IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socres/v16y2011i4p109-119.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Function to Competence: Engaging with the New Politics of Family

Author

Listed:
  • Val Gillies

Abstract

This paper argues for a critical reclaiming of family and highlights the risks associated with decentring such a powerful and pervasive concept. Influential critiques of family as an organising category are considered in the context of a contemporary trend towards reorienting it within broader studies foregrounding personal and intimate realms of human connectedness. It is suggested that while concepts of personal lives and intimacy have much to offer they can not capture the full range and nature of relations raised through the lens of family. In particular the political consequences of subsuming family within wider approaches are set out through reference to a new public politics of family in which emphasis is placed less on structure and function, and more on knowledge and competence. Through an exploration of the key changes characterising this shift a case is made for retaining family (alongside intimacy and personal life) as a flexible, enduring and necessary sociological framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Val Gillies, 2011. "From Function to Competence: Engaging with the New Politics of Family," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 109-119, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:16:y:2011:i:4:p:109-119
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.2393
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.2393
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.5153/sro.2393?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lynn Jamieson & David Morgan & Graham Crow & Graham Allan, 2006. "Friends, Neighbours and Distant Partners: Extending or Decentring Family Relationships?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 11(3), pages 39-47, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jane Ribbens McCarthy & Val Gilles & Carol-Ann Hooper, 2018. "Introduction," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 23(1), pages 153-159, March.
    2. Sara EldéN & Terese Anving, 2016. "New Ways of Doing the ‘Good’ and Gender Equal Family: Parents Employing Nannies and Au Pairs in Sweden," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(4), pages 44-56, November.
    3. Anna-Maija Castrén & Kaisa Ketokivi, 2015. "Studying the Complex Dynamics of Family Relationships: A Figurational Approach," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 20(1), pages 108-121, February.
    4. Kirsty Morrin, 2018. "Tensions in Teaching Character: How the ‘Entrepreneurial Character’ is Reproduced, ‘Refused’, and Negotiated in an English Academy School," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 23(2), pages 459-476, June.
    5. Georgia Philip, 2013. "‘Extending the Analytical Lens’[1]: A Consideration of the Concepts of ‘Care’ and ‘Intimacy’ in Relation to Fathering after Separation or Divorce," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(1), pages 97-107, February.
    6. Sarah Marie Hall & Clare Holdsworth, 2016. "Family Practices, Holiday and the Everyday," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 284-302, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sarah Milton & Kaveri Qureshi, 2022. "Reclaiming the Second Phase of Life? Intersectionality, Empowerment and Respectability in Midlife Romance," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(1), pages 27-42, March.
    2. Shruti Chaudhry, 2022. "Mid- and Later Life Cross-Sex Friendships in Minority Ethnic Contexts: Insights From Scotland," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(4), pages 947-963, December.
    3. Krystal Wilkinson & Jennifer Tomlinson & Jean Gardiner, 2017. "Exploring the work–life challenges and dilemmas faced by managers and professionals who live alone," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(4), pages 640-656, August.
    4. Paola Rebughini, 2011. "Friendship Dynamics between Emotions and Trials," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(1), pages 119-127, February.
    5. Lynn Jamieson, 2011. "Intimacy as a Concept: Explaining Social Change in the Context of Globalisation or Another Form of Ethnocentricism?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 151-163, December.
    6. Jacqui Gabb, 2011. "Family Lives and Relational Living: Taking Account of Otherness," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 141-150, December.
    7. Mary Holmes & Silvana Greco, 2011. "Introduction: Friendship and Emotions," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(1), pages 89-94, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:16:y:2011:i:4:p:109-119. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.