Postmodernism and Family Diversity

• Post-modernists argue there is two views of family diversity, those who accept it as fair and natural and those who are against it
• Cheal argues we no longer live in a modern world that is fairly predictable, instead society has entered a new chaotic post-modern stage, so family structures are fragmented and diverse
• Hareven says family structures aren't fixed and change over time
• Morgan argues there is no point in making large scale generalisations about the family and we should focus on the concept of family practises rather than structure, and all changes are due to own decisions
• Stacey argued that the greater choice for women allowed them to break out of patriarchal oppression and shape families to their needs, they are the main agents for change in the family and could create new types of family
• Divorced-Extended, an example of a new family type women can make (Stacey), where members are connected via divorce rather than marriage
• Giddens says over recent decades family and marriage has been transformed, so relationships are free to exist based on sex and intimacy rather than procreation
• Beck says there is greater gender equality and individualism has undermined the patriarchal family as a 'negotiated family' can be made now
• Smart (Personal life perspective) proposes the connectedness thesis as an alternative to individualisation thesis
• The Individualisation thesis says people are free-floating and have individual choice over relationships to make pure relationships so people can walk away when the relationship no longer meets their need
• The Connectedness thesis says people are fundamentally social being and influenced by social networks so people may not always be able to walk away from relationships when they choose and is dependent on the social network of a person