This book argues that the legal understanding of 'family' in the UK continues to be underpinned by the idealised image of the 'nuclear family', premised upon the traditional, gendered roles of 'father as breadwinner' and 'mother as homemaker'. This examination of the law's model of the 'family' has been prompted by the substantial reforms that have taken place in family law in recent decades, and the significant evolution in social attitudes and familial practices that has occurred in parallel. Throughout the book, the influence of the nuclear family is noted in several different contexts: various specific legal definitions of 'family', the legal regulation of adult, conjugal relationships, the attribution of legal parenthood and the construction of the role of the 'parent' within the law. Ultimately, this book argues that while these reforms have resulted in additional categories of relationship coming to be situated within the nuclear family model, there has not, as yet, been any fundamental alteration of the underpinning concept of the nuclear family itself. This book concludes by considering the possibilities offered beyond the 'nuclear family'; exploring the reconceptualising of the legal understanding of 'family' around alternative and potentially 'radical' models of 'family'.

This book argues that no universal definition of the 'family' exists within UK law or academic literature, and that the legal understanding of the 'family' is instead influenced by the idealised image of the 'nuclear family' and traditional familial roles. The author discusses what alternative models could replace the nuclear family model and whether the legal regulation of families and family life should be centred around a conceptual model of 'family' at all.

About the Author
Alan Brown is Lecturer in Private Law at the University of Glasgow.

Reviews
A timely contribution to the literature ... of interest to academics, researchers and scholars involved in family law, not just within the UK but also well beyond its shores. -- Kathryn O'Sullivan, University of Limerick * International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family *



Book Information
ISBN 9781509919581
Author Dr Alan Brown
Format Hardback
Page Count 248
Imprint Hart Publishing
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 498g