Family
Primary group of people in committed relationship, related by ancestry, marriage, or adoption. They form a cooperative economic unit to care for offspring and each other. Society defines and sanctions what is a legitimate family. There is no natural famil
kinship system + how it is defined
pattern of relationships that define people's relationships to one another within a family
1. how many marriage partners are permitted at one time
2. who is permitted to marry whom
3. how descent is determined
4. how property is passed on
5. where the fam
polygamy vs. monogamy
(a) practice of men or women having multiple marriage partners
(b) practice of a sexually exclusive marriage with one spouse at a time
Patrilineal kinship vs. matrilineal kinship vs. bilateral kinship
(a) trace descent through the father
(b) trace descent through the mother
(c) trace descent through both
Two types of families
extended families and nuclear families
Extended families
whole networks of parents, children, and other relative who form a family unit
ex = othermothers and compadrazgo
othermothers and compadrazgo
*both are examples of an extended family
(a) someone who provides extensive child care and receives recognition and support from the community around her; often a grandmother, sister, aunt, consign, member of the local community; often in black communitie
What is the result of an extended family?
fictive kin" = not related by birth but treated like members of the family
Nuclear Families
comprised of one married couple residing together with their children; origins of these families are tied to industrialization
Origins of Nuclear Families
1. Pre industrialization (Agrarian times)
-family = unit of economic production
-large extended households
-every member, women and children included were valued
2. After industrialization (Urbanization)
-job = unit of economic production
-nuclear househo
Family wage system
- men = breadwinners; women = take care of home and children
- creates a gendered division of labor
- today both men and women work for pay but women work a second shift
Nuclear family = natural?
-Racial/ethnic minorities have a different family pattern due to slavery, migration, and urban poverty
-ex=blacks and slavery disrupted family; mexican and chinese migrants could not migrate with families
-thus, the ability to form nuclear families is rel
Functionalist Theory
-families fulfill societal needs of socializing young, regulating sexual activity and procreation, etc.
-families are mutually beneficial exchange
-women get economic support; men get offspring and sexual partner
Feminist Theories of family
-Gender division of labor is not inevitable or functional for women
-families font serve the needs of all members equally-family is a system of power relations based on gender
-contrast w/conflict theory which emphasizes racism, classism, and homophobia i
Family-headed households
-1/4 of all children live with one parent; most single parent families headed by women (88%)
-members are growing due to pregnancy among unmarried tend (less likely to marry today) and high divorce rate
Gay and Lesbian Households
-less gender-stereotyped in household roles than heterosexual couples
-42% of people in US believe gay marriages should be recognized as valid
-48% of people in US believe civil unions b/w gays should be given some rights
Functionalism Perspective on Families
-meet the needs of society to socialize children and reproduce members
-teach people the norms and values of society
-are organized around a harmony of interests
-experience social disorganization ("breakdown") when society undergoes rapid social changes
Conflict Theory Perspective on Families
-reinforce and support power relations in society
-inculcate values consistent with the needs of dominant institutions
-are site for conflict and diverse interests of different family members
-change as the economic organization of society changes
Feminist Theory Perspective on Families
-are gendered institutions that reflect the gender hierarchies in society
-are a primary agent of gender socialization
-involve a power imbalance b/w men and women
-evolve in new forms as the society becomes more or less egalitarian
Symbolic Interactionism Perspective on Families
-emerge as people interact to meet basic needs and develop meaningful relationships
-are where people learn social identities through their interactions with others
-are places where people negotiate their roles and relationships with each other
-change a
Marriage
-picture of marriage as a consensual unit based on intimacy, economic cooperation, and mutual goals is widely shared, although marital relationships also involve a complex set of social dynamics, including cooperation and conflict, different patterns of r
Divorce
-US leads in # of people who divorce
-More than 16 million people have divorced but not remarried in the population today
-women are less likely to remarry after a divorce
-Since 1960, rate of divorce has more than doubled (high in 1980)
-Marriage rate =
Divorce + Children
-research shows that a marriage with protracted conflict is more detrimental to children than divorce
-few children feel relieved or pleased by divorce
-sadness, fear, loss, and anger are common, and reconciliation and conflicting loyalties
-adjustment is
Domestic Violence and Abuse
-majority of cases go unreported
-The National Violence Against Women Office estimates 25% of women will be raped, physically assaulted, or stalked by an intimate partner in their lifetime
-research concludes that most domestic violence is committed by me
What does the National Violence Against Women Office estimate?
25% of women will be raped, physically assaulted, or stalked by an intimate partner in their lifetime
Why do victims of domestic violence stay with their abusers?
*most battered women do leave and they seek ways to prevent further victimization , but those who don't leave or leave and then return surrounds a complex stem of sociological, psychological, and economic problems
1. Victims tend to believe that the batte
Child Abuse
-a behavior that puts children at risk and may include physical violence and neglect
-2007 = 3.6 million children reported to child protection around the nation at least once
-most frequent reports are b/w birth and 1yrs
-48% boys; 51% girls
-Neglect=78%;
Incest
-particular form of child abuse involving sexual relations b/w persons who are closely related
-fathers and uncles are most frequent incestuous abusers
-most common in families where mothers are debilitated (mental sickness or alcoholics)
-daughters tend
Elder Abuse
-The National Center of Elder Abuse estimates that b/w 1 and 2 million elders are abused in the US
-tends to be hidden in the privacy of families, and victims are reluctant to talk about their situations
The National Center of Elder Abuse estimates?
b/w 1 and 2 million elders are abused in the US
Why are elders abused?
1. Caring for the elderly is very stressful for the caregiver (usually a daughter who may be employed in addition to caring for the elderly person)
2. abusers are more likely to be middle-aged women and the daughter of a victim
3. Sons are more likely to
Changing Families in a Changing Society
-changes occur as a result of a new birth, loss of a partner, divorce, migration, etc.
Kathleen Gerson 2010
-Kathleen Gerson study showed that men are more likely than women to fall back on a traditional arrangement (men working and women staying home) whereas women are more likely to say that their fallback is to be self-reliant.
-She concludes that both men a
Global Changes in Family Life
-people often work long distance from other family members (occurs at all points on the social class spectrum, although such global mobility varies significantly by social class)
-transnational family
transnational family
-families where one parent (or both) lives and works in one country while his or her children remain in the country of origin.
*ex=Filipino women leaving children in the Philippines and working in Hong Kong
-mothers in these families have to develop new c
Families and Social Policy
-some claim family breakdown, other celebrate increased diversity
-many blame family for social problems (drugs, low educational achievement, crime, and violence)
-the family is the only social institution that typically takes the blame for all of society
Balancing Work and Family
-More parents working ->difficult to take time off to care for newborns or newly adopted children, tend to sick children, or care for elderly parents or other family members
-"spillover" b/w family and work = work seeping into the home and home affecting
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
-adopted by Congress in 1993
-meant to provide help for work/family conflicts in which a parent may need to take time off to care for family
-requires employers to grant employees a total of 12 weeks in unpaid leave to care for newborns, adopted children,
Child Care
-almost half of families w/children under age of 13 have child-care expenses, taking 9% of earnings
-half 3yrs and two-thirds 4 yrs. spend much of their time in child-care centers
Child Care in US vs in France
-France has a �cole maternelle system in which a child is guaranteed child-care from 3-6yrs.
-US child-care costs almost as much as tuition of public universities; France child care is seen as a social responsibility and is paid by the government
Care work
-work that sustains life, including child care, elder care, housework, and other forms of household labor
-increasingly provided to middle and upper class families by women of color and immigrant women
Elder Care
-women who shoulder the work of elder care can now expect to spend more years as the child of an elderly parent than as the mother of children under 18
-as US population ages, social policies will likely need to respond to this growing need in care