Assess, Compare and Contrasts the Royal Family with Another Notable or Famous Family or Household

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In sociological terms, the traditional definition of a ‘Family’ is; a fundamental social group in society typically consisting of two married parents and their children. Although in modern times, there are many accepted variations of families and social groups within the household. I shall be focusing on two traditional families well-known within society: the currently reigning, British royal family and the Simpson’s; a televised, fictional cartoon family. By means of comparison, I will analyse both family groups through a sociologist’s perspective and evaluate my findings accordingly. The British royals are a government-funded extended family. An extended family means that they are extended beyond the immediate family, including grandparents, uncles, aunties, in-laws and cousins that all sit under the ‘royal family umbrella’. They are all seen and accepted as one large family unit ‘headed’ by HRH Queen Elizabeth II who is also the ‘head’ of the United Kingdom and is one of the eldest in her family. As a commonwealth realm society, the idea of an extended family has been viewed as traditional and has so for centuries, despite there being a decline within this type of family in everyday households. This could show a relationship between what we view as normal and traditional within families in Britain, and the dynamic of the royal family. But is it actually the norm? Is the royal family an accurate reflection of the modern, family unit? And, where is the evidence for this? This brings me onto the second family I am going to look at: the Simpson’s. The Simpson’s are a working-class, nuclear family. A nuclear family is a family that consists of a husband and wife living within a household with their children. The father/husband of the family is Homer who is married to his wife Marge and has three children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The male ‘head’ of the family and thus

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