The Nuclear Family as Self Fulfilling Prophesy:

1
The Nuclear Family as Self Fulfilling Prophesy

• Representations of Kin in TV Parenting Programmes

2
Kin within reality TV parenting

• Reality TV focuses on the nuclear family
• Kin, particularly grandmothers, disrupt this
  portrayal they are family, but not nuclear
• They therefore disrupt and threaten messages
  about normal family life
• In response they are framed in passive terms by
  the programmes, neutralising and minimising their
  role

3
Reality Television Parenting Programmes
4
The Nuclear Family and Kin

• Sociology of kinship, structuring social
  relationships
• another funeralMy brother's fiancee's father
  has died and the funeral is tomorrow in
  London.As one of the only members of the family
  in the country I feel rather obliged to go, so
  I'll be catching an early train tomorrow (the
  kind with standing room only), and then hopefully
  getting back in time to change. Livejournal
  post 17/4/08

5
The Nuclear Family and Kin

• Sociology of The Family
• Centrality of the Nuclear Family Household as
  unit of analysis
• Imbued with moral idealism of the right- should
  and ought versus is and does

6
The Nuclear Family and Kin

• Sociology of families
• Challenges hegemonic norms of heterosexual
  married couple as only valid family form, but
• Still reinforces rather than challenges the idea
  of the nuclear household as key unit of society

7
Childcare advice

• Pre-dates the printed word
• Uses any media available in a given society
• Nowadays thought of as books or classes
• Reality Television c. 2004

8
Childcare advice as ideology

• Philosophical and religious tracts promote
  methods of raising children as part of the good
  life
• Science versus mothers the need for advice
• Eugenics raising a healthy nation
• Replaced by?

9
The end of the family

• The extended family is dead and buried?
• The nuclear family is under grave threat?
• Socialisation no longer happens in the home as it
  should?
• because theres always issues there, drink,
  drugs, depression (Meeting with community health
  worker, 2007)

10
A psychologist says

• Historically, parents learned about
  child-rearing methods and strategies from their
  own parents or from extended family members with
  previous parenting experience. Presently,
  parents are more likely than ever to turn to
  professional experts, either by purchasing
  self-help books or by obtaining consultation
  services, when they want parenting advice.
  (Sommers-Flanagan)

11
The Irish state says

• In the past, most western societies could claim
  a normal parenting pattern whether an extended
  family or community or nuclear family model. Many
  Western societies now report that their previous
  family norms have undergone dramatic change
  (Best Health for Children report)

12
And a health promotion journal

• In traditional societies, parentcraft is another
  of the things to be imparted in the family
  context, the accepted pattern being handed down
  from one generation to the next, but for a
  variety of reasons in our industrial and
  technological age the traditional frame has been
  broken without any provision, at least west of
  the Iron curtain, of an adequate substitute
  (Royal society for the promotion of health 1973
  p11) .

13
So what about the mother-in-law?

• the ones who had little enough time for their
  own families or who successfully mis-managed
  their own children and are now straining on the
  sidelines wanting to have a go at the next
  generation. (cited in Hardyment, 2007, p322-3)

14
What does reality mean?

• Constructed texts, heavily edited
• Following people acting for camera in an
  unscripted, relatively spontaneous way
• Major debate about use of children
• Audience responses may be less critical, closer
  to hegemonic readings.

15
Findings
16
Deviant families?

• Criticism of sensational style
• Featured families structure is quite normal.
• Supernanny 21 couples from 23 families
• Irish version differs
• Families in Trouble 3 couples, 3 single, one
  co-parenting

17
Additional kin featured

• Grandmothers Evelyn and Peggy
• Uncle Thomas

18
Kin as Unimportant

• Supporting roles to allow narrators to speak over
  background visuals
• Replaceable babysitters
• Example Susans father in Honey Were Killing
  the Kids

19
Kin as a problem

• Narration refers to kin as problem even when
  they are not present (HTT)
• More subtle, but still problematical, Evelyn and
  Peggy (transcription handout four)

20
Passive Kin obstructing and incompetent

• Thomas and the bold house
• Threat of young working class male symbolically
  removed from family setting by camera
• Life is better for Carlins when Evelyn is
  replaced by childminder
• Peggys changes the hardest thing she ever did

21
Passive Kin - Victims

• Parents choose to have children
• Grandparenthood (or Aunt or Uncle-hood, etc) not
  so actively chosen
• Kin are presented as unfortunate to have these
  extra burdens lumbered on them

22
Kin and fatherhood

• Kin are less silenced when a mother parents
  without a father
• Difference between grandmothers Evelyn and Peggy
  one example
• Evelyn fills the father void

23
So what is the father role?

• More established in existing literature
• Baby Entertainer, Bumbling Assistant and Line
  Manager (Sunderland, 2007)
• Carefully gender neutral language reinforces
  presentation of parenting mothering
• Granny can be seen filling same space

24
Audience Interpretation

• Role of different kinship positions are not the
  same as that of parents, and this is a good thing
• Grannies get most attention
• Grannys job is to give unconditional affection
  without discipline

25
Grannys Job

• They noticed that the job of granny as presented
  in the programmes was not the same as their idea
• They were not critical of this
• They were critical of the lack of discussion in
  programmes of when Grannys job is hard

26
Audience Interpretation

• Its hard with Grannies. I have a friend, and
  the child came down, and the mother said, come
  and sit on my knee, and the granny said, no, Ill
  take him, and the child ended up with the granny.
• Because its hard, if your daughter is at home,
  you still mother her, so you mother her kids, but
  thats not always right
• They should show that more

27
Audience Interpretation

• -Well I dont watch a lot of them now, but
  sometimes I see them and I never seen a
  grandparent
• -I saw one and the wans mother was there. She
  lived on her own with the children, and she was
  helping her out in every way that she could, now.
  She was very good with her.
• -They generally are, Mary
• -She would give in to the child. She had to stop
  doing that, you see.
• -The grandparents will give in to
• -The granny or the
• -The granny will give in to the child
• -They will try the granny, because if they
  dont get something off of you, they will get
  soft with the granny. Thats part of being a
  granny.

28
Other Kin

• He must have felt awful when he was told he was
  doing wrong. Maybe thats why he disappeared
• Audiences had little to say, but noted and showed
  discomfort at the disappearance of male kin

29
Discussions and Conclusions

• Kin are minimised their role is presented as
  unimportant or even threatening
• Not unique to TV, started at least by the 1950s
  in parenting books
• But reality TV intensifies issue, makes it
  unavoidable as discourse

30
Conclusion

• Most kinship ties symbolically eradicated
• Tolerated if mother parents alone, whereby
• Kin support must be female
• Mothers may gain assistance but never share
  responsibility (and a power struggle may be
  necessary to achieve this)
• Strong audience acceptance, but mediated with
  some sense of loss, sadness, frustration and even
  humor

31
Conclusion

• Nuclear Family as self-fulfilling prophesy in
  Reality Television as in Sociology