Yet others would argue that even the media still supports nuclear families and is socializing the next generation into thinking that it is right for example ‘The Simpsons’, so despite the increase in divorce and feminism the nuclear family will remain popular in British society. The third argument as to why the nuclear family is no longer the norm is that many religions support the nuclear family and do not agree with other types such as lone-parent. However secularization is causing less and less religious people so
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to an understanding of family roles and relationships (24 marks) Feminists have helped change the tradition view of the family. There are two types of feminists; liberal and radical. As shown in the item they take a ‘critical view’ of the family arguing that it is patriarchal and focus on the ‘gender inequalities’ in housework and violence against women. They believe gender inequality is created by society and is not natural. Functionalist Murdock suggested as children we are socialised into societies shared norms and values and he believed that males provide the economic roles and females provided the expressive role.
There has been a decrease in the number of nuclear families in the UK and an increase in various other families such as single parent families. But the raise in single parent households has to do with the increase in divorce across the UK which means that more people are left having to support their children on their own unless they become a reconstituted family. Functionalists are classed as modernists when it comes to their opinions on family diversity in post-modern UK. But they also see modern society as clear-cut, fixed and predictable. They think that the best and strongest family type is the nuclear family.
Half Term Assessment 1. Polyandry mean a woman has two or more husbands 2. The two functions the nuclear family can perform are 3. The three reasons for change in divorce rates since 1969 are that its now easier to get a divorce, people’s views on religion have changed which means they don’t take marriage seriously anymore so they are likely to divorce and they have changed because people expect a lot in a relationship 4. The Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism.
Firstly, whether a family live in a symmetrical family or not will have an effect on the divisions of labour. March of Progress theorists (Liberal Feminists) such as Young and Willmott argue that family life is gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic. For example, women now go out to work, just as men now help with housework and childcare. However Radical Feminists reject the ‘March of Progress’ theory, and argue that women remain unequal within the family. Anne Oakley argues that we still live in a patriarchal (male dominated) society, and therefore women occupy a subordinate and dependant role within the family and wider society.
Rick Santorum recognizes the need to define the term, and does so in his essay, “It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good.” As it seems that many individuals throw the word around without thinking about how it is interpreted, Santorum says on the matter, “I have been talking about the traditional family. By that I mean a family constituted by a mother and a father who have committed themselves to each other in lifelong marriage, together with their children” (Santorum 92). Santorum continues on to say that the liberals who believe in same sex marriage benefiting society as much as a heterosexual marriage does, are damaging the common good. While a marriage does not need to exist specifically so a couple can adopt, adoption agencies can classify these unmarried circumstances as “not in the best interest of the child” (Children’s Hour
I agree with most conservative ideas on abortion, the economy, education, and healthcare. However, I disapprove of their Homeland Security policies where profiling, majority Muslims, is necessary. On the topic about profiling, I find it suspicious that the Tea Party movement was not a thing before the 2008 elections. Ever since President Obama went to office, the Tea Party suddenly becomes a great big voice against the Obama administration and most
With Reference to Item A assess the view that the nuclear family remains the norm and the ideal (24 marks) Item A; In recent years, sociologists have drawn attention to the growth of family and household diversity in Britain and elsewhere, arguing that we have moved away from the previous norm od a conventional nuclear family composed of a heterosexual married couple and their children, with a gender division of labour. They point, for example, to the fact about one household in 10 is now headed by a lone parent as evidence of the declining popularity of the conventional nuclear family. However some sociologists argue that despite recent changes, the conventional nuclear family remains the norm in Britain today. Writing in 1985, Chester claimed that the basic patterns of family life had remained largely unchanged for most people since the 1940’s. He argued that most adults still marry and have children.
Sociologists greatly clash in their respective perspectives on the view of social policies which ultimately makes it hard to understand the true extent of what they do to our society. Therefore, I will be examining just how worthy these views about social policies and their effects of the family are. As item 2B states, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is a patriarchal one, where they are created in order to continue the trend of a man in control of the family, in a nuclear family which involves a married heterosexual couple as well as children, own or adopted. This is shown in ways such as; giving women custody over children in courts by assuming that they are caregivers and making it harder for women to claim social benefits as they are seen to be dependent on men. One main example of the way in which feminists argue that social policies continue this trend of patriarchy was presented by Lamb.
Assess the view that the nuclear family has a negative effect on its members The nuclear family is a well known social unit within the world consisting of one man, one woman who are married with around two children. This is a typical type of family within society, this essay will depict the view that the nuclear family has a negative effect on its members. Feminists across the spectrum would push considerable argument that the nuclear family is bad for them. Feminists believe that male patriarchy is how societies are run meaning they are male dominated, with both Radical and Marxist feminists tending to hold the belief that the family is one of the main areas where women are oppressed. One important point to be made is the delegation of domestic labour.