Explain and discuss why the definition of family is problematic from the perspectives of history, ideology and policy. How does violence within families challenge the functionalist approach to family?
I am discussing how history, ideology and policy perspectives establish problems with the definition of family. My main focus will be identifying how family violence and abuse within families challenge the functionalist approach to family. The definition of ‘family’ is extremely broad; however I will only be focusing on the functionalist approach which is the nuclear family. Functionalists believe that the nuclear family is the ‘ideal’ family type and is seen as the traditional family. The history perspective will explore how domestic
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When domestic violence was seen as acceptable, it would not have disputed the functional family as it was seen as ‘normal’. Policies have been put in place now to prevent and help decrease domestic violence. Laws relate to domestic violence help change the ideology of individuals. If a law states that domestic violence is not acceptable then this will influence others to realise it is not acceptable behaviour. Therefore this shows that ideology, policy and history all relate to each other. A great deal of changes have changed regarding laws, peoples ideologies etc throughout history. For example, men are encouraged to participate more in domestic life and not see being the breadwinner as a necessity. In the past, it was not normal for a woman to work, however, in modern society it is seen as normal for women to work. The definition of family may be seen as problematic in relation to history because there have been different ideologies throughout history on what types of family are acceptable. For example, in the past, the traditional family was seen as the most suitable family and the ‘norm’ which could provide for the family best and gave structure. However new family types such as a single-parent family and same-sex couples are now accepted by society and many people will class them as a family. Throughout history, there will have been discussion and debates on what types of family are acceptable and what should not be classes as a family. However everyone has their
Outline and evaluate Functionalist views of the role of the family in society. [33 marks]
This essay will look at how social policies and laws affect families in a positively or negatively. Some of the key concepts that will be touched upon will be how functionalist agree that social policies are positive due to the march of progress getting better due to laws in place. The essay will also look at how it negatively affects families, such as how feminist think social policies promote patriarchy in the family.
Objective – Explain basic sociological concepts of the family, marriage, and intimate relationships. (Pg. 365)
In recent decades, there has been a shift in the definition of a family to better suit the new emerging alternative family arrangements in today’s society. A family is defined as the natural and fundamental group unit of society especially in relation to the upbringing of children. However, this Eurocentric, nuclear family construct has evolved as alternative family arrangements such as de-facto and same sex relationships as well as adoptive families have become part of the term ‘family’. The domestic legal system has introduced and amended laws to deal with these contemporary issues. Similarly, there are non-legal responses such as the media and various non-governmental organisations, which advocate for various changes to the law in order to achieve greater justice for these families.
to of have ignored that in a number of families (this tends to be a
‘The family performs important tasks that contribute to society’s basic needs and helps perpetuate social order.’ (Anthony Giddens 2006 - Page 238) Functionalists believe a family’s paramount purpose is to raise and support their children within society.
Item A makes clear that different sociologists ‘are divided over both the extent of family diversity and its importance’. The Functionalists and the New Rights view increased family diversity as ‘a serious threat’; whilst Robert Chester argues in recent years there has been a ‘shift from the conventional to the neo-conventional
The family is the first institution of the five basic social institutions. It is responsible for developing the behavior of each person to be interactive individuals in society. It is responsible for supplying the basic needs of each person during their development. Unfortunately, the image of family has been deteriorated considerably. Instead of being a system support for people, it has become a double edged sword. Society is at fault for how bad the concept of family is today. It is just takes watching the news on television or to reading the newspaper to realize this. We can see headlines like "Father abused his daughter", “Woman is victim of domestic violence", "Child suicide due to
A nuclear family is universal and is defined as a two generational grouping; consisting of a father, mother and their children, all living in the same household. The idea of the nuclear family was first noticed in Western Europe in 17th century. The concept that narrowly defines a nuclear family is essential to the stability in modern society and has been promoted by modern social conservatives in the United States and has been challenged inadequate to describe the complexity of actual family relations. In this essay, I shall be assessing the views that the nuclear family functions to benefit all its members and society as a whole, from a
The way in which the ‘family’ unit is perceived has changed immensely since the last quarter of the twentieth century. Over time, many factors have contributed to these changes including, and not limited to, the industrial revolution, the feminist movement, the period of modernity and technological advancements. As a result, these factors have influenced significant changes to the ‘family’, these include; the increasing rates of female occupation, mean age at marriage, divorce, unmarried couples, single parents, mean age at birth of first child, and a decline in marriage rates. Moreover, this essay will examine how the family has changed over time through discussing the factors that have contributed to these changes. It is for these reasons and observations made by sociologists that it could be inferred that the way the family unit is perceived has changed greatly over time.
Since the nineteenth century, in the western societies, family patterns changed under the forces of industrialisation and urbanisation. Another factor which has been involved in those changes is the growing intervention of the state, by legislative action, in the domestic affairs of the family. As a result of these trends, the modern “nuclear” family has been substituted for the traditional extended family. The increase of values such as individualism and egalitarism has influenced the patterns of
First of feminists have disagreed and argued with the functionalist theory of socialisation in the (nuclear) family benefiting society as a whole, Marxists feminists claim that exploitation of women helps in the direction of capitalism, where radical say it’s there to serve men who benefit from the unpaid labour of females, but they all believe that in societies and cultures such as the UK the socialisation process, especially up until the 1970s, was/is a way of supressing and giving women false consciousness of their place in society. Feminist challenge the ideology by functionalist that the nuclear family is the only natural and legitimate form, the family is something that is familiar to us all, and most people consider themselves to be in or part of some sort of
The debate over families and family values generally finds advocates in two camps. One camp says that a family begins when a man and woman marry. The other camp says that no one should try to define the family because the definition is very subjective. This latter position is "just one example of the virus that has caused America's sickness (Thomas pg. 44). The idea that a fixed standard cannot be established because some people might disagree is ludicrous (Thomas pg. 44). Logically, if there is no objective standard for one agenda, there can be none for any other. When there are no standards, there is anarchy.
Functionalist looks at society on a macro level. It is a consensus theory and structuralists prefer to use functionalism as it agrees with their ideals and models and they prefer to look at society as a whole. Functionalists are interested in studying what family is most functional.
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).