SOC 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: In Vitro Fertilisation, Real Marriage, Social Inequality
Chapter 13: Family and Religion
Family: Concepts and Theories
• Family and religion are linked as this society’s symbolic institutions
• Family: a social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups
to care for one another, including any children.
• Family ties also reclect kinship
o A social bond based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption
• Here and in other countries, families form around marriage
o A legal relationship usually involving economic cooperation, sexual activity, and
childbearing
• Our society is slowly beginning to recognize people without legal or blood ties who feel
they belong together, or define themselves as a family
• The extended family: a family composed of one or two parents and their children
o Sometimes called the consanguine family
• The nuclear family: a family composed of one or two parents and their children
o Also called the conjugal family
Marriage Patterns
• Cultural norms often accompanied by law, identify people as suitable or unsuitable
marriage partners.
• Endogamy: marriage between people of the same social category
• In higher income nations laws permit only monogamy
o Marriage that unites two partners
• Many lower income nations permit polygamy
o Marriage that unites a person with two or more spouses
o Most likely a man ad multiple women
o Polyandry is one woman with multiple
o Supporting several spouses is expensive
Residential Patterns
• Societies designate where a couple should live
• Patrilocality: a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or near the
husband’s family.
o Some societies favor matrilocality
o Neolocality: a residential pattern in which a married couple lives apart from both
sets of parents
Patterns of Descent
• Descent: the system by which members of society trace kinship over generations
• Most trace through the father’s or mother’s side of the family
o Patrilineal descent: through men
o Matrilineal descent: through women
▪ Less common
o Industrial societies with great gender equality recognize bilateral decent
Patterns of Authority
• Reflect the common global pattern of patriarchy
• More egalitarian families are evolving
Structural-Functional Theory: Functions of the Family
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• The family performs many vital tasks
o The backbone of society
• Socialization
o The family is the most important setting for child rearing
• Regulation of sexual activity
o Incest taboo exists in all societies for biological and social reasons
• Social placement
o Families help maintain social organization
• Material and emotional security
o Offering physical protection, emotional support, and financial assistance
Social-Conflict and Feminist Theories: Inequality and the Family
• The family perpetuates social inequality
• Property and inheritance
o Concentrate wealth and reproduce the class structure in each new generation
• Patriarchy
o Transform women into the sexual and economic property of men
• Race and ethnicity
o Persist over generations only to the degree that people marry others like
themselves
Micro-Level Theories: Constructing Family Life
• Micro-level analysis explores how individuals shape and experience family life
• Symbolic-interaction theory:
o Offers an opportunity for intimacy
o Emotional bonds
• Social exchange theory:
o Courtship and marriage as forms of negotiation
The Experience of Family Life
• The family is a dynamic institution
• Family changes through the life course
Courtship and Romantic Love
• In low and middle income countries throughout the world consider courtship too
important to be left to the young
• Arranged marriages are alliances between two extended families of similar social
standing and usually involve and exchange not just of children but also wealth and favors
• Industrialization erodes the importance of extended families and weakens traditions
• Our culture celebrates romantic
o Motivates people to “leave the nest”
• Our society encourages homogany
o Marriage between people with the same social characteristics
Settling In: Ideal and Real Marriage
• Our culture likes to believe in happily ever after when it comes to marriage
o Leads to disappointment
o Good sex and good relationships go together
• Infidelity: sexual activity outside one’s marriage
o High in our society despite us seeing it as wrong
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Child Rearing
• Two centuries ago 8 children was the US average
o Now it is 2
• Industrialization transforms children from an asset to a liability
• Parenting is expensive and a lifelong commitment
• Latchkey kids: fend for themselves
• Family and medical leave act a small step towards making parenting easier
The Family in Later Life
• Personal contact with children usually continues because most older adults live near one
of their grown children
• Most difficult transition in married life comes with death of a spouse
U.S. Families: Class, Race, and Gender
• Dimensions of inequality are powerful forces that shape marriage and family life
• Social class:
o Determines financial security and range of opportunities
o What people hope for in marriage is linked to their social class
o Things like sharing households are determined by economic status
o People with less schooling and income are considerably less likely to marry
• Ethnicity and race:
o American Indians have to deal with migration and low income and culture shock
o Latino families have very loyal family but assimilation is changing their tradition
▪ Generally have less money and income
o African American families earn 65% of the national average in come
▪ Three times as likely as whites to be poor
▪ High rate of single mother
o Ethnically and racially mixed marriages have only recently become more
common but even now are a small percentage
▪ More likely to live in the west
• Gender:
o Women’s marriage and man’s marriage are different things
o Married women have poorer mental health and less happiness than single women
o Married men generally are better off
▪ Husbands dominate wives
Current Issues of Family Life
Divorce
• Our society strongly supports marriage
• 20% of marriages end in separation or divorce within five years
• The high U.S. divorce rate has many causes:
o Individualism is on the rise
o Romantic love fades
o Women are less dependent on men
o Many of today’s marriages are stressful
o Divorce has become socially acceptable
o Legally, a divorce is easier to get
• Who divorces?
o Young couples, especially those who marry quickly
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Marriage patterns: cultural norms often accompanied by law, identify people as suitable or unsuitable marriage partners, endogamy: marriage between people of the same social category. Patterns of authority: reflect the common global pattern of patriarchy, more egalitarian families are evolving. Micro-level theories: constructing family life: micro-level analysis explores how individuals shape and experience family life, symbolic-interaction theory, offers an opportunity for intimacy, emotional bonds, social exchange theory, courtship and marriage as forms of negotiation. The experience of family life: the family is a dynamic institution, family changes through the life course. Industrialization erodes the importance of extended families and weakens traditions: our culture celebrates romantic, motivates people to leave the nest , our society encourages homogany, marriage between people with the same social characteristics. Settling in: ideal and real marriage: our culture likes to believe in happily ever after when it comes to marriage, leads to disappointment, good sex and good relationships go together.
