Postmodernism

• Giddens
• Family now involves greater choice and equality due to:
• contraception allows for intimacy rather than reproduction as a reason for the relationship.
• changing role and opportunities for women
• Families now define their relationships themselves - It is individual and works for them.
• He calls this 'Pure relationships' based on love and happiness and not tradition or sense of duty.
• Relationships become a part of 'self discovery'
• However more choice leads to greater instability.

• Beck
• We live in a 'risk society'. Tradition is less influential due to choice.
• We became more aware of risk as we calculate them when we are making our choices.
• The patriarchal family has now been replaced by the negotiated family - we calculate the risk before we enter the relationship to ensure that we from it what we want.
• The negotiated family is more equal than the nuclear family but less stable as individuals are free to leave when they no longer get from it what they want.

• Stacey (1998)
• Greater choice in relationships has benefited women as it has freed them from patriarchy, allowing them to shape the relationship to suit their needs.
• Women have been the main instigators of change within the family creating new ones to suit their needs.
• One new structure is 'the divorced extended family' - contact with divorced partner and their new partners and kids etc.
• Such families illustrate the diverse nature of postmodern families.
• 'The Family' as a single concept no longer makes sense.

• Weeks (2000)
• There is growing acceptance of diversity especially amongst the under 35s
•  However, family patterns are still quite traditional but diversity is common. New right are fighting a loosing battle to retain the nuclear family.