family

• globalisation

  • single person households- increased economic growth due to creation of jobs
  • pure relationships/negociated families/higher divorce rates- risk society and uncertainty (Beck)
  • toxic childhood- media presence in society
  • inequality in families- relative deprivation and social exclusion
  • equality between men and women, financial freedom
• marxism

  • inheritance of property- families to remain monogamous so wealth stays in family
  • ideological functions- socialises children into hierarchy allowing 'paternal power', (Zaretsky- family acts as 'safe haven')
  • units of consumption- 'keeping up with the joneses', 'pester power', 'must haves'
• functionalism

  • Murdoch- stable satisfaction of sex drive, economic needs, primary socialisation, reproduction of next generation
  • Parsons- due to industrialisation, increased necessity for geographically mobile workforce and socially mobile workforce = functions changed to primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities
• childhood

  • childhood in postmodernity (Jenks)
  • age patriarchy (Gittens)
  • child-centredness
  • toxic childhood
  • disappearing childhood (Postman)
  • new sociology of childhood- own agents creating own childhoods
  • modern cult of childhood- distinctions in clothing, schools
  • inequalities- nationalities, gender
• reasons for changes in position of childhood

  • laws restricting child labour
  • compulsory schooling
  • child protection
  • declining family size, declining IMF