Family

lecture no 8

Some sociologists argue that there is no “normal” family, but instead a broad
diversity of family and household forms in the UK today.

There are a number of reasons for this increased diversity, including:

 Secularisation (as religion has become less central to UK society, so

people are more likely to consider alternatives to marriage and also
there is a reduced stigma to divorce.)
 Legal changes (the legal changes mentioned in the previous section
has made divorce easier, therefore leading to more family types)

Late modernist Anthony Giddens (1992) argues that greater gender equality
has led to significant changes in the nature of family life. Relationships are
now categorised by freedom – people are free to enter into relationships on
their own terms rather than bound by tradition or family expectations. A
consequence of this is that people seek a pure relationship: if a relationship
is not meeting their expectations then they are also at liberty to end it and
seek one that is more fulfilling. Furthermore, relationships have become
increasingly about the self: people’s self-identity is explored through
relationships. All of this combines to suggest that people are less likely to get
married young and stay together for their whole lives and instead are likely to
experience serial monogamy. That is, be part of several partnerships
throughout their life course, rather than just one. While in previous eras it was
not unusual for people to marry their “childhood sweetheart” it is now very
unusual for people in a relationship at 18 to remain in the same relationship
for life. While this represents greater choice and freedom, it is also
characterised by instability.

Sociologists recognise a large number of diverse family forms in

contemporary society.

Let’s start with some examples:

Traditional nuclear family

This is the traditional family as described functionalists like Talcott Parsons

and the New Right: a married couple with their own children (2 or 3 of them)
where the husband goes out to work and the wife looks after most of the
domestic duties, with clear segregated roles.

Symmetrical family

This family form was described by Wilmott & Young who argued that in the
later 20th century, families were becoming more symmetrical, with more joint
roles. Women were increasingly going out to work and men were doing more
of the housework.

Nuclear family with house husband or “new man”

Another family form that exists, especially in a postmodern society, is one

where the female adult in the family is the “breadwinner” and the husband
does most of the domestic work.

Extended family

Extended family refers to those family members who are outside the
“nucleus”: aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, etc. Extended family
households can be either:

 Vertical. Multiple generations living together (e.g. grandparents and

great grandparents. The vertical description relates to how it would
appear on a family tree.
 Horizontal. A household made up of aunts, uncles and cousins: the
family extended horizontally across the same generation rather than
vertically.

These household forms were uncommon in the 20th century, but had arguably
been a feature of pre-industrial and early industrial households. However, life
expectancy would suggest that at the time it would have been more likely to
be horizontal extended families, whereas today – with an ageing
population – the likelihood of vertical extended families has increased.

Beanpole family

Again, looking at how a family looks on a family tree can present us with a
beanpole family: a vertical extended family with no (or few) “branches”. This is
a multi-generational extended family, or vertical extended family, but is
characterised by each generation having few siblings. Again, as the fertility
rate has reduced, this becomes a more common family form. In earlier
generations, grandparents and great grandparents might be expected to have
several siblings, as large families was the norm.

Matrifocal lone parent family

The most common lone-parent family is the matrifocal one: that is one where
the lone parent is the mother of the child/children. There are several reasons
for this, such as women giving birth (and therefore being the present parent if
they are not in a relationship) and courts tending to prefer mothers in child
custody cases, following divorces.

New Right sociologists, such as Charles Murray criticise lone parent families
suggesting that the lack of a male role model can cause deviant behaviour
and socialise children with deviant values, leading to the creation of
an underclass.

Patrifocal lone parent family

A less common variation on the lone-parent family is the patrifocal one: a

family headed by a single father.

Reconstituted family

A reconstituted family is where two nuclear families that have split up merge
(or blend) to form a new family (i.e. with step-parents and step-brothers or
sisters). Because of both increased divorce and the decrease in marriage,
there are many more reconstituted or blended families in the UK today than
there were 100 years ago.

Same sex couples

Of course, there are really a number of different same-sex family structures,

not just one. Same-sex couple implies a couple living without children
(coupling describes this household structure for both heterosexual and
homosexual couples) but there are also same-sex families where there are
children (either naturally the children of one or other parent or adopted).

Living apart together

A living apart together family is where a couple choose not to cohabitate (or
are not currently cohabitating). This accounts for approximately 10% of UK
adults.
Grandparenting

This is a term for when children are brought up by their grandparents rather
than their parents. There are a number of reasons why this situation might
arise. It refers to a more formal, permanent or semi-permanent arrangement
than just grandparents assisting with childcare.

Singledom

This term refers to people living on their own. Again this is quite a common
household type in contemporary Britain.

Flatmates/housemates

Some households are multiple occupancy. This might be in the form of

flatmates or housemates such as university students, or it might be people
who do not know each other prior to taking up residence (e.g. some migrant
workers).

Empty nest family

This term refers to a household where there is a couple who had children but
they have now left the family home. Because people are living longer, there
are more empty nest households and they remain that way for longer.

Boomerang family

However, a growing trend has been for boomerang families where children
who have left the family home have come back again! For example, this might
occur with people graduating from university and then returning to the family
home. The cost and scarcity of housing has made this more common.

Polygamy

Polygamy in the strict sense is illegal in the UK: you cannot be married to
more than one person under UK law. However, there are people who live with
more than one partner (not married) and also some people have other
spouses in other countries (not recognised by UK law). In some cultures
polygamy is seen as a better option than infidelity and is therefore
encouraged.