Discuss How Far Sociologists Would Agree That the Nuclear Family Is the Norm in Britain Today
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.
As a result of the feminist movement women gained independence, particularly within the work place. Women became more career orientated and less financially dependent on men. Marriage was no longer a necessity in order to gain financial security so many women would wait much longer to marry, if indeed they chose to at all. People were (and are) marrying later; marriage rates decreased; divorce rates increased; cohabitation became more popular. A change in divorce laws - I think in the 70s-80s somewhen - made it much easier to be able to divorce. As a result of all of these changes, and other factors, stepfamilies have become more prevalent. 'Stepfamilies' is a widely used term for a number of different types of family, e.g. the origins of the stepfamily - was it following the death of the spouse/mother/father, or the divorce of the couple in question? Whilst the concept of the 'nuclear family' used to be the most dominant 'type' of family, families vary so much nowadays that one cannot refer to any single type of family as 'normal' or 'typical'. Another thing not to forget is the increased acceptance of homosexual relationships and families, in addition to the
As a result of the feminist movement women gained independence, particularly within the work place. Women became more career orientated and less financially dependent on men. Marriage was no longer a necessity in order to gain financial security so many women would wait much longer to marry, if indeed they chose to at all. People were (and are) marrying later; marriage rates decreased; divorce rates increased; cohabitation became more popular. A change in divorce laws - I think in the 70s-80s somewhen - made it much easier to be able to divorce. As a result of all of these changes, and other factors, stepfamilies have become more prevalent. 'Stepfamilies' is a widely used term for a number of different types of family, e.g. the origins of the stepfamily - was it following the death of the spouse/mother/father, or the divorce of the couple in question? Whilst the concept of the 'nuclear family' used to be the most dominant 'type' of family, families vary so much nowadays that one cannot refer to any single type of family as 'normal' or 'typical'. Another thing not to forget is the increased acceptance of homosexual relationships and families, in addition to the