age division helps in the transformation of individuals from one stage of the life cycle to another
vital to the functioning of society
vital for maintaining consensus
childhood - children’s socialisation into society, learn the culture of society
adolescence - develop independence from parents, some rebellion helps in this transfer
youth as a bridge from childhood to adulthood
Weber - ethnicity
recognised the importance in the difference between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, argued the ethnic differences were also important
defined working class in terms of market situation and work situation
Evaluation of Weber - ethnicity
useful because it suggests that there are other sources of power besides economic power
does not provide any ways to distinguish between the different types of inequality
Barron and Norris - Dual Market Labour
primary sector:
high-paying jobs
better working conditions
job security
secondary sector:
lower-paying jobs
poor working conditions
little job security
difficulty within social mobility into the primary sector
LiandDevine (2011) - AbsoluteMobility
Men
upwardmobility - long termmobility from the workingclassintosalariatpositions was evident
downwardmobility - an increase,moremenmovingdown the socialclassladderovertime
Women
upwardmobility - morewomen were movingup the socialclassladder
downwardmobility - levels remained unchangedover the 14-yearperiod, indicating stabilityin their socialpositions
Li and Devine (2011) - Relative Mobility
greater fluidity, the barriers to movingbetweensocialclasses were becoming lessrigid
decliningadvantages, the socialadvantagesassociatedwith being born into highersocialclasses were diminishing
Peter Wilmott
family diversity has been exaggerated
family structure has changed to a dispersed extended family
Brannen (2003)
family structures have changed
the beanpole family is the new family type
Kelly (2018) - language used by the media
young people are dangerous
young people are in need of protection
young people are immature
eg. Derry Girls, youths face bigger issues
Lee et al (2007)
old people are underrepresented by adverts in the UK
only seen in 15% of adverts
90% were positive
men more visible
Stacey (1996) - postmodernist
sees the diversity and fluidity of postmodern families as allowing individuals to develop lifestyles and relationship that suit their changing circumstances as they move through their life
Bauman (2003) - postmodernist
in ‘liquid love’, see many of these changes as negative
Marxists (conflict theory)
reject the consensus view that capitalist societies are based on conflict due to class divisions
argue that the family serves to maintain the power of those with wealth and preserve the existing economic system
people are dominated by the need to earn a living, sometimes working long hours, allowing little time for family life
family life tends to revolve around consuming the products of capitalism, eg. the food we buy, leisure etc.
Engels (1844) - marxist
the family had developed in an evolutionary way
there had been no restrictions on sexual behaviour
linked the evolution of monogamy with the development of the idea of private property
Hochschild (2003) - marxist
opposes the common-sense idea that each individual possesses a common, discrete, and fixed human nature independent of society
Wilmott - extended families
most extended families are dispersed, this means the kin does not live in the same household
better transport and technology is the cause of widely dispersed families
Oakley (1974) - liberal feminist
the housewife roles remains the primary role for married women
found in her small scale study that only a minority of men could be classified as having a high level or participation in housework and childcare
Hakim (2000) - feminist
women can now make free and rational choices about their lives out of choice (not due to patriarchal pressures), eg. part-time work
Stone (1990)
up until the 16th century, children were regarded as extra workers to help their parents or to be hired out for wages by poor families
McIntosh (1996) - the homosexualrole
men who accept thelabel of homosexuality will fulfil feminine stereotypes, eg. higher pitched voice
Schafly - gender
men and women were fundamentally different
opposed the idea of a need for a gender neutral society
Wilson (1975) - the biological view on gender
men must be more promiscuous to enhance reproduction
women must stay faithful to one man to prioritise the child so that the man is present in its upbringing
Hardillet al - gender
women have less power in the family than men
studied middle class women
found that they often return to their husbands to make big decisions, eg. mortgages
Hey (1997) - gender
female peer groups police each others' behaviour
expectations of female behaviour are rooted in patriarchy
Denscombe (2001) - gender
many women now want to be seen as anything but the stereotype of womanhood
Gershunny - gender
men have had trouble accepting their new social role, they are going through a process of lagged adaptation
women's role has changed so dramatically that men have been unable to catch up as quickly
Giddens - sexuality
there has been a transformation of intimate relationships due to a greateracceptance of sexuality, leading to an increase in confluent love
Goffman - sexuality
“impression management” - some people feel they have to hide their true sexual identity because they are worried about the stigmatisation that may accompany their coming out
Li - ethnicity
women feel the need to wear hijabs when going into job interviews
black women with European sounding names found that job interviews would deteriorate when white interviewers found they were black
Stacey (1998)
women have benefited from new diversity as it has enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression
studied American families, majority of women could to reject typical housewife roles
Savage (2001)
found that only a minority of people believed that Britain was a classless society
Pakulski and Waters (1996)
social class is no longer important because in postmodern societies there has been a shift from the production of goods to consumption
Marshall (1998)
criticised the idea that class is dead
surveys frequently show that people still see themselves as belonging to a particular class
Calhoun (1997)
describes same-sex families as 'familyoutlaws' because same-sex families differ so much from heterosexual families
conservatives see them as threatening the sanctity of family life which has been traditionally dominated by heterosexual norms
Maffesoli (1996) - 'neo-tribes' (postmodernism)
an alternative name for youth subcultures
organised groups of young people without a fixed membership
they are mainly concerned with single issues, eg. political goals such as anti-globalisation