Modernity & Post Modernity

• Rapoport and Rapoport

  • drew that Britain was straying from the nuclear family, it was no longer the dominant family type
  • argue that family diversity should be celebrated, they identified 5 types of diversity in the family
  • believed that family diversity was a positive response that reflects the widespread acceptance of different cultures and way of life
• Chester- The Neo-Conventional Family

  • Chester believed that family diversity was significant, but to an extent, he believes that diversity is exaggerated and that the nuclear family is still the dominant family type
  • the neo-conventional family consists of a dual-income family in which both spouses are in employment
• Modernists

  • see modern society as having a fixed and predictable structure, they have a preference for one “ideal” family structure
  • functionalism and the new right are modernist approaches
• Modernists- The New Right

  • they are anti-feminist snd conservative, believing that the patriarchal nuclear family is the only befitting type of family for society
  • they argue that the decline of the nuclear family causes many social problems
• Social problems causes by decline of nuclear family (NR)

  • lone parent’s are incapable of discipling their children
  • boys who have no male role model often underachieve in school, leading to delinquency
  • a culture of dependency on the welfare
• Benson

  • New Right
  • argues that married couples are more stable than couples who are cohabiting, because cohabitation does not provide a stable environment in which children can be bought up in
  • believes that family diversity leads to a ‘broken society’, a return to traditional values can combat this
  • he argues that policies such as new divorce laws (2022) and same-sex marriage couples act (2013) pose as a threat to the conventional family
• Postmodernists

  • believe that we no longer live in a predictable modern society, but instead society has entered a postmodern phase
  • meta narratives are no longer applicable
  • the nature of family is persistently changing, and so society is no longer dominated by a single family type, families are fragmented by various types
  • there are positives and disadvantages to this- it brings greater freedom at the cost of increased instability
• What are the 2 key characteristics of postmodernism?

  Diversity & Fragmentation, Rapid Social Change
• Postmodernism- Diversity and fragmentation

  • society is becoming fragmented, with greater cultures and diversities
  • people have a choice and can therefore “pick and mix”, creating their own identities and lifestyles, life is like a shopping mall (Bauman)
• Postmodernism- Rapid social change

  • new technology and social media has dissolved old barriers of time and space
  • changes to patterns of work have been accelerated
  • this encourages globalisation and global identities
• Stacey

  • postmodernist
  • women have started to liberate themselves from patriarchal oppression due to the greater freedom and choice offered by a postmodernist society
  • She interviewed families in California and found that women have been key catalysts in the changing nature of family
  • women are beginning to reject the housewife role
• Stacey- Divorce-extended family

  • a new family structure in which its members are connected by divorce, rather than marriage
• Giddens & Beck- Individualisation Thesis

  • influenced by postmodernist ideas
  • explore the effects of individual choice on families
  • traditional structures no longer have much influence over us, this leaves us with freedom to choose how we lead our lives
  • Giddens suggests that same-sex couples create family structure that serve their own needs rather than conforming to traditional norms
• Beck states that “the standard biography has been replaced by a do-it yourself biography”
• Giddens

  • believes that family and marriage have been transformed by greater choice and a more equal relationship between men and women
  • this is because technological advancements like contraception facilitate intimacy and sex without the intention of sexual reproduction
  • relationships are becoming more centralised around sex and intimacy
  • women are more independent due to feminism and greater opportunities in education and the workplace
• Giddens- The Pure Family

  • intimate relationships are based on choice and equality, rather than law and tradition
  • couples can choose to stay together because of love, and intimacy
  • however, this pure relationship is not stable and can be ended by either partner
• Beck- The negotiated family

  • argues that we now live in a ”risk society”
  • we are more aware of risks, now that tradition has less of an influence over us, and so when we make choices, risks and reward are carefully calculated
  • in this family structure, members do not conform to traditional family norms, instead making their own choices through negotiation since the relationship has an equal basis
  • although the negotiated family is more equal than the PNF, it is much less stable, this instability leads to greater family diversity
• Beck- The Zombie Family

  • A family is supposed to serve as a haven of security, but due to its own instability, cannot do so
  • It appears alive, but is virtually dead