Family and Culture: Functions of the Family

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Family and Culture Functions of the Family
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Objectives

• Having viewed this slide show you should be aware
  of
• The loss of functions thesis.
• The functions of the family.
• That in late modernity or postmodern society the
  family is taking on new functions.
• There is a growth in people seeking alternatives
  to the family or choosing alternative styles of
  family life.

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Introduction
Ronald Fletcher (1966) talked of the
'multifunctional family', but he was equally
aware of the family being stripped of its
secondary functions.
The modern nuclear family, he felt, was left with
residual functions.
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George Murdocks Universal Residual Functions
George Murdock (1949) conducted a survey of 250
societies and claimed there are four universal
residual functions of the family
sexual
economic
education
reproductive
(by education he really meant socialisation)
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Talcott Parsons Family Stripped of its Functions
Talcott Parsons sees the modern family as
stripped to just two basic and irreducible
functions
Socialisation of children
Stabilisation of adult personalities
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Critique of Functionalist View
Both Murdock and Parsons reflect the
functionalist perspective on family functions
The family functions in an over-romantic and
idealised way.
This referred to as the warm bath theory of
family.
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Family Adaptation in Postmodern Society
In Post-modern society the family is modifying
itself to meet the changed circumstances of
contemporary society.
The family has become more child-centred, but
with fewer children
However, many couples are choosing to stay
childless
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Source of Emotional Support
Families are seen as functioning to provide
warmth and security, emotional support.
All family members benefit from the loving
relationships that they share with each other.
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Family as Source of Identity
The family provides a sense of identity.
This is clearly important to family members as
evidenced by recent interest both by individuals
and the media in family histories.
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Family as Leisure
Families also provide shared leisure, family
holidays, special occasions e.g. weddings,
birthdays, outings, cultural and educational
visits (cinema, theatre, museums, etc.).
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Alternatives to the Traditional Family
An increasing number of people are rejecting the
traditional family singlehood, gay families,
childless couples.
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Singlehood
There has been a dramatic increase in the
proportion of one-person households in the past
40 years.
12 of people in Great Britain now live alone.
Singlehood is much more popular in the white
population than ethnic minorities
Many of these are elderly widowed, but not all!
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Singlehood (continued)
Single people now account for just under a third
of households (29 per cent) in Britain.
They include professional young men and women.
And divorced people
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Factors Behind Singlehood
Growth of 'FITT women' with careers and education
success
Women no longer need to be financially dependent
upon a man
Creative singlehood reflects the growth of the
affluent young.
Increased divorce rate and separations from
cohabitation.
Delay or rejection of marriage/cohabitation
More fashionable 'singles' accommodation is
available.
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Childless Couples
Childless couples reflect the fact that there is
less pressure on people to have children.
Couples may put lifestyle choice above starting a
family.
Some couples may be put off by the cost of
bringing up a child (over 50,000 from birth to
age of 18)
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Gay and Lesbian Relationships
But this non-traditional family form is also
slowly becoming less of a rarity
Gay and lesbian couples are often childless
In 2002 the Government announced plans to make it
easier for same-sex couples to adopt children.
Medical technology (e.g. surrogacy) allows people
to conceive children in non-traditional ways.
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Conclusions

• There is general support for the loss of
  functions thesis that argues the family has been
  stripped of many of its functions.
• George Murdock sees the family performing 4
  universal residual functions sexual,
  reproductive, economic and education
  (socialisation).
• Talcott Parsons sees the family performing two
  basic and irreducible functions socialisation
  of children, stabilisation of adult personalities.

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Conclusions (continued)

• There has been a growth in people rejecting
  traditional family.
• 12 of people in Britain now live on their own
  (almost a third of households).
• Couples account for almost a third of households
  too.
• In a less homophobic society there has been a
  growth of gay and lesbian relationships.

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End of Presentation