Another example is the shifting social attitudes which mean that it is more accepted in society for men to do housework. Young and Wilmot’s give a few other reasons for a symmetrical family. One example is that families are becoming privatised- this means that families are more children cantered and spend more time at home. This privatisation has occurs because the families are more affluent- have more money- and due to geographical mobility- they have less help from nearby family members. On the other hand, another group of sociologists believes that families are not symmetrical.
A reason in particular that nuclear families are no longer the norm is that, divorce rate has increased. Research shows that now 40% of marriages now end in divorce. This leads to lone-parent families and re-constituted families. However, a sociologist may also argue that nuclear families are still by far the most common type of family in Britain and therefore are the ‘norm’. Secondly, feminism is another reason that some people believe that nuclear families are no longer the norm.
Also post modernists believe that the nuclear family is no longer dominant and people now live in a society where they make their own decisions and every family is different in structure as peopled live with freedom and they don’t have to follow convention. Item 2B states that ‘postmodernists argue that we no longer have clear structures such as the nuclear family, but instead individuals have greater choice.’ This view however can be criticised by census data that does show that the majority of people still do claim to live in a nuclear family.
This essay aims to explain and evaluate the view that there is greater diversity of family types and lifestyle today in contemporary British society. The first reason, which shows that there is a greater family diversity, is the classic extended family that still survives in contemporary British society; even functionalists assumed that the privatized nuclear family is replacing it as the most common type of family today. The classic extended family is divided in two communities; the traditional working-class communities, in which there is a little need for socially and geographically mobility, as individuals remain in the same area for long period of time because there are availability of industrial works e.g. fishing or mining in north of England, and this
People now want freedom more than anything in their lives, and to be able to do their own things. The lifestyles of American families have been changed; people now have the right to speak up, even if they are students. There is no punishment for children, because it's against the law. People go to work full time, they don't spend much time being together and talking. Parents spent most of their time for their jobs and conducting business, leaving less time for their children.
The diversity of families has increased over these following years, due to the changes in society and values. New right hold the view that the there is only one correct or normal family type which is the nuclear family. Conservative government which traditionally follows the new right traditions support the nuclear family. Same as functionalist who have similar views ; parsons 1995 still recognise that there are a number of diversity families rising, nevertheless, functionalists 2000 argues that these changes are exaggerated and still sees the cereal packet nuclear family as the norm. Whereas on the other hand, feminist see the nuclear family still as the norm as they live under an oppressed government who follow the traditions of the new right where they believe in the nuclear family as the norm.
However, Murdock’s view of the nuclear family eliminate any other family structures, which too are able to supply these functions, and also neglects the conflict and exploitation of family. Parsons evaluated how the family provides solutions to the needs of modern industrial society and pre-industry society. Geographical Mobility is a need of modern industrial society as jobs now require people to move nationally or internationally for jobs. In today’s society, they’re are less extended families, making it easier for families to
It is assumed that in modern industrial societies, family life is no longer patriarchal. As the demographic trends of divorce and widowhood lead to matrifocal families, Post-modernists believe that as matrifocal families are becoming a norm in modern industrial societies. The status of men as the breadwinner and decision-maker of the family is becoming less dominant due to this dual role being taken on by single mothers. Women have also begun to live longer and often become widows as men have a lower life expectancy rate, leading to the creation of beanpole families. Furthermore, Breen and Cooke (2004) suggest the variation in the gendered division of domestic labour by identifying three types of women and three types of men.Post-modernists reject the idea that family life in modern industrial societies is still patriarchal as there are generalisations and over-exaggerations made at the extent of men's power over women in society.
Each man could have more than one wife. Matrifocal families – In the Caribbean, parts of central America and the USA many households do not contain an adult male. Gonzalez (1970) found they are well adapted to living in poverty and the mothers have a lot of support from female relatives. Gay and lesbian families do not conform to this definition and civil partnerships were legalised in 2005 suggesting they are “socially approved.” Ideology and the Family New Right thinkers support narrow definitions of the family. Increasing family diversity suggests that the nuclear family is no longer the norm.
This paper will focus on single parents and their journey living with the stereotype associated with being a single parent. This paper will also address the notions of children that are a product of a single parent households being either rebellious, having emotional problems, or being a problem child, as well as the misunderstanding that a single parent is an incompetent parent. Introduction Single parent households are not a contingency of the United States. The plague tends to be growing rapidly around the world. There are at least three million single parents in the Philippines, or 4 percent of the country's total 76.5-million population as of 2000, based on statistics collated from various official sources.