...report investigating family diversity What is a family? Sociologist Brown defined a family as “a group of people who are related by kinship ties: relatives of blood, marriage or adoption” (Brown, 1998). But many people might argue this statement is not right anymore as this only defines a traditional family. There are many different types of family which include Nuclear, Cereal Packet, Extended, Single Parent, and Reconstituted. Over the years family life has become more diverse. There is a lot of evidence that there is no one particular family type in Britain. In this report I will be looking at the impact of diversity on the family; such as Social Class, Ethnicity, Sexuality and cultural differences in relation to family diversity. Types of families The statistics of families in modern Britain show that there is increasing diversity, which in turn suggests that the nuclear family is decreasing in importance. The types of family that are increasing include Lone parent families, Reconstituted families and Extended families. These are the main types of families in the UK. Because of increasing diversity in family life in modern Britain, there are more types of family: Cohabiting and Homosexual. In this section I will look into diverse range of families and household types. “In 2012 there were 18.2 million families in the UK. Of these, 12.2 million consisted of a married couple with children.” (http://www.ons.gov.uk) This family type is called Nuclear Family and is the most common...
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...Family Diversity New Right- views * Like functionalists the New Right hols the view that there is only one correct normal family type. Is the traditional or conventional patriarchal nuclear family. * They see lone-parent families, as both unnatural and harmful, especially to children. They argue that lone mothers cannot discipline their children properly, they are a burden on the welfare state and they leave boys without an adult male role model, resulting in higher rates threatening social stability. * They disappear of mother going out to work because they believe women should make caring for their family their first priority. * New Right oppose many of the recent trends in family life on economic and political grounds. As conservatives, they are strongly opposed to high levels of taxation and government spending. Increase in numbers of lone-parent families had led to more spending on welfare benefits. As this has to be paid for out of public funds, places a bigger tax burden on working population. Feminist Ann Oakley (1997) argues that the New Right wrongly assumes that husbands and wives’ roles are fixed by biology. Oakley believes that the New Right view of the family is a negative reaction against the feminist campaign for women’s equality. * Feminist argues that traditional nuclear family favoured by the New Right is based on the patriarchal oppression of women and is a fundamental cause of gender, inequality. Financially. dependent on men, and...
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...the wife’s job in the family, social and emotional support. Instrumental role is men’s role as disciplinary and bread winner for the family. 3) Generational diversity, life stage diversity, social class diversity. Family diversity is the varying types of family’s in society, this is has increased massively in the last 50 years, and sociologist have disagreed if this is having good or bad effects on society. The nuclear family structure has typically been the most popular in modern society, but is now under threat due to the demand of other family structures. Contacts with wider kin (aunts and cousins, for example) are usually infrequent and more likely to involve ‘impersonal contacts’ such as texting, telephone, facebook or email. For this reason, this family structure is sometimes called an “isolated nuclear” (reflecting its isolation from wider kin or conjugal family. This is a unitary family unit, self-contained unit and they are independent, economically and psychologically. A variation of the nuclear family is the cereal packet family, this is considered the ideal family by functionalists, refers to the image most people hold of the family. It is also the picture of the family that the media tends to present, especially in adverts. The cereal packet family comprises of: Parents Children The woman is a housewife and full time mother and the man is the 'breadwinner' i.e. he is the one who has to go to work to earn money. Extend family has two types: Vertically...
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...the three images/ideals of family discussed in the text and lecture. What is the prevailing theme at the center of each ideal? The three images/ideals of family that is discussed in the text are, The Family as a Haven, The Family as a Fulfillment, and The Family as a Encumbrance. The Family as a Haven is defined as an escape for family members from the outside world. The demands of work or community responsibilities can be overbearing and the family was seen as the source of love and intimacy. The main focus of this image was the family was a protected oasis from the outside world. Next there is The Family as a Fulfillment. This image is still incorporated with the image of a haven, but its focused more on purposeful experiences. The family is there to compensate the emotional needs and wants that work or society cannot provide. This image focal point is the enjoyment one receive from their family. Finally there is The Family as an Encumbrance. This image is negative unlike the other two images. This anti-family image focuses on how the family divisions can suppress self-expression and personal freedom. If one's main focus is tending to children or household chores then they won't have time for self fulfillment. This image also points out that monogamy can be found tedious and there would be more satisfaction in having variety. Briefly discuss each of the family myths listed in your text, contrasting them with the realities of the families in our society. The Myth...
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...Family Diversity and Culture Catina Pierre Alexander, Ed.D. Walden University My childhood family adapted to the “The Standard North American Family” (SNAF). My family was a traditional African American family whereas they sought each other for the union of marriage. In Louisiana, most families did not practice arranged marriages and kinship marriages. In other words, boy meet girl and vice versa, fall in love and get married. Both parents were present in my childhood home along with my three siblings. My father was not the ultimate “breadwinner” of the family. My mother worked and contributed to the economic resources of our family too. Neither of my parents’ attended a four-year college. My father served four years in the Army and served two of those years in the Vietnam War. My mother earned an Associate’s Degree in Business from Delgado University. My parents held respectable and descent paying jobs. My father is a retired welder of 30 years from the Local Union 60. My mom is a retired customer service representative of 33 years of service from AT&T. They are now retired and enjoying life even more. Christianity is a very important characteristic of my family. We attended church almost every Sunday. I attended Sunday school, participated in the youth choir, and attended vacation bible school (VBS). Family bonds and values are important characteristics of my family too. My cousins and I grew up close as if we were siblings. We attended church...
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...Using the Material from Item 2b and Elsewhere, Assess the View That the Growth of Family Diversity Has Led to the Decline of the Traditional Nuclear Family Using the material from item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family In the past, traditionally families have mostly been the ‘traditional nuclear family’ made up of a married man and woman and at least one child. However there has recently been a decline in the amount of traditional nuclear families and an increase in the amount of diverse families. There are now less people following the traditional view that the nuclear family is the ‘normal’ way to live. The diverse families now include families such as, lone parent families, reconstituted family, extended family, lone person households, cohabiting couples and same sex couples. In this essay I will discuss the view that the traditional nuclear family has decline as a result of the growth of family diversity and the reasons why people are no longer following past tradition. New right believe that the incline in family diversity is a cause of many social problems. They believe that the increase in family diversity is the reason for economic problems. Charles Murray believes that there is now a ‘perverse incentive’ for young girls to get pregnant. He believes that there are young girls purposely getting pregnant with the knowledge that the government are going to give them a house...
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...Family of Diversity Cultural Assessment Kristal T. Abstract The family discussed in this paper is of German/Islamic ethnicity. They are a multigenerational family living under one roof, and making the best of what they have. Living in the household is the mother (HW), the father (AW), paternal grandmother (JW), and two children (EW & RW). The mother has some issues that she is working through from her upbringing, and the father is somewhat distant. One of the children has a severe illness that dictates how everyone lives. Both the mother and father suffer from depression, and they feel that this affects their quality time with the children. The mother was extremely open in discussing her family, while both the father and mother in-law were more distant. Both of the parents work, and leave the upbringing of the children to the paternal grandmother. Overall the W Family is pretty Americanized, with only small parts of their culture coming up in daily life. Family of Diversity Cultural Assessment Family Description The family discussed in this paper is a multigenerational family. Included in the household is the father (AW), age 37, mother (HW), age 32, paternal grandmother, (JW), age 69, and two children (EW, RW), whose ages are 6 and 4 respectively. Both AW and HW are the biological parents to the children, with this being their only marriage. HW is a 1st generation immigrant with her parents emigrating from Tehran, Iran to England, and then to America...
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...growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family.” (24 marks) Before 1970, cohabitation was illegal in certain countries. The law changed and now cohabitation is a common pattern among people around the world, as well as having sex before marriage and having a baby. At least 50% to 60% of couple’s cohabitate, starting from the late 1990’s. This results into the amount of traditional nuclear families decreasing as people want to live in companionship as nearly half the amount of marriages end in divorce. Also cohabiting is an easier way as it is much cheaper since there is no marriage expenses and doesn’t cause much hassle. The New Right see the decline of the traditional nuclear family and the growth of family diversity as negative trends in modern society. From the New Right perspective, these changes are the cause of many social problems in Britain today. In society now, there is easy access to contraception and married couples are not having children for various reasons which has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family. There has been an increase in marriage of 9.2% between 2006 and 2011. Murdock argued on the basis of his studies that the nuclear family was a universal social institution and that it existed universally because it fulfilled four basic functions for society: the sexual, reproductive, economic and education functions. However, the numbers of nuclear families have fallen due to a rise in family diversity such as...
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...Assess the view that the growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family. The traditional nuclear family consists of a spouse and a husband with children. Firstly, a reason for the decline in the nuclear family is because of divorce. As divorce has increased there has been a rise in cohabitations. Cohabitations involve an unmarried couple in a sexual relationships living together. Whilst the number of divorces increase the number of cohabitations has also, making it fastest growing family type in the UK. There are over two million cohabitaing couples in britian, and in addition about a quarter of all unmarried adults under 60 are now cohabiting – double the amount in 1986. There are many reasons for the increase of cohabitations. Firstly, it can be linked to the decline in stigma attached to sex outside of marriage. This is also relevant to the decline in stigma to divorce, so now people are less bothered about divorce, therefore the outcome after a divorce will be a reconstituted family or a singleton life style. Secondly the increased career opportunities for women now mean that they no longer need a husband to sustain a family or themselves. Also now women do not feel the need to pursue a family, but rather some prefer to pursue a career, which can lead to them never being married, or being married at a later age, which can reduce the chances of having children, reducing the traditional nuclear family which consisted of children and married...
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...Family diversity is the idea that there are a range of different family types, rather than a single dominant one like the nuclear family. It is associated with the post-modernists idea that in today’s society increasing choice about relationships is creating greater family diversity. The modernist view sees society as having a fairly fixed, predictable structure. The modernists see the nuclear family as being the best as it performs certain essential functions. Talcott Parsons saw that the nuclear family as uniquely suited to meet the needs of modern society for a geographical and socially mobile work force. Also Parsons saw that the family performed two ‘irreducible functions’- the primary socialisation of the young and the stabilisation of adult personalities. These functions contribute to the overall stability and effectiveness of society. The New Right has an anti-feminist and conservative view on the family; they are firmly opposed to diversity within family life. The New Right sociologists hold the view that there is only one normal family type; this is the traditional patriarchal nuclear family consisting of a married couple and their dependent children. The New Right sees this family type as being natural based upon the fundamental biological differences between men and women. These sociologists would argue that family diversity is the cause of many social problems, such as education failure and high crime rates. The New Right believes that lone-parent families...
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...the nature and extent of family diversity today. Family diversity is the theory that there are many different family types, rather than the nuclear family being the dominant type. However there are many different sociological explanations and two different conflicting views. The modernist view, and the postmodernist view. For example New Right sociologists believe that the nuclear family is the bedrock of society, and is the natural family, unlike lone-parent families which are consider unnatural and harmful as they believe that mothers cannot discipline children. This leads on to the theory that marriage is essential in the socialisation of children. They also believe that traditional roles have been undermined by divorce legislation and welfare benefits. New Right sociologist think that many social problems, such as high crime rates, are caused by the decline in nuclear families. However there are many criticisms of this, such as Oakley who believes that this view is a negative view against the feminist campaign for women's equality. New Right sociologists also fail to recognise unequal relationships in families. Another modernist view is that of Chester and his neo-conventional theory. Chester sees a shift from the conventional nuclear family to the neo-conventional family where both spouses play a bread winner role. A neo-conventional family is a dual-earner family. Chester also recognises that there has been an increase of family diversity in recent years, however...
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...of the nature and extent of family diversity today. (24 marks) In today's society, there are various alternatives from the typical family type. The top examples of these are lone-parent, cohabitation and reconstituted. But there are also some others such as same sex couples, single parent and multi-cultural families. 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. The main functionalist who is focused on is Parsons. He came up with the functional fit, which is where pre-industrial society and the extended family changed into industrial society and the nuclear family. He also believes that the nuclear family meets all of society’s needs the best unlike any of the other diverse family types which society has to offer. Functionalists see all other family types as inadequate, abnormal or deviant. This shows that they don’t think that any other family type other than the nuclear family will benefit society and help...
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...Examine the ways in which Government policies and laws affect the nature and extent of family diversity Government policies and laws are put in place to uphold moral values of society and force people to take responsibility themselves. Social policy refers to the actions of government agencies such as the welfare system. Most policies affect families in one way or another, some are aimed directly at families, whilst other policies aren’t but still have an impact on families. One way in which family diversity diverse is by an increase in same sex families. This is gay and lesbian couples living together with children. A social policy that can be linked to this type of family diversity is that in 1967 male homosexuality was legalised and this made homosexuals feel socially accepted, eventually allowing gay individuals to start a family. There was also other policies that made same sex families even more accepted. For example, in 2002 UK adoptions laws were changed. The laws meant that gay couples were now able to adopt and have a family of their own. Additionally, in 2004 the Civil Partnership was introduced. This meant that gay people could now have a type of marriage if they felt they had stability, commitment and happiness to starting a family. All of these policies have a link to the increase in same sex families. Feminist sociologist were really happy with these policy changes. Feminist believes that society is patriarchal, that men dominate and exploit women. Feminist...
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...Using the material from item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family In the past, traditionally families have mostly been the ‘traditional nuclear family’ made up of a married man and woman and at least one child. However there has recently been a decline in the amount of traditional nuclear families and an increase in the amount of diverse families. There are now less people following the traditional view that the nuclear family is the ‘normal’ way to live. The diverse families now include families such as, lone parent families, reconstituted family, extended family, lone person households, cohabiting couples and same sex couples. In this essay I will discuss the view that the traditional nuclear family has decline as a result of the growth of family diversity and the reasons why people are no longer following past tradition. New right believe that the incline in family diversity is a cause of many social problems. They believe that the increase in family diversity is the reason for economic problems. Charles Murray believes that there is now a ‘perverse incentive’ for young girls to get pregnant. He believes that there are young girls purposely getting pregnant with the knowledge that the government are going to give them a house and benefits for them to live in with their babies. An increase in the amount of young girls becoming pregnant has led to an increase in the amount of single...
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...Examine the ways in which the government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity. Government policies and laws are put in place to uphold moral values of society and force people to take responsibility over themselves and who else they may be responsible for e.g. children. Although the government see its policies as being able to produce the ‘ideal’ nuclear family where the man works and the woman looks after the children, the policies today fail to take into account the changes in society and the different types of families that are becoming more common in society. The government’s policies affect different family types in different ways e.g. the government policies and laws benefit married couples in more ways that cohabiting couples and single parent families as they make divorce harder as well as being benefiting married couple financially as they can claim more tax allowances. This policy only benefits married couples as the government sees the nuclear family as the ideal family and therefore benefits this certain family type through its laws and policies. Functionalists see society built on harmony and consensus and free from major conflicts. They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies as being for the good of all. Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform functions more effectively to make life better for their members. Ronald Fletcher believes the introduction of health...
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