family diversity

• Family diversity is when there are different family structures in society.
• Chester (1985):

  • increased family diversity
  • the nuclear family still dominates society
  • most families return to or represent the nuclear family e.g., reconstituted family
• Stacey (postmodernist/feminist):

  • women benefit from family diversity, they have more freedom & greater choice
  • women can then free themselves of oppression they face in the family, they are the agents of change
  • women can shape their family in a way that benefits them & their needs
  • also said that divorce increases the size of families
• Functionalists do not say a lot about family diversity. However, functionalists think the nuclear family is the ideal family as it is natural and benefits society.
• Functionalism - AO3:

  • other families, like lone-parent families, can perform the same functions as the nuclear family.
• The new right do not like family diversity. The nuclear family has specific functions for society and keeps society functioning as it is. Family diversity causes social problems.
• New right - AO3:

  • no evidence to show that families other than the nuclear family give inadequate socialisation.
  • domestic violence statistics show that the nuclear family is not as stable as it seems.
• Rapports:

  • five types of family diversity: CLOGS
  • cultural: there are differences in family structures based on ethnicity
  • life cycle: age. Young couple - pensioner couple
  • organisational: difference conjugal roles
  • generational: attitudes towards the family change e.g., cohabitation
  • social class: there are differences in social class practices e.g., childbearing
• Statistics of increased family diversity in the UK:

  • around 3 million lone-parent families
  • 2019: 212,000 same-sex families
  • 43% families do not have any children