FAMILY

• what is a family?

  A group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption who live together and share emotional bonds.
• nuclear family - husband, wife, children living together
• extended family - grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins
• what is family diversity?

  Variety of family structures beyond nuclear families.
• what is marraige?


  legal recognition of two partners in a relationship
• what is monogamy- being with one partner at a time
• what is polygamy- having more than one spouse at the same time
• what is cohabitation- living together without being married or in a civil partnership
• lone parent family- a family where one parent is the sole carer for the child
• bean-pole family: a family with a father who is the main breadwinner and a mother who stays at home to look after the children
• how has marriage changed the family structure in the past 50 years?
• how has marriage changed the family structure in the past 50 years?

  overall marriage rates have declined in the past 50 years due to secularisation, cohabitation, the media and stigma. Remarriage and serial monogamy has been normalised. Same sex marriage legalised in 2013.
• how has divorce changed the family structure in the past 50 years?

  divorce has overall increased massively, with 42% of marraiges ending up in divorce. This was greatly aided by the 'Divorce Reform Act' (1969). HOWEVER, rates were at their lowest in 2018 since 1971
• how has the family structure changed in the past 50 years?


  women having less children- one child policy in CHINA
• how has the family structure changed in the past 50 years?

  cohabitation has increased (fasted growing family type)
• how has the family structure changed in the past 50 years?


  lone parent families are becoming much more common
• • asian households- 40% of households have 2 or more people living in them, more likely to be married with only 6% being lone-parent families.
• black households- 19% lone parent families, 8% extended families and are less likely to be married
• polygamy- a man having more than one wife at the same time
• polyandry- a female has more than one male partner at the same time
• arranged marraige - a marriage that is planned and organised by the parents of the couple, more about similar social status rather than love. More common in South Asian families
• one child policy: 1979- China's government decided to limit the number of children per family to one due to overpopulation. Policy ended in 2015 eg: state intervention.
• what is later marriage?

  Marriage after the typical age for marriage in a society. people are now waiting until they are older to marry! Rise of remarriage.
• individualism- the belief that people should be free to make their own decisions and live their own lives (postmodernism). less stigma- especially religious!
• why is marriage rate decreasing???

  secularisation- declining in importance of religion in society. M arrange is a religious construct however no longer sacred. Divorce is now normalised- less stigma. Far less pressure to marry/ not to divorce if you're unhappy.
• why is marriage rate decreasing???

  Policy change: 1969- Divorce Reform Act, Same Sex marriage Act (2013), Equal Pay Act- women don't need a man to provide for them.
• why is marriage rate decreasing???

  Gender roles: women's role in work and education= indigence, changes in the expectations marriage (women can also work), rise of feminism and policy changes supporting equality.
• factors effecting family diversity:

  contraception- they have become more freely available. Until 1967 the pill was only for married women. However now there are much more methods of contraception due to better technology.
• factors effecting family diversity:

  cultural diversity- Britain has become more multicultural due to changing immigration policies. With cultural diversity comes cultural difference in family types. eg: black carribean, African and south asian.
• segregated conjugal roles- women are expected to be the primary caregiver and men are expected to be the breadwinner
• joint conjugal roles: shared roles and leisure time, interchangeable and fluid roles
• what are the reasons for changes in the family relationship?

  gender role changes- huge change in opportunities for women in education & work, supported by rise in feminism, equality policies and tech. Dual earner couples have a higher standard of living (more income)
• what are the reasons for changes in the family relationship?

  social attitudes- declining stigma about changing gender roles eg: 'new man'. Normalisation of family diversity and individualistic lifestyles. Acceptance of geographical mobility as part of family life.
• WILL & YOUNG: the symmetrical family-what was their research?

  researched changing conjugal roles in 1950s and 1970s in London,, found that conjugal roles becoming more joined up.
• WILL & YOUNG: the symmetrical family- stratified diffusion


  where the culture and the way of life of wealthier people filters down to the rest of society eg: purchasing 'labour saving' devices
• OAKLEY'S view on symmetrical families: research

  The sociology of housework: 1974- found that women were still doing vast majority of the domestic work & childcare.
• OAKLEY'S view on symmetrical families:

  DUAL BURDEN: because women still do majority of the domestic work AND paid work. They suffer a DUAL BURDEN, whereas men have a single burden (paid work).
• OAKLEY'S criticism towards WILL&YOUNG (symmetrical family)


  exaggerated symmetrical family, Oakley found only 15% of men did high levels of housework with only 25% had a significant childcare role.
• the changing roles of children in the family!

  child centric- families have becoming very child centric. children are not the centre of families (cherished +protected). Whereas in the past, children were seen as the opposite (child labour, were seen not heard).
• the changing roles of children in the family!

  social construct- many see childhood as a social construct (Aries), with childhood depending on social context and how we see childhood today is a construct of our time, place and culture.