Post modernist view

• What does the personal life perspective focus on (Smart)?


  Meanings behind relationships
• What does personal life perspective suggest about family choices?


  We choose families based on past experiences and what we want and need
• What is a criticism of the personal life perspective?


  It takes too broad a view but the approach helps us the understand how people construct and define family relationships
• Stacey-


  Greater freedom and choice has benefitted women enabling them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression and shape family arrangements
• Divorce extended family-

  Involves ex in-laws, ex partners and new partner. No longer connected by blood or marriage but still help each other financially or domestically.
• Evaluation-


  -PLP- exaggerates how much choice people have about the family. Traditional roles still exist but have weakened.

  -May- Beck and Giddens view of the individuals in simply an idealised version of the white M/C man
• Giddens and Beck- individualisation thesis-


  -Traditional social structures have lost a lot of influence they had over peoples actions and decisions

  -Been freed from traditional roles and structures

  -This transformation has caused advancements e.g. availability of contraception and female independence