Project Session 2 Summary Practice

There seem to be substantial class differences affecting reactions to the changing character of family life and the existence of high levels of divorce. In her book Families on the Fault Line (1994), Lillian Rubin interviewed the members of thirty-two working-class families in depth. As compared to middle-class families, she concluded, working-class parents tend to be more traditional. The norms that many middle-class parents have accepted, such as the open discussion of premarital sex, are more widely disapproved of by working-class people, even where they are not particularly religious. In working-class households there tends therefore to be more of a conflict between the generations.

The young people in Rubin’s study agree that their attitudes towards sexual behaviour, marriage and gender divisions are distinct from those of their parents. But they insist that they are not just concerned with pleasure seeking. They simply hold to different values from those of the older generation. Rubin found that the young women she interviewed are much more ambivalent about marriage than were their parents’ generation. They were keenly aware of the imperfections of men and spoke of exploring the options available and of living life more fully and openly than was possible for their mothers. The generational shift in men’s attitudes was not as great. Giddens, A Sociology Cambridge, Polity Press

In this excerpt, Giddens reports on a study by Lillian Rubin. The study found that working class parents tended to be more ‘traditional’ in their views than middle class parents. Rubin found that there was therefore greater conflict between the generations in working class families. Giddens notes that, in particular, the young women informants in the study were not as keen on marriage as their parents. On the other hand, the attitude reported by the young men in the survey seemed to be closer to the opinions of their parents.

Can you find any of the following weaknesses in any of the summaries on pages 32-33: - missing or misunderstanding main points - confusing supporting points with main points - copying from the original word for word - lack of academic style

A. In her study (cited in Giddens 1997), Lillian Rubin interviewed 32 working-class families in depth. She concluded that they tend to be more traditional and disapproved of premarital sex and are not particularly religious. Young people on the contrary are more modern in their views on sexual behaviour, marriage and gender divisions but they are not just concerned with seeking pleasure. Young women don’t want to get married because they think men are imperfect and they want to explore the options available. (75 words)

B. In her survey of 1994, Rubin (cited in Giddens 1997) found that working- class families have more traditional attitudes towards changes in family life and sexual behaviour than middle-class ones, and therefore often experience disagreements between parents and children. In general young people’s values were not the same as their parents’. However, young women’s views on marriage, for example, or on leading their own lives were more different from their parents’ than those of young men. (71 words)

C According to Rubin (1994), as cited in Giddens 1997, there are substantial differences in the way people view the changing family in modern society and the high levels of divorce. In working class households there is more conflict between the generations because young people have different attitudes towards sexual behaviour and like to enjoy themselves. Young women are much more ambivalent about marriage than were their parents’ generation. The generational shift in men’s attitudes is not so great. (73 words)

Rubin’s research was done in the United States, but her findings accord closely with those of researchers in Britain and other European countries. Helen Wilkinson and Geoff Mulgan carried out two large-scale studies of men and women aged between eighteen and thirty-four in the UK (Williamson 1994; Wilkinson and Mulgan 1995). They found major changes happening in the outlook of young women in particular; and that the values of the generation contrasted in a general way with those of the older generations in Britain. Among young women there is ‘a desire for autonomy and self-fulfilment, through work as much as family’ and ‘the valuing of risk, excitement and change’. In these terms there is a growing convergence between the traditional values of men and the newer values of women. The values of the younger generation, Wilkinson and Mulgan suggest, have been shaped by their inheritance of freedoms largely unavailable to earlier generations - freedom for women to work and control their own reproduction, freedom of mobility for both sexes and freedom to define one’s own style of life. Such freedoms lead to greater openness, generosity and tolerance; but they can also produce a narrow, selfish individualism and a lack of trust in others. Of those in the sample, 29 per cent of women and 51 per cent of men wanted to ‘delay having children as long as possible’. Of women in the age group, 75 per cent believed that single parents can bring up children as well as a couple can do. The study found that marriage was losing its appeal for both women and men in this age group. Write a summary of this text starting: “Giddens (1997) reports on further studies conducted by Williamson (1994) and...”

Can you fill the gaps with information from the second part of the text by Giddens? Giddens (1997) reports on further studies conducted by Williamson (1994) and Wilkinson & Mulgan (1995). ___________ and ___________ found that the values of 18 – 34 year-olds in Britain differed greatly from older generations, with the attitudes of ___________changing most significantly. They also found that young women’s views were becoming more like ___________ male ones, with an emphasis on independence, ___________ and risk-taking, largely because of more opportunities open to them. In this study, it was found that a growing number of both young men and women found marriage ___________ attractive and a large proportion of women thought ___________ ___________ families worked well.

Key Giddens (1997) reports on further studies conducted by Williamson (1994) and Wilkinson & Mulgan (1995). Wilkinson and Mulgan found that the values of 18 – 34 year-olds in Britain differed greatly from older generations, with the attitudes of women changing most significantly. The also found that young women’s views were becoming more like traditional male ones, with an emphasis on independence, work and risk-taking, largely because of more opportunities open to them. In this study, it was found that a growing number of both young men and women found marriage less attractive and a large proportion of women thought single parent families worked well.