in there lives and choices E.G when to have a baby.
    • Personal Life perspective.
      • Criticises; Functionalists, Marxists and feminists.
      • 1. They are all structural theories so assume families and their members are simply passive puppets manipulated by the structure of society.
      • 2. They tend to assume the traditional nuclear family is the dominant family type and therefore ignores increased family diversity,
      • Influenced by interactionalist ideas
      • Recognises potential conflict in families
      • Helps understand how people themselves construct and define relationships as family
      • To much of a broad view - ignores what is special about relationships based around marriage or by blood.
      • Shares a Bottom up approach - INDIVIDUALS
        • what really counts as your family?
    • Feminism
      • Patriarchal societies are a problem.
      • Inequality exists and women are oppressed within the family.
      • Women are expected to do a fully paid  job yet still do the housework.
      • Liberal Feminists
        • HOPKINS- says the family is male dominated. Need to remove the idea of male domination before women can be free.
        • Men choose all main decisions such as when to move house .
        • Fathers don't always get the rights to see the children like they should.
      • Marxist Feminists
        • Nuclear family  meets the needs of capitalism.
          • Socialised by mothers to meet the needs to accept authority and class position.
        • 1. Margaret Benston.
          • Nuclear family helps to maintain future workforce.
          • women are a 'reserve army of labour'- they are only used when the economy needs more workers.
        • 2. Barrett and Mcintosh.
          • Women are doubly exploited ; in the home they are expected to work and raise the next generation.
          • Women  are needed to keep men in 'good working order' as she feeds and cares for him.
    • Interactionalism
      • Focuses on what actually happens within families.
      • Interested in how families negotiate and interpret family roles.
      • Things that may be negotiated within the family: Money, chores, sex , bedtimes discipline and holidays.
      • We need to look at micro approaches. For a better understanding of the family we need  to look at negotiations within the actual family.
      • Who takes time off to look after the children when they are ill? Peoples private moments are shaped by public demands, pressures and expectations  and images of men and women are influenced by media and educational systems.
      • 1. Berger and Kellner
        • Married couples must come to a shared view of the world/ reality. otherwise they may get divorced.
        • Children are socialised into the family's view of seeing the reality.
      • 2. Backett
        • Being a parent involves another socialisation process
        • Parents have to learn to be parents and make sense of the meanings they have of their children.
      • 3. Clarke
        • used In-depth interviews of newly weds.
        • Different types of marriage as newlyweds seek to make sense of doing marriage and they renegotiate parts of their life that they took for granted and put what they missed out on into their children.
  • Marxism (conflict)
    • sees family as meeting the needs of capitalism.
    • Engles (inheritance)
      • Passing on property
      • Women are the private property of their husbands.
    • Zaretsky
      • we can only gain fulfilment from family life.
      • Somerville argues that Zaretsky exaggerates the importance of the family to keep capitalism strong. She suggests that the underestimates the extent of violence within families.
    • Postmodernists criticise them for ignoring the variety of family types.
    • From an Interactionist perspective, They tend ti neglect the meanings families have for individuals and how family members interpret relationships.
    • Family has a key role in society in reproducing the social structure and order.
    • Althusser and Poulantzas
      • Family is seen as serving the functions of an Ideological state apparatus by socialising individuals into accepting the dominant ideology of the social group..
      • Feminists argue that they ignore that family ideology supports patriarchy since it suggests that men and women should have different roles in the family and society.
      • Functionalists reject the view that the family socialises children into capitalist ideology. Instead, the family enables children to internalise the culture of society to enable them to become effective functioning adults.
  • New Right
    • Some  politicians in the Uk and especially the USA have adopted
    • Conservative view of the family.
    • The family should be self-reliant.
    • Recognises importance of primary socialisation.
    • Blames victims. They do not look at the origins of the problems.
    • Their argument can be seen as greatly stigmatising lone parents.
    • Ignores family diversity
    • Charles Murray
      • Sees the Nuclear family as under threat from things like high benefits and family diversity.
      • Welfare benefits are too high and this creates a 'culture of dependancy' where an individual finds it easy and acceptable to take benefits rather than work.
      • He argues that single parents are a social problem.
    • Dennis and Erdos
      • Argued that children born outside of marriage and raised by single mothers have poorer health and lower grades than nuclear families.
      • Families are deteriorating and getting worse.

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