Sociology Gent

• Increased since the 60's
• 40% of marriages end in divorce
• 70% divorces from women
• 

Couples who are more likely to Divorce

• married young
• working class
• divorced parents
• child before marriage
• cohabit before marriage
• one/both remarrying
• class/eth/rel differences

Reasons for increase in Divorce

• Changes in law- 49/69/85
• Declining stigma and changing attitudes
• Overloading Marriage - pressure
• Secularisation - decline in the influence of the church
• Higher Expectations of marriage - Functionalist (Fletcher 66)
• Changes in womens position - Feminism
• Patriarchy - Feminism
• Individualisation

What about the theories?

NEW RIGHT = NEGATIVE

FEMINIST = POSITIVE (Divorce gives women the opportunity to escape patriarchal marriages)

FUNCTIONALIST = NEGATIVE

POST MOD = CHOICES (Don't mind as long as people have choices)

MARXIST = NO VIEW AS IT DOESN'T AFFECT EXPLOITATION

Why are fewer people marrying for the first time?

• Changing attitudes towards marriage
• Secularisation
• Declining stigma attatched to FD
• Fear of Divorce

Why is there an increase in remarriage?

• Increase in divorce
• Institution of marriage remains popular- Functionalist (Fletcher)

Why are more people marrying later?

• Postponement of marriage
• Cohabitation
• 

Why are couples less likely to marry in church?

• Secularisation
• churches may not marry divorcees

What the theories think about marriage decreasing

NEW RIGHT = NEGATIVE

FEMINIST = POSITIVE

FUNCTIONALISTS = NEGATIVE

POST MODERNISTS = CHOICE

Traditional Functionalists - Parsons 55

- Segregated conjugual roles in traditional N.F

1. Instrumental role- men - breadwinner

2. Expressive role- women- housewife/carer

- Biologically natural and just 

- Functionally makes sense 

! Outdated view 

! Fem- division of labour not natual it is a social construction                                                                                

Modern Functionalists- Wilmott and Young 73

- Joint conjugual roles - symmerty family

- Woment work more/ Men help with house and kids

Reasons

1. New technology- labour saving devices

2. Geographical mobility- N.F move to find work etc

3. Greater affluence- home = more attractive to men

! Rose tinted specs/ over positive

Modern Feminists- Oakley 74

- Family not symmetrical- myth

- Husband may help but won't take responsibilty

! W+Y research is methologically sloppy

Recent Empirical Evidence- Sullivan 2000

- Positive view like willmot and young

- Family is becoming more symmetrical

Reasons

1. shifting social attitudes

2. No of women working has increased

3. Commercialisation of housework

Recent Feminists

- Family is still patriarchal

- Dual Burden- unpaid housework and paid employment

- Triple Shift (Duncombe and Marsden 95)- unpaid housework, paid employment and caring

! Marxist- class

! Sexual differences

! Studies are often methodologically flawed

Feminist- Barrett and McIntosh 91                                                 

 1. financial support men give women is often worth less than the domestic labour they do                    

 2. financial support is often unpredictable and comes with 'strings attatched'                           

- Deny their needs and put kids and husbands first (especially low income families)

 - Women separated from husbands and on benefits often better off financially

Decision making- who decides on what in the family.            

Edgell 80

Very Important Decisions- Men

Important Decisions- Joint

Unimportant Decsions- Women

Reasons?

1. Men earn more

2. Patriarchy

3. Enforced through domestic violence or threat of it.

Feminists - Mirlees - Black 99

• 6.6m assaults per year
• Gendered problem 95% men on women
• 1/4 women are assulted by partners
• Violence common towards kids and elderly

! Sizes of problem underestimated

! Victims don't report

! Police/CPS don't take it seriously

Dobash and Dobash 79 Radical Feminist

• Patriarchy
• woman not performing her role to mans satisfaction
• woman challenging his authority

Wilkinson 96 health sociologist

• Stresses of modern world lead to domestic violence (social inequality)

Ansley 93 Marxist Feminist

• Exploitation and oppression of capitalism for men leads to domestic violence

• Acts of parliament, laws passed by the government
• Department for children, families and schools Michael Gove (mp)

1. State pensions- raised pension age

2. Divorce laws- 1969 and legal aid being cut

3. Labour laws- working

4. Schooling- raised participation age

5. Contraception/abrotion- easier

6. Child benefits- capped benefits

7. Child protection laws

Marxism

• Negative
• Benefits paid are low to pacify the prolateriet
• Pensions are low as OAP's are no good for capitalism

Functionalist

• POSITIVE
• Helps the family perform its key functions effectively
• Benefits individuals and society as a whole
• Fletcher- creation of the welfare state- NHS/social housing/ education

! Assumes a march of progress view

! What about policies that harm family life?

New Labour (new left)

• POSITIVE
• Social policy- could help families
• Traditional NF- children are better raised by 2 parents married
• Reduce benefits to single parent families
• Working family tax credit
• Means tested
• Adoption rights
• Lifting children out of poverty
• Sure start

New Right

• NEGATIVE

Murray

• Don't like social policy because it has created a culture of dependancy
• Leads to an underclass
• Social policy has encouraged family diversity when they should encourage the NF

Feminist

• NEGATIVE
• Social policy has reinforced the NF and Patriarchy

1. Tax and benefit policies

• Offer incentives to married couples
• Assume the husband is the head of the household and the woman is dependant
• Custody battles

2. Leonard- some social policies seem to benefit women but actually benefit men

• Maternity/paternity
• Child benefit

3. Drew- familistic gender regimes, individualistic gender regimes

Modernist views on Family Diversity

• Structural theory that sees the family as a structural unit that shapes the behaviour of indiviual members so they perform functions for wider society.

FUNCTIONALISM- Parsons 1955

• Nuclear family dominated in modern societies. 4 functions lead to social order and stability:         
• Geographical mobility
• Social mobility
• Primary Socialisation of children
• Stabilisation of adult personalities

! Assumes NF is the dominant family form ignores diversity

* Other fam types are seen as less effective or deviant and don't perform the functions required of the family

MODERNIST VIEWS

NEW RIGHT

• NF are ideal and biologically natural. Opposed to family diversity. See growth as a bad thing
• Lone parent families- unnatural and harmful, part of an underclass, no male role model or authority figure. Cutting welfare benefits encourages NF
• Favour marriage agaist cohabitation or divorce
• Negative consequences of broken families

! Supports very conservative view of family life

Chester 1985- Neo conventional family, both partners work

• Family diversity is exaggerated. Nuclear family is still dominant

Evidence that little has changed

• Most people live in a household headed by a married couple
• Most adults marry and have children
• Most marriages continue til death
• Most divorcees remarry
• Cohabitation is temporary phases before marriage
• Most couples marry if they have children

Evaluation of modernist views- rapports (1982) 5 types of family diversity

! move from traditional nuclear family to a picture of diversity- cultural diversity, social class diversity, life stage diversity, general diversity and organisational diversity

POST MODERNIST AND RECENT VIEWS ON FAMILY DIVERSITY AND THE LIFE COURSE

• No longer one best or daminant family type
• Family structures don't shape individual behaviour.

Life course analysis

• Recognises there is flexibility and variation in choices of peoples family lives
• Focus on the meanings people give to their family

Family Practices-

• Morgan 1996- routine actions or family practices
• Morgan 2007- in postmodern society the families no longer based on blood kinship ties. Individuals are free to organise their own relationships and life courses

POSTMODERNIST VIEWS

Postmodernism and Family Diversity

Cheal 1993- Postmodern societies are characterised by choice

Giddens 1992- Choice and change in late modernity. Greater choice and equality in relationships, free to change and choose their relationship type without having to follow laws or traditions

Reasons

• Contraception
• Change in womens position

POSTMODERNIST VIEWS

Postmodernism and Family Diversity

Beck 1992- risk in the second moderity 

• Given way to a more unstable negotiated family based on choice 

Reasons for riskier families

• More gender equality 
• Greater individualism 

Stacey 1998- Divorce extended family 

• Postmodern family arrangements are diverse 

! Ignores factors that limit choice 

YES- One sided arguement, most agree

• Cross cultural differences- Bolivia, Tikopia, Trobiand _____ do this where as in the UK we do this ______ 

• Historical differences- Aries 1960, social historian.

1. Same laws 

2. Dress the same 

3. Toys and games for kids didnt exist 

10th-13th century childhood didn't exist

Position of childhood has changed- due to industrialisation/in the 19/20th C 

1. Legal Changes 

• Child labour laws 
• Compulsory education and raising the leaving age 
• Child protection legislation 
• Minimum age laws 

2, Other Changes 

• Lower infant mortality rate 
• Impact of mass media 

YES

March of Progress View- Functionalist

• Better education
• Protected from Abuse
• Child centered
• Media and leisure industry

! Idealised view of childhood- what about the dark side?

NO- conflict view

1. Inequalities between children

• Gender differences- Feminist
• Class differences- Marxist
• Ethnic differences
• International differences

2. Inequalities between adults and children- Firestone 1979, Liberationist- age patriarchy

• Space and movement
• Bodies
• Time
• Neglect and abuse

! Adult intervention is necessary

Negative View

1. Dissappearing- Postman 1994, Postmodernist

• Lack of unsupervised games
• Children and adults have the same dress
• Children committing 'adult' crimes
• Underage sex/drinking/smoking

2. Toxic Childhood- Palmer 2006, Postmodernist

• Junk food
• Computer games
• Parents working long hours
• Overtesting in schools

* Damaging physical/emotional/ intellectual development

Negative view

WHY?

• Impact of media and technology means they're exposed to adult culture, means that they are growing up too fast

! Doesn't apply to all kids- mainly working class, westernised, poor

POSITIVE VIEW

1. Not dissappearing- Opie 1993, Liberationalist

• Have their own culture- games and music

2. Increase in Childhood- Liberationalist

• Oppressive western childhood spreading across the world