Introduction

With the development of social life, traditional marriage family structure and idea have changed deeply in the UK. And there are some new changes of families in the UK. The familyhas new type under the background of the intensity of the social change, for example, lone parent families, reconstituted family and homosexual family. As we known, the family is one of the most elementarysocial unit. Its changes will affect society. In this essay, we will argue the changing nature of the family and analyse the reasons of changing in the UK. First, this essay will show the family types in the UK, and then give three social science disciplines to explain the reasons of family changed. Finally, this article will give advice how to understand these changes of family in the UK.

 

The traditional family types and main features of traditional family

Family structure is the type of family structure, and these types of structure is mainly according to the generation remember structure, marital status, and kinship and other factors. Generally speaking, there are five types of family, for exapmle,lone parent families, nuclear families and step families.First, multipe-family is called for combined family or expanded family, refers to two generations of couples and their children, and more family of relatives, including married brothers. This family type has the highest number of people.Second,lineal family is named of stem family, including the husband and wife, parents, children, even the fourth generation. Third, the nuclear family involes a couple of households and children unmarried, includinglone parent families, step family and empty nester family.Fourth, single family refers to never married or widowed, the alone family life after divorced. Finally, there is special family such as gay family(Crompton,1996).

  In the 18th century, Britshsocial traditional family was more than others family, and the expanded family had become the mainstream of the society at that time. However,modern industrial revolution in the world aroused a leap of human history. With the rapid development of science and technology, human life style changed, traditional marriage family is violently impacted by the modern trend, the traditional family system and the family idea faces the challenge of times, especially in the later of 20 th century, the family has suffered from the unprecedented impac,because of the society development, the changes of the people idea and the liberation of the personality, nuclear family type has become main trend(Hughes,2004).We will discuss the reasons of changing the nature of family from the following aspects.

The economic and social reason

For one thing, in the past, most of women did not go to work, they must take care of their children and her husband, even the parents of her husband. “The majority of women did not have opportunities to job which could pay enough money for them”( Crompton,1997). This suggest that the women can not have the same right as men in the societal life, Even they fortunately can go to have a job, but they are paid less money. They are hardly be respected by men. But with the social and economic development, the woman status invisibly raised.

 

 

Since the 1960s, female idea on the occupation has had the biggest change. The French writer Gilles Lipovetsky pointed out that 80% of French people think the women engaged in the work could succeed in life by 1990. In the UK, it also had similar change trend. The change of idea directly reflects the increase of women's work number. To the later 90s, British women in labour markets are more than the proportion of males in the UK. This is the first time in the history. In 1994, the number of women participating in paid work has already accounted for 53%( Gittings,1985). This point is very obvious in young people. Therefore, it has become a behoove phenomenon which is the husband and wife work together and earn double pay.

In addition to the number of work change, female evaluation on theirself competence and their employment structure also have change. Since the 1960s, the number and proportion of girls applying for go to university began to rise. They not only study arts and social sciences, but also more and more female students turn up in biological sciences and mathematics field. They show more positive attitude to job and show better flexibility and sociability. Their efforts are paid to a certain extent.

In the 1980s and 1990s, British women had main goal: female independent organically combined with female features. On the one hand, they will continue to pursue independence. They hope to find their own the field except the family. On the other hand, they also do not give up natural right as mother. For them, it is important in the process that they fulfill the responsibilities of mothers is not subject to male. So after World War II, women got a "dual role" in the 1980s or 1990s in Britain. Now this image still continues, but the important thing is that they hope to change to overemphasize for the family role through their own more efforts, and increase the significance of their work, minimizing the trouble from the family. They get the same rights as man, they do not need to depend on the men to live( Gittings,1985).

While another role of female, they get more initiative on some aspect. First of all, the marriage is still the most women's choices. And in the 70s the marriage reached peak, but in 1971-- 1991, marriage rates declined to nearly half. To a large extent, marriage is replaced by cohabitation, the ratio of this phenomenon in the 20-49 year old single women increased from 3% in 1978 to 26% in 1993. And even those who intend to get married couples often choose to live together before. In the same period the divorce rate is rising(Crompton,1996). It does not mean that the modern marriage is more unfortunate than past. But more independent women on marriage have more demand. They can not bear to waste their life in the loveless marriage. Although in the economy, it is still good for them.So these result in changing the nature of the family in the UK such aslone-parent family or single family.

                            Too much open concept

British people concept become open, this is a reason caused the increased number of single-parent family or special family.Some parents of families open precedent. They are pregnant before marriage, cohabitation and divorce( Gittings,1985). They act that have no responsibility would pass down to children. And then children inherit these ideas to establish a new single family of lone-parent family, even they do not get married. According to the custom, when the child from traditional family is up to 18 years old, they will become the adult. That is to say that they can move away from the family in the past and have independent life. With their own independent, she / he become estranged with her parents and the relatives(Crompton,1999). pregnancy before marriage not only is turned a blind eye by their parents, relatives and friends will also turn a deaf ear. Because they know the interference or a dig is not only the show lagging behind the times, but also may be violate laws.

In the UK, some people are gay. In the past, the gay were not received, but people concept seems to become open. So they get more support from the folk and the law. Now if you walk in the street of UK, it is not strange that you can see two men (or women) kiss each other.

Conclusion

  As we known, the changing nature of the family in the UK doesn’t stop, with the social and economical development and the concept of people renovation, more and more types of family will appear.However, this is not special phenomenon that the traditional families begin to broke, the family walks to diversification in the UK, this is a kind of trend all over the world. The members of family can live together without blood relationship. Two men or women can love each other and organize family. The people can love together without married. But there are two points we can assert. First, traditional family can not perish. Second, we still believe that in the future, no matter how the family life changes, the mainstream family type is nuclear family. Single parent family, gay family and dink family are only non-mainstream model.Meanwhile, we should respect others family type.

Reference

Crompton,R.(1997).Women and Work in Modern Britain.New York:Oxford University Press.

Hughes,G.,Fergusson,R(2004).Ordering Lives:Family,Work and Welfare. Open University.

Gittings,D.(1985).The family in question:changing households and familiar ideologies

McRae,S.(1997).Introduction:family and household change in Britain.

Crompton, R. (1997). Women and work in modern Britain Oxford University Press.

Crompton, R. (1999) The Decline of the 'Male Breadwinner' - explanations and interpretations, Crompton, R. (ed) Restructuring Gender Relations and Employment: the decline of the male breadwinner

Crompton. R. and Le Feuvre, N. (1996) Paid Employment and the Changing System of Gender Relations: a Cross-National Comparison Sociology 30, 3, 427-45.