10. Debates about family diversity

• What is the main topic of the study material?

  Debates about Family Diversity
• What does the study material suggest about the extent of family diversification?

  Families are increasingly diversifying
• According to Giddens, what do reflexive individuals seek in relationships?

  Confluent love for emotional fulfillment
• How do individuals make decisions in a risk society according to Beck and Beck-Gernsheim?

  Based on how risky a situation is
• When did the traditional nuclear family become dominant in the American working class?

  In the 1960s and 1970s
• What did Pam and Dotty do in the 1970s that influenced their views on family life?

  They took college courses and learned feminist ideas
• What does Stacey argue about the traditional nuclear family?

  It was a myth that distorts family diversity
• How does Stacey view postmodern families?

  As opportunities to redefine family structures
• What does Robert Chester argue about families that do not fit the nuclear model?

  They are a minority that receives disproportionate attention
• What does Chester mean by neo-conventional families?

  Families based on the nuclear model
• Why does Chester believe statistics on family types can be misleading?

  They only show a snapshot at one time
• What does Gittins argue about the ideology of the nuclear family?

  It maintains consensus and deters alternatives
• What term did Leach use to describe the portrayal of nuclear families in the media?

  Cereal packet family
• What does the cereal packet family represent according to Leach?

  An idealized image of family life
• How does the media influence perceptions of family life?

  By promoting the nuclear family as the norm
• What is the impact of the ideology supporting the nuclear family?

  It encourages people to aspire to a nuclear setup
• What does the study material suggest about the reality of family life compared to its ideology?

  The reality has changed, but ideology remains strong