Post Modernism and Family Diversity

Argued there are 2 main problems with Modernists: 

• Individuals make CHOICES about family life + relationships.
• People have much GREATER CHOICE about this now, leads to greater family diversity. 

Life Course Analysis: 

• Focuses on the meanings that people give life events + choices.
• LCA has 2 strengths:  focuses on what family members themselves see as imortant. + suitable for studying families in todays society. 

Post modernists argue that we no longer live in a modern world, instead live in predictable, chaotic, postmodern stage. 

In this society families are fragmented+ individuals have more choice, over lifestyle/ arrangment of family. We now have lots of diferent family types. 

Giddens: 

• In recent decades family+ marriage have been transformed by greater choice+ more equal relationship between men + women. 
• This has happened because of : contraception, allowed sex+ intimacy rather than just for reproduction. Also women have more independance from feminism. 
• Due to these changes, basis of marriage + family have chnaged into one where the couple are free to definw their relationship. E.g. cohabitation rather than marriage. 

Beck:  Risk Society, and Negotiated Family. 

• Argues we now live in a risk society, tradition has less influence, people more choice
• Today's risk society conflicts with earlier times, when roles were fixed, people less choice. E.g the expectation to get married. 
• Post modern society has 2 key trends: greater gender equality, greater individualism. 
• Led to new type of family, replacing patraichal family. Beck + Beck- Gernsheim call the 'negotiated family' . 
• NF don't conform to traditional family types. Vary according to wishes of members, enter as equals.

Weeks: 

Identifies a shift in attitudes since the 1950's. 

Sexual morality is down to personal choice. 

At same time, church+ state lost power to influence people.

Growing acceptance of sexual+ family diversity in under 35's. 

More accpetance of cohabitation + homosexuality. 

Weeks still observes that family patterns stay generally traditional. 

Most people still live in a family, most children are brought up by couples, most couples marry, many divorced people remarry.