Postmodern views on diversity of the family

Family and household diversity is the change in patterns among the various family and household types that exist because of factors such as secularisation, changes to legislation, changes in women's position, changing attitudes

In a sociological perspective, family is interpreted as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties or a combination of all three. The sociological theories the connect to this concept are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. First, functionalism states that the family socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, and it provides its members with a social identity. Secondly, conflict theory states that members create disagreements, and create emotional support and comfort. Finally, symbolic interactionism claims family members and intimate couples interact on a daily basis. "Families are defined as a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection" (Seccombe 5).

Family diversity is the idea that there are a range of different family types, rather than a single dominant one like the nuclear family. It is associated with the post-modernists idea that in today’s society increasing choice about relationships is creating greater family diversity.

Diversity in British households has significantly changed over the years. To understand the full extent of the changes in British household diversity, examination of the family life in the 1950s era is essential. Furthermore then to discuss the types of diversity which now exist in families today. Lone-parenting is defined as a mother or father living without a partner who then has responsibility of a dependent child and is one diversity which will be discussed in great depth. Deliberating on the size of family sizes today is necessary to see the diversity in British households.

In today's society, there are various alternatives from the typical family type. The top examples of these are lone-parent, cohabitation and reconstituted. But there are also some others such as same sex couples, single parent and multi-cultural families. There has been a decrease in the number of nuclear families in the UK and an increase in various other families such as single parent families. But the raise in single parent households has to do with the increase in divorce across the UK which means that more people are left having to support their children on their own unless they become a reconstituted family.

Families are becoming increasingly diverse in the UK because of changing norms and values in society. Postmodernists highlight that people are free to choose the family type that suits them best therefore allowing for harmonious relationships in society. On the other hand Functionalists are against family diversity and argue that a family that does not fit the nuclear model creates instability.

The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.

I recently attended your talk in Boston and, while I was interested in much of what you had to say, I do have some notable points of disagreement. In your paper, which you co-wrote with Robert Bales (who was nowhere to be found at the talk) in 1955, you argue that the family is at a point of stability in the 1950s that you say will last. In doing so, you credit what you deem to be the new structure of family: with specific roles including a male breadwinner, along with a wife who stays at home and cares for the children. This claim, however, is questionable. By looking at the demographic composition of different familial combinations, one can see

Eveyone's family is shaped diffeent, and functions differently The first major one is marital arrangements of a family, that is the number of persons each sex is allowed to marry. This includes monogamy, which is one marriage, and polygamy which is two marriages. There are also sub catergories that includes polygyny, which includes multiple wives, polyandry, which include multiple husbands, and cenogamy, which is a group marriage. the household arrangements of a family is the expected household composition including marital units and blood. There are two major houseold arrangements of a family that most of us fit into. The first arrangemnet would be a nuclear familty. A nuclear family coud either be intact, childless or incomplete. In an intact family the memebers of the family include a husband, wife, and children. In a childless family this includes a couple without children. In a incompletee family, for example this would be a widower with a child. some would say that the nuclesr family is more intimate then a compounded family because nuclear family are more monagomous and conjugal, but that is not always the case. But it is safe to say that the nuclear family is the norm in all societies today, because family comes in all different shapes and sizes. The other type of household arrangement is a compounded family arrangement. This

In the three articles, Schlosser et al (2015), Sereni-Massinger (2015) and Thurber (2015), they explain these types of diversity. In the article by Sereni- Massinger, she talks about cultural diversity, which can be defined as a variety of cultural, ethnical groups in a society. In the article by Schlosser, it covers ethnic diversity, which is defined as groups of people and people based on ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.

Times have changed; the nuclear family is no longer the American ideal because family needs have changed since the 1950's. This American convention of a mother and father and their two children, were a template of films and early television as a depiction of the American family life. Now seen as archaic and cliché by today’s standards, but the idea is common throughout many of the first world nations in the world. This ideal was a vast departure from the past agrarian and pre industrial families, and was modeled and structured as the ‘American dream’ father working, mother maintaining the household and children molded to be simulacra of the parents. This portrayal was not the standard; many communities throughout America had a different

When Mintz states “…. that diversity and change have been the only constants in the history of the American family” (Mintz 1), I believe he meant despites the challenges, family roles, and the power dynamics has changed greatly over time. As divorce rate increases, the decline in birthrates, and more married women entering the competitive workforce has contributed to the revolutionary change in the American family. In the beginning of the article, Mintz sheds light of the developmental changes in the American family life since the late 1960s. Such as a spike in divorce rates, single parent homes, and as well as children being born out of wedlock.

The British family is changing. Traditionally the family was not diverse, specific family types were very much associated with the time period, eg, pre industrial Britain the family type was the unit of production and 1850 - 1950 we had the classic extended family. 1950’s to 1970’s was the nuclear family. However in recent times there is evidence to suggest that this has changed. There is still the nuclear family which is usually a small family, with independance stable employment very much able to support itself but the nuclear family is very much diminished. We can also find many different types of families in society, there is now an extended family which has a wider kinship and are interdependent, a lone parent family where there is

The Decline of Traditional Family Being Detrimental to Society Some people believe that the decline of the traditional family (Nuclear family) is detrimental to society because a lot of people are not socialising. This is one of the basic roles that a traditional

This paper discusses the dynamic issues involving the diversity of multicultural families in regards to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic, gender and sexual orientation. This paper will also highlight same or different minority or cultural backgrounds, identity and biases involving multicultural families. How multicultural families incorporate their beliefs, cultures and values into a family unit as well as the transformation of acculturation. Challenges involving racial identity, ethnicity; where do people with different cultures fit in and make it work; the population of multicultural families has risen and continue to do so. Socioeconomic status in multicultural families