Exploring family diversity

Starter Make a list of any laws that have encourage family diversity to exist in the UK List as many examples of family diversity in the UK that you can think of What do the New Right think about family diversity?

Chester: neo-conventional family - Not that much has changed! Chester (1985) agrees that there has been increased family diversity but does not regard this as significant or negative. Only important move is from a traditional/conventional family-> neo-conventional family. Neo-conventional family is a dual earner family in which both spouses go to work. Apart from this he does not see any other major change and that most people still aspire to live in a nuclear family (still ideal.)

Rappoport, Rapporport and Fogerty "Families in Britain today are in a transition from coping in a society in which there was a single overriding norm of what family life should be like to a society in which a plurality of norms are recognised as legitimate and, indeed, desirable". Rappoport, Rapporport and Fogerty

RN Rapoport and R Rapoport note that only a minority of nuclear families resemble the nuclear family ideal. And argue that family life in the UK is characterised by diversity because people live in a range of family types Firstly Extended families with 3 generations living under the same roof or very close by can still be found in some white working class and ethnic-minority communities e.g. Sikhs. Secondly Some modern nuclear families are ‘privatised’ and ‘relatively isolated’ from kin. Thirdly Some nuclear families are part of a modified extended family network in which they offer material and emotional support to each other

Fourthly Single-person households are growing in number as increasing numbers of young women elect to live alone; sociologists call this ‘creative singlehood’ Lastly Diversity can be seen in domestic arrangements in that most nuclear families in the UK are now ‘dual-career’ families although some retain the traditional division of labour, while others may have reversed it entirely as men become house-husbands

It should be obvious to most people that the make up of Britain’s family structure is changing. In pre industrial Britain large nuclear families and extended families supported each other in a ‘dual role’ function However small families are now the norm A quarter of all children in Britain are the only child in their household A further 50% of all children live in a family with only one other child Larger families containing four or more children are now quite rare in most parts of the country, Although in 5% of voting wards more than a fifth of children live in such families

Rapoport, Rapoport and Fogarty Identified 5 types of family diversity in Britain:- ORGANISATIONAL DIVERSITY i.e. diversity in terms of family structure, household type, the division of labour in the home etc. CULTURAL DIVERSITY i.e. diversity in the family due to religious and ethnic influences.There is a link here to education and Cultural Capital CLASS DIVERSITY - there are differences between the middle and working classes in terms of adult relationships, the socialisation of children etc. Some believe that middle class parents are more likely to be child centred. LIFE - COURSE DIVERSITY – different stages in the family life cycle generate different patterns of structure, e.g. newly weds without children have a different structure and life style to those with dependent children. COHORT DIVERSITY – cohort refers to specific periods of time through which the family has passed which might have a direct effect on structure – e.g. unemployment in the 1980’s would have led to a smaller family structure.

McGlone et al Family remains an important source of help and support Contacts still kept even though far apart Class differences still apparent – working classes are more likely to keep in touch than middle class Due to unemployment, poverty, caring for the elderly the working class Finch Golden age of family in pre-industrial times not necessarily true, (didn’t look after sick and elderly) Kin relationships remain just as special, people feel a greater sense of duty to their family more than anyone else Interdependence is just as important and reliance in kin is seen as last resort Women keep greater ties than men Each family is different, everyone has their own rules

Rosser and Harris and Bell Studies of Swansea Lived in nuclear families but still maintained close contact with kin through telephone, letters and visits Bell found father/son ties were most important in providing help for young families in need of financial support The Modified Extended Family Various sociologists have described a new type of extended family. Litwak – a collation of nuclear families in a state of partial dependence Allan – modified elementary family – consists of an inner circle of wives, husbands, parents and children Willmott – most common family form. Made up of two or more related families who cooperate with each other even if they live some distance apart

Eversley and Bonnerjea E.&B. believe that diversity typifies the modern family, pointing out six types of REGIONAL DIVERSITY, namely:- the “sunbelt” – i.e. affluent south typified by the upwardly mobile two parent family; The “Geriatric Wards” i.e. coastal areas populated by retired couples e.g. Brighton; The old declining industrial areas of the north typified by traditional extended family structures; The inner city – typified by single parent families and ethnic minority variations; The “newly declining industrial areas” of the Midlands, dominated by diverse structures; Rural areas – typified by extended families.

Peter Wilmott Wilmott in a more recent study of North London argued that three types of EXTENDED FAMILY could be discerned, namely:- The Local Extended Family in fact 1 in 8 families still matched the old traditional extended pattern of relative living either with or near to children. The Dispersed Extended Family– one half of all families matched this pattern where wider kin might live over a hundred miles away yet close links are maintained through the car, phone, letters etc. In short, when help is needed the family is still there. It is interesting to note that Parsons would reject this as being a typed of extended family – he would still see the geographical distance as meaning it is isolated and nuclear. The Attenuated Extended Family – in which, for instance, single people might move away as students, but will, of course return to the family at regular intervals. Do you fit into any pattern so far- discuss and note down which and why?

Explain what is meant by the ‘attenuated extended family ’ (2 marks)

Suggest two reasons why the UK is more diverse today (4 marks)

Identify three ways in which greater ethnic diversity has contributed to family diversity (Item 2A). (6 marks)

Postmodernity and the Life Course Modernist approach = is a top down approach which assumes that there is one dominant family type; assumes society dictates family type. Postmodernists reject this because: We are individual social actors, we make choices We have a lot of choice, everyone is different. We can no longer talk about a single best type or set of types such as those given by the Rappoports

Anthony Giddens Family and marriage has changed due to greater equality and choice Contraception has allowed sex and intimacy rather than reproduction as the main point of the reproduction Independence of women

Life Course Analysis Hareven (1978) there is variation in peoples lives depending on whether they have a baby, come out as gay. It focuses on what family members find important rather than what sociologists regard as important. Family structures are the result of just choices. Claire Holdsworth and Morgan (2005) Life course analysis focuses on the meanings people to life events and choices. Unstructured interviews allow family members to discuss what is important rather than what sociologists do.

Family Practices David Morgan (1995) Family practices = routines actions that we actually do These are influenced by beliefs about rights and responsibilities. Conflict is caused by a clash of family practices. Family practices is used instead of family structure because families are not concrete things. The term gets us closer to the realities of everyday life because people are much freer to choose how they organise their relationships.

Family Practices David Morgan (2007) The family is not clear cut and separate from society like the functionalists argue. Society is much more fragmented: family, friendship and other kinds of relationships have become blurred. Morgan does not completely reject structural theories, whilst life courses might be the actions of individuals but they take place in the context of wider social structure and norms.

Postmodernism Cheal (1993) – we no longer live in a modern world with predictable orderly structures, we now live in chaotic postmodernity. There is no single type of family (eg: lone parents) only FAMILIES. Society has entered a new chaotic postmodern stage. Gives people freedom to plot their life course But creates more instability as we don’t know what to pick.

Beck (1992) Risk society Tradition is less important it is all about choice. People miss things being stable and predictable. New type of family ‘negotiated family’ although more equal it is less stable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL5l5wQVqCQ&feature=related

Weeks (2000) Long term shift in attitudes since 1950’s. State and church have lost power. Family diversity is now undeniable. The New Right are fighting a losing battle. The idea of chosen families and friendships as kinship among gays suggest that the distinction between family and non family is becoming less clear. There is a growing acceptance of sexual and family diversity.

24 mark question Assess Sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today. Examine some of the reasons for the diversity of families and households in Britain today. (24 marks)