Traditional Family In A Post Modern Society
In a post modern society such as Britain, are traditional family and marriage necessary?
This essay will explore whether traditional family and marriage are necessary in Britain today. The change of societal views and attitudes will need to be considered, as well as analysing statistical evidence. The ideology of the family and marriage will then be discussed and contrasted, in relation to various theoretical perspectives such as functionalism and post modernism. Government views and policies will also be reviewed in order to show how family has evolved for various family types.
Before discussing if there is a necessity for traditional family and marriage in Britain today, it only seems logical to first understand what is meant by the term traditional family. A traditional family or nuclear family, as it is sometimes referred to as, consists of a heterosexual monogamous couple that are legally bound through marriage and their healthy, dependent 2.5 children, Muncie et al. (1999).
There is usually a clear division of labour where the male predominantly plays the instrumental role of the breadwinner and the female predominantly plays her expressive role as the homemaker and care giver, Bernardes (1997). This is based on the theory of Functionalism (which has dominated theories until the mid 20th century). They seem to place importance on the division of labour, as they believe that this structure is the most effective way of performing family functions.
This image of family would have been very accurate if it was based families around the 20th century as it was considered to be the norm, to get married and have a family with males and females playing their respective biological roles.
According to Pascall (1986) in Muncie et al (1999, p44), the Beveridge Report recognised three key characteristics of the associated with the idea of the family;
1 Women are available to do housework and care for children and elderly relatives, without pay.
2 Couples consist
This essay will explore whether traditional family and marriage are necessary in Britain today. The change of societal views and attitudes will need to be considered, as well as analysing statistical evidence. The ideology of the family and marriage will then be discussed and contrasted, in relation to various theoretical perspectives such as functionalism and post modernism. Government views and policies will also be reviewed in order to show how family has evolved for various family types.
Before discussing if there is a necessity for traditional family and marriage in Britain today, it only seems logical to first understand what is meant by the term traditional family. A traditional family or nuclear family, as it is sometimes referred to as, consists of a heterosexual monogamous couple that are legally bound through marriage and their healthy, dependent 2.5 children, Muncie et al. (1999).
There is usually a clear division of labour where the male predominantly plays the instrumental role of the breadwinner and the female predominantly plays her expressive role as the homemaker and care giver, Bernardes (1997). This is based on the theory of Functionalism (which has dominated theories until the mid 20th century). They seem to place importance on the division of labour, as they believe that this structure is the most effective way of performing family functions.
This image of family would have been very accurate if it was based families around the 20th century as it was considered to be the norm, to get married and have a family with males and females playing their respective biological roles.
According to Pascall (1986) in Muncie et al (1999, p44), the Beveridge Report recognised three key characteristics of the associated with the idea of the family;
1 Women are available to do housework and care for children and elderly relatives, without pay.
2 Couples consist