sociology

• Functionalists see the family in a positive light, arguing that it is the cornerstone of society. Functionalists see the family as being functional in that its existence is both beneficial and necessary for the smooth running of society and the development of individuals.
• In Post-modern society the family is modifying itself to meet the changed circumstances of contemporary society.
• postmodernist - Families are seen as functioning to provide warmth and security, emotional support. All family members benefit from the loving relationships that they share with each other.
• Postmodernism sees families as having no fixed structure or form. They can be made up of any number of people who have chosen to live together. The postmodern family may include gay couples, single parents, stepfamilies, extended families etc
• marxist see the family as a class based institution that reinforces the capitalist system
• feminists see the family as a patriarchal institution that oppresses women
• radical feminists (extreme) argue that women are oppressed by patriarchy and that women should be free from the constraints of patriarchy.
• Feminists thus have a negative view of the family, as they believe it operates to oppress women and justifies gender inequalities in society. Feminists also draw attention to the darker side of family, which other perspectives ignore, from domestic violence to child abuse, to women’s unpaid domestic work. However, feminists have different views of the family and how it could be improved to emancipate women.
• Marxists see the family as an ideological state apparatus that functions to reproduce the capitalist system. It is used to socialise children into accepting their place within the capitalist system and to ensure that there will always be a supply of labour available to employers. Marxists therefore have a critical perspective on the family but do not necessarily want to abolish it. Instead, they would like to reform it so that it serves the interests of working-class people rather than those of the ruling class.
• marxist feminists nuclear family benefits capitalist class system-benefits even working class men-focuses on women as mothers, pressures women to have children
• Liberal feminists see the family as a source of gender inequality, as it socialisaties gender roles.
• The New Right refers to a group of thinkers with political beliefs and values that closely align with the Conservative government in the UK. Favours the conventional nuclear family structure. It believes that the reduced significance of the nuclear family leads to many problems in society, including crime, poverty, over-reliance on the welfare state and a decline in morality.
• Positive or negative


  Positive
• Postmodernist view on family


  Encourages and accepts diversity amongst family types as society is changing.
• Stacey (1998) "The Divorce-Extended Family"


  - argues that women have more freedom than ever to shape family arrangements to meet their needs and free themselves for patriachal opression

  Identified this family as individuals are connected by divorce
• Evident?


  case studies conducted in Silicon Valley, California she found that women rather than men are the driving force behind changes in the family.
• harevan


  Life Course Analysis - did in depth, structured interviews on what family members think is important and how its changed from their view point - there is flexibility and variation in peoples family lives due to the choices they make
• harevan -choice


  individuals will experience and move through several family types or relationships throughout their lifetime.

  -choices : why they were made, and the influence of external factors (such as patriarchy, social class, ethnicity, religion or social pressure) on them. We can understand what is important to people and why.