This essay is for the CIE IAL Sociology course however its knowledge can be transferred to other exam boards such Edexcel, AQA, CIE and OCR. This essay answers the question 'Evaluate the view that social policies are the main reason for increased family diversity (26 marks)'
Evaluate the view that social policies are the main reason for increased family
diversity (26 marks)
Social policies are instilled within each society due to globalisation which is seen to increase
family diversity, allowing for many families to be accepted and recognised by the rest of
society. Policies that are seen to influence the family are marriage laws, adoption laws, same
sex marriage act and divorce laws.
Social policies have increased family diversity through changing gender roles. Acts such as
the equal pay act and the sex discrimination act allow for women in modern society to have
an equal status as a man. This leads to the rise of autonomous femininities as women are
capable financially to take care of themselves and not depend on a man. This allows for
family diversity as now women may choose to not have a husband or children, preferring to
live alone, giving a rise to single-person households. This is supported by radical feminists
as they view men as ‘the enemy’, stating women should choose separatism in order to
abolish the patriarchy and the nuclear family.
Social policies have increased family diversity through affecting birth rates. Through the
abortion act, women are now seen to have fewer children and can choose to avoid
unwanted pregnancies and live childless with their partner. Due to less stigma within society
which is reinforced by social policies, couples are likely to abort, leading to lower child rates.
Moreover, laws like compulsory education may make children be seen as a burden to mny
families, thus further enforcing their decision of not having a child. This would be supported
by postmodernists as they believe that modern society allows for different family types
including childless couples. ‘
Social policies influence social classes differently allowing for more family diversity. Due to
the financial struggles of the working class families, both parents may work fulltime and thus
may not be able to provide their child emotional, physical and mental support. This would
lead to domestic violence where children may be harmed within the family, Therefore
policies such as the child protection law would ensure the child is taken away from the family
for their protection. Laws like the divorce law would allow the working class couple to
separate and form new families such as a reconstituted family or live within a single parent
family, presenting social policies as affecting family diversity.
Social policies can be argued to reinforce the nuclear family. This is supported by the
functionalists as they believe state policies benefit everyone and help people do their
function properly. Functionalist Fletcher states that policies allow families to have free
healthcare and free education which leads to future stability within society and the family, as
children grow up healthy and educated. Policies such as the tax benefits benefit the nuclear
family as they support the idea of husbands as wage earners. However, new rights believe
that state policies encourage family diversity and dismiss the nuclear family. New rights
sociology Almond (2006) argues that the divorce reform encourages people into cohabitation
and policies such as the civil partnership act push aside the importance of the nuclear family.
Feminists argue that social policies support the patriarchal ideology and do not encourage
family diversity. They argue state policies exploit women and give more benefits to the
patriarchal nuclear family. Feminist Land states that policies are designed to provide
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