Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the nuclear family is no longer the norm. (24 marks)…
Many sociologists (e.g. Goran Therborn) argue that the typical nuclear family has disintegrated due to many different reasons, for example, the rise in feminism and women gaining more independence; higher diversity of relationships for example higher divorce rates, higher number of families co-habiting. his is because families aren’t like what they used to be. In the nuclear families today, the roles of the mother and father are no longer segregated conjugal roles. In the nuclear family today roles are changing and developing into integrated conjugal roles. Partners are becoming more egalitarian which is leading to the nuclear symmetrical family. Due to the symmetrical family developing socialists believe the idea of the ‘new man’. A man that shares housework and the responsibility of the children.…
In today’s society there are many different family types the nuclear family which makes up the largest percentage of family types in the UK, single parent families, co-habiting families, gay families, inter-racial families, reconstituted families, joint families and transsexual families. This is interesting because in previous societies, this variety of family types would not have been accepted however in today’s society family diversity is much more easily accepted.…
Murry – underclass, sponging of the welfare state, defined by underclass by benefit system and is likely to have low morals…
According to the Marxism theory, the proletariat are being exploited by the bourgeoisie as they own the means of production which indicates that they are the basis of the whole society and they control everything in it including the family. This kind of system could be seen as a capitalist society which means it makes the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.…
In Canada today it seems that there is a predominately functionalistic view of the family. These functionalistic views of the family are also seen as the root of many societies problems. The importance of the family and its function for society constitutes the primary set of reasons why there is a social as distinguished from purely productive differentiation of sex roles. Functionalists felt that the nuclear family was most adapted to the functionalists theory, as it is insular and mobile therefore aiding society by keeping up with economic movement, but in the process becoming detached from the extended family support. Over the past several decades, Canadian society has witnessed an evolution in family structure and the basis of that structure has evolved over a period of time. The family image can be, and is, interpreted differently by a variety of people, including those within the family group itself. One such image is that of the nuclear family.…
The image people have of a family is still the so called Nuclear family (1) popularised by sociologist such as George Murdoch(2) with parents of both sexes and one or more children with the father usually being the primary finical provider. This is no longer as common as it once was (3) and has lead to the rise of other family archetypes.…
over the course of their life, apart from divorce, and explain why this change may occur.…
The majority of society sees the Nuclear family as 2 parents (Mum and Dad) being married and with at least one child, with Dad being the main financial contributor and Mum being the home maker as popularised by sociologists such as George Murdoch (3). This is no longer seen as common place as it once was. Children within this family structure receive strength and stability from both parents and generally have more opportunities due to the financial ease of two parents who both contribute this way to the household.…
Many sociologists argue that the nuclear family is a universal and dominate institution however there has been an increase in diverse family types for various reasons. Examples of these diverse families are lone parents, reconstitutions and cohabitation families. Although most people experience life in a nuclear family, it represents only a stage in their life cycle. Social and demographic changes have meant that an increasing part of many people’s lives are spent in households that are not based on conventional nuclear families.…
There are many patterns that display the increase in family diversity across the last 40 years up to today. For example, there are now fewer households containing a nuclear family and more lone-parent families and one-person households than there were in the 1970s. More couples, both straight and same-sex, now cohabit, many more children are born outside marriage than previously, and many more marriages end in divorce; these are known as ‘diverse families’.…
On the other hand, the premodern era in the British society was greatly dominated by the traditionally recognized nuclear family as the main definition of a family unit. Acknowledged the perfect nuclear family, the 'cereal packet family' is where the whole family gather at the breakfast table in the morning. Structurally, the husband is the bread winner and the wife's duties include housework and childcare.(Browne K). Return to the modern era, rapidly changing times and social standards mean we must reconsider Murdock's ideology of a 'family'. Argumentatively, individuals declaring…
The ideal family from the American perspective has traditionally been known as the nuclear family by sociologists. The nuclear family, consisting of a married couple and their unmarried children, materialized as a romantic ideal as the Industrial Revolution transformed the United States into a country where families didn’t have to depend on many children and extended families for help on a farm or financial stability and families got smaller. Wealthier families could afford to have a home for themselves and their family of procreation (an individual, their mate, and their children) without needing the financial support of additional family members, and this kind of a family became desirable. Additionally, some other characteristics of the ‘ideal American family’ became popular and commonplace in the US and around the world as well.…
Assess the view that, despite recent changes in family life, “the conventional nuclear family remains the norm” for families and households in Britain today. (24 marks)…
There are 15.8 million families in Britain. The family in Britain is very diverse; diversity means that there is a wide range of different ‘things’, in terms of family it means lots of different family types. There has been diversity in the family structure in Britain, an example of this is ‘lone parents’, lone parents have always been part of Britain’s family structure but even more so during the World Wars, this is due to the premature death of the partner. During the 50’s and the 60’s the most popular family was nuclear family, nuclear family is a family that only the parents and the children live together. There were also some extended families during this time; extended family is where the grandparents live with or near the children as well as the children’s parents. The reason why nuclear family and extended family were so popular is due to marriage being very popular and cohabitation was very rare. During these times some types of family were frowned upon, some examples of this are: Homosexual families, Single parent families and reconstructed families. Homosexual families were frowned upon due to the stigma towards homosexuals during these times. Due to marriage being very popular single parent families were also frowned upon. Reconstructed family was also frowned upon due to the popularity of marriage; you would have to be divorced to be able to have been able to have a reconstructed family. However over the last 50 years there have been significant changes in the family structures due to various social changes in society.…