Sociology of the Family May 26, 2015

Postmodernism Historical designation: post-industrial Increase in globalization, decline in local industrial economies Rejects grand narratives and universalism Challenges Enlightenment rationality and progress Postmodernism vs. poststructuralism Poststructuralism challenges binary thinking as the logic to understand natural and social world

Families in Postmodern Context The path to family is not universal Feminist values are influencing marriage Feminist values have class variation Traditional masculinity not consolidated Divorce is a resource, not a rupture Stereotypes are more powerful than economic realities in shaping ideas, perspectives Nostalgia (founded or unfounded) masks attention to social problems

Attachment to Nature Nature is a dominant frame through which we narrate family ties (blood ties, biological ties) Sociological reality of family challenges this: -No statistically dominant form of family -Global trend toward family diversity -Social movements promoting family diversity have been successful -Cultural warfare arises due to lack of consensus around family ideologies -Diversity and variation framed as “crisis”

Additional Considerations/Speculation Family politics in a post 9/11 era (Terrorist Assemblages, Jasbir Puar) LGBT rights strides made after 9/11 – repeal of anti-sodomy laws and passage of gay marriage rights Coincides with an overwhelming, national fear around terrorism Social ideologies around death and dying no longer tied to the homosexual body (via AIDS and assumption of non-procreation) Construction of homosexual good citizen against the backdrop of terror threat (death now linked to terror)

Discussion Question How does popular culture capitalize on the idea of “unity in diversity?” What does this phrase presume?