Download document

Chapter 15, Families






Defining the Family
Comparing Kinship Systems
Sociological Theory and Families
Diversity Among Contemporary American
Families
Marriage and Divorce
Changing Families/Changing society
Variation in Kinship Systems






Number of marriage partners permitted at one
time.
Who is permitted to marry whom.
How descent is determined.
How property is passed on.
Where the family resides.
How power is distributed.
Extended Families
Common among groups that share labor and
economic resources to survive.
Examples:
 African-American othermothers who assist
bloodmothers by sharing mothering
responsibilities.
 Compadrazgo or godparents among Chicanos.

Functionalism and the Family
Families exist to meet particular societal needs:
 Socializing the young.
 Regulating sexual activity and procreation.
 Providing physical care for family members.
 Giving psychological support and emotional
security to members.
Functionalism and the Family



When society undergoes rapid change,
families become disorganized and break down.
The family is shaped by society.
The high divorce rate and the number of single
parent households are the result of social
disorganization.
Conflict Theory and the Family



Family relationships reinforce and reflect
inequalities in society.
Families in American society are shaped by
capitalism.
Families socialize children to be obedient,
subordinate to authority and good consumers.
Feminist Theory and the Family



Family is one of the primary institutions
producing gender relations in society.
The family is a system of power relations and
social conflict.
The family is a gendered institution and critical
of perspectives that take women's place in
families for granted.
Symbolic Interaction
and the Family



Analyze how people define and understand
family experience and negotiate family
relationships.
Emphasizes the construction of meaning within
families.
Roles within families evolve as participants
define their behavior toward each other.
Families Are Changing



Increase in female-headed households which
are more likely than others to live in poverty.
Gay and lesbian households are more
common and challenge traditional definitions of
the family.
Single people make up more of the population,
partly because people marry at a later age.
Female-headed Households



Result of the high rate of teen pregnancy and
the high divorce rate.
Teen mothers are less likely to marry today
than in the past.
Teen mothers are among the most
economically and educationally disadvantaged
groups in U.S. Society.
Female-headed Households



Divorced women experience a decline in
income and most receive little financial support
from their former husbands.
Social problems are caused by economic
stress rather than the absence of a husband.
Single fathers tend to get more help, typically
from women, than do single mothers.
Married Couple Families



Most significant change has been the
participation of women in the labor force.
Both men and women are working a month
more per year than they did in 1970.
Women work a “double day” of paid
employment and unpaid work in the home.
Stepfamilies



About 40% of marriages in the U.S. involve
stepchildren.
Blended families demand the learning of new
roles for both parents and children.
The lack of institutional support systems cause
stress resulting in high probability of divorce
among remarried couples with children.
Gay and Lesbian Households



Tend to be less gender-stereotyped in
household roles than heterosexual couples.
Negatively affected by the denial of benefits
and privileges accorded legally recognized
marriages.
Only Hawaii and Vermont legally recognize gay
marriage.
Singles



Number has increased from 29% of the
population in 1970 to 42% today.
People are marrying later partly due to longer
life expectancy, higher educational attainment
and cohabitation.
Changes in sexual attitudes and removal of
stigma of being single have contributed to the
happiness of singles.
Marriage



The U.S. has the highest rate of marriage of
any Western industrialized nation.
Most marital conflicts are about finances and
housework, not sexual jealousy.
Most couples agree that childcare should be
shared, but only 38% of couples think that
housework should be shared.
Marriage



Women continue to do more work at home and
have less leisure time than men.
Men are working longer hours, but primarily in
paid employment.
The majority of women in all social classes
experience stress over the amount of work
they have to do and their lack of free time.
Divorce



Sociologists estimate that 1 in every 2
marriages made today will end in divorce.
Divorced men are more likely than women to
remarry and to remarry faster.
Despite the emotional pain and economic
struggle women experience following divorce,
most are glad that their marriages ended.
Family Violence



The majority of domestic violence cases go
unreported.
It is currently estimated that 1 in 3 women will
be physically assaulted by her husband.
Belief that the batterer will change, financial
constraints, and mandatory arrest laws
discourage reporting and keep the victim in the
relationship.
Violence in the Family
Two perspectives:
 Family violence approach - violence occurs
in families because the society condones
violence.
 The feminist approach - places inequality
between women and men at the center of
analyses of violence in the family.