Single parent family Los Angeles Riots 1992 What is the connection between the two pictures?

American Vice President Dan Quayle A breakdown of the nuclear family was among the causes of recent riots in Los Angeles in which over fifty people had died. “I believe the lawless social anarchy which we saw is directly related to the breakdown of family structure, personal responsibility and social order in too many areas of our society,” May 1992, American Vice President Dan Quayle

Read the Daily Mail article http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md_OZ7JSmFM This video gives a quick recap of previous approaches. See if you remember what we have done before, and pay special attention to the basics of the New Right. Read the Daily Mail article

The New Right Perspective on the Family L.O: Outline and apply the New Right perspective on the family and Social Policy

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister Charles Murray, Sociologist New Right Perspective Who are the New Right? New Right perspectives are influenced by the governments throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister Charles Murray, Sociologist

The New Right in the UK The traditional two parent family is best’ “Single parent families are the biggest social problem of our day.” "The natural state should be the 2 adult family caring for their children" John Redwood 1993 The traditional two parent family is best’ Michael Howard 1993

Some statistics Since 1971 the proportion of all people living in "traditional" family households of married couples with dependent children has fallen from 52% to 37%. Nearly a quarter of children lived with only one parent last year and nine out of 10 of those households were headed by lone mothers. David Green, director of the Institute for the Study of Civil Society, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If you take almost any measure - how well children do in school, whether they turn to crime, whether they commit suicide, etc - it's better to have two parents. "It's also the biggest disadvantage of lone parenthood that you're much more likely to be poor."

New Right and the Family Whilst the functionalists stress the positive roles the family plays in society, and may well stress the nuclear family as preferred, the New Right definitely stresses the nuclear family. For them, two parents of each sex in a monogamous married relationship with their biological children is the ideal. They take the functionalist argument that bit further, because for them it is this particular form of family structure that will produce stable adults from their children ... So public policy should support the nuclear family (with taxation benefits for marriage, for example) and aim to reduce abortion, single parenting (especially families without fathers), and reducing the need for women to go out to work when there is a child to nurture.

A ‘golden age’ of family life? New Right assume there was once a ‘golden age’ of family in which husbands and wives were committed to each other and children were brought up to respect their parents and the law. Since the 1960s, however, they feel there has been an attack on traditional family values and the family is breaking-down.

The New Right and family decline Decline blamed on the rise of Feminism, liberal governments, and laws attacking the family. Especially to blame: legalised abortion, easier divorce and widespread contraception. Resulted in greater sexual freedom and women’s weaker commitment to the family. Attack the welfare state for undermining the traditional functions of the family.

The New Right and family decline Signs of Decline: Fewer marriages, increasing divorce rate. More births outside of marriage and teenage pregnancy. High crime rates (bad socialisation of children) In all, the New Right views on the family reflect a ‘Familial Ideology’ – a set of ideas about what constitutes an ‘ideal’ family life.

New Right and the Family They promote what are called family values. Jewson (1994) identified some core family values. What would constitute a normal family? What are appropriate gender roles in the family? What welfare purposes should the family serve (as opposed to government)? What should Public policy (legislations, government practices, etc) try to do?

New Right and the Family They promote what are called family values. Jewson (1994) identified some core family values. The nuclear family of two married parents and biological children is the normal family. The woman cares and nurtures (expressive role) while the man brings in economic earnings (instrumental role). The family should look after one another in times of ill health, old age and lack of work. Public policy should favour this family type and oppose other types like lesbian and gay families, sexual freedoms, sex education that ignores the family setting, and abortion.

New Right theorists are therefore keen on government policies that strengthen self-reliance for the traditional two-parent family. Murray argues that the UK is developing an underclass which is associated with crime, unemployment, and educational failure. This is because of the generosity of the welfare state, which provides handouts in the form of benefits and housing to single parents, thereby promoting it as a viable option.

Applying New Right Perspective today In pairs or 3s, brainstorm : What would the New Right say about... Child Support Agency? About Child Benefit? About cohabitation now being more popular than marriage? How would they argue against the Marxists on Domestic Violence, or the Feminists on Gender Socialisation or Working Women?

Criticisms of the New Right The ‘golden age’ idea is a myth Traditional nuclear family not a true reflection of family diversity. Improved rights for women and children have actually strengthened the family. Family change rather than decline. Nuclear family IS central to Government policy.

Criticisms from Feminism New Right criticise SPFs, but many ‘unsocialised’ & problematic children come from nuclear families Many SPFs are created by women escaping abusive relationships. The New Right view is sexist, patriarchal & stereotypical. Many women have to work as many nuclear families cannot survive on a male wage alone. If welfare benefits are cut it is the children who suffer most.