SOC103H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Conventionalism, Homography, Symbolic Interactionism
Document Summary
Family is any social unit, or set of social relations, that does what families are popularly imagined to do: teach children the rules for living in human society (social rules, highly variable in present-day canada. Same-sex couple: entitled to the same rights and respect as the traditional family. Varies in composition (number, gender, ages) and patterns of interaction (each member"s behaviour towards the others: primary unit of society, agents of socialization. In present-day society, norms about what constitutes a family are changing quickly and seem much more open to personal interpretation. In canada, monogamy has been the norm: canada supports multiculturalism, but considers polygamy sexist and exploitative, this seems contradictory. In canada, divorce is common, legal, and understandable. Today, most people have children in their 30s and tend to have fewer children. One century ago, families needed many children to till the fields or earn incomes. Changes in the family mirror changes in the larger society: modern industrial family life.
