正文 第33章 附錄(18)(1 / 3)

Dramaticchangesineconomicandfamilysystemsinevitablygohandinhand.JustastheemergenceofmodernindustrializingsocietiespreoccupiedthefoundingfiguresofsociologyintheWest,sotoothedevelopmentofthemodernnuclearfamilydominatedtheagendaofthediscipline’sfirstcenturyoftheoryandresearchonfamilytransformation.SociologistslikeTalcottParsons(1944)andWilliamGoode(1967)claimedthatthestreamlinedfamilycomposedofamalebreadwinner,afemalehomemaker,andtheirchildrensuitedtheneedsofrapidlyindustrializingsocietiesaswellasthepresumeddifferent,heterosexual,andcomplementarynaturesofmenandwomenthemselves.Themodernnuclearfamilystructuredaroundaromanticconceptofheterosexualloveandoffreechoice,companionatemarriagerepresentedwhatsociologistAnthonyGiddens(1992)termsthe“Atransformationofintimacy.”Itsignaledthehistorictrajectoryfromaregimeofobligatoryfamily,kinship,andsexualitytakentobe“Anatural”totheunleashingofincreasinglevelsofindividualemotion,choice,anddiversitythatcharacterizeourpersonallivestoday.Orperhapsitismoreaccuratetosuggestthatmodernfreechoicemarriagelaunchedthemodernconceptofintimacyitself,withitsemphasisontheindividualquestforeroticizedloveandemotionalauthenticity.

Contradictionsinherenttothemodernfamilysystem,suchasbetweentheidealoffreeloveandtherealityofgenderinequalityandlawsagainstsodomy,orbetweenpersonaldesiresandmarketforces,consignedtotheclosetthepursuitofanyformofintimacythatchallengedmale-dominantpatternsofheterosexualmarriageandparenthood.Overthecourseofthetwentiethcentury,continuingprocessesofeconomicdevelopmentinadvancedindustrialsocieties,sometimesdescribedaspost-industrialization,exacerbatedthesecontradictionsandultimatelyuprootedthefoundationsandstabilityofthemodernfamilyitself.Post-industrialeconomicforcesalteredthebasicdemographicfeaturesofmodernmarriageandfamilynorms.Themostprominent,andoftencontroversial,changesunleashedincludedincreasingpercentagesofwomenandmothersinpaidemployment,risingageofmarriage,lowerfertilityrates,escalateddivorceandremarriagerates,alongwithrisingratesofsinglemotherhoodandstep-families,andthedevelopmentofnewformsofcontraceptionandreproductivetechnologies.