Chapter 1 - Meaning of Marriage & Family

1. Chapter 1 - Meaning of Marriage & Family

2. Used by permission of THE ACADEMY OF NURSING 2355 E. 3900 S. S.L.C., UT 84124 801-506-0064

3. OBJECTIVE: Come up with a personal definition or statement on what family means to you.

4. TRIANGULATION • Relationships may be complex within a family. • Triangulation (3 is bad - 2 group against a third or two come to a third party to help resolve their conflict) Results in problematic symptoms for the third. Activity:

5. WHAT IS MARRIAGE? • Bond between a man & woman. • All 50 states but Hawaii do not allow gay/lesbian marriage. • 1996 Defense Marriage Act gave states the right to decide.

6. WHAT IS MARRIAGE? (cont.) • Commitment • Intimacy and sexually unite (a defining reason why many marriages stay together) • Cooperate economically • May give birth or adopt • 50 years ago this was central reason for marriage. • Purpose for marriage has become much more diverse.

7. WHAT IS MARRIAGE? (continued) • Book’s definition: Legal union between a man & woman, united sexually, cooperate economically, and may have children. • Benefits: Live longer, healthier, fewer accidents.

8. WHAT IS MARRIAGE? (cont.) • Legally recognized union • Marriage license • Not open on Saturday. • Fee: $50 • City & County offices on 21st S. State. • Good for 30 days, good immediately. • 18 years without parents consent. • Second cousins may marry. • No blood tests or physical exams required. • Both bride & groom must be present place of birth. • Need to know mothers maiden name & parents.

9. CULTURE DEFINES WHAT A MARRIAGE IS OR NOT • Monogamy - one man, one woman. All 1st world countries are monogamous. • Polygamy - more than one wife or husband. Example: Islam & Fundamental Mormons • Bigamy – Marrying another person while still married to someone else. It is against the law. • Serial Monogamy or Modified Polygamy – Succession of marriages over time. Typical of US marriages.

10. MEDIA ARE WE IMMERSED IN IT?

11. MEDIA ARE WE IMMERSED IN IT? • Everyone’s view of marriage is somewhat distorted. No other family is exactly like your family. But our family is not the only one we "know." • Popular Culture constructions or TV & movies gives us privy to intimacies and conflicts which are usually not acceptable public behaviors. Activity: Discuss the PROs and CONs of TELEVISION.

12. CULTIVATION THEORY • Cultivation theory: These consistent themes, images, and stereo types that cut across programming genres cultivate or form world views. • People who watch more than the average amount of media are more likely to mistake the media world for the real world. • Average family has the TV on 7 hours a day. • Average person watches 4 hours per day. • Average person will spend 10 years of their life watching TV.

13. PROS OF TV: • Opens up the world to us. • Communicates instantly what is happening. • Less prejudice, we see other cultures. • Children learn from parents era and vice versa. • Families watch TV together. • Gives more meaning to life to elderly. • Entertaining – novelty in a box.

14. CONS OF TV: • Shallow communication about wealth, races, sex. • We trust each other less. • Spend less time being citizens and with families. • Children bored with school due to razzel dazzel of TV – shorten attention span. • Freezes images in our mind (Sept 11). • Speeds up time (ER, NYPD, Friends).

15. ERA OF TV: • 1953: ½ OF ALL FAMILIES OWNED A TV. • 1957: 90% OF ALL FAMILIES OWNED A TV.

16. ERA OF TV (cont.) • Most of us will spend 10 years of our life watching TV. • On your death bed will you wish you had watched more TV?

17. ACTIVITY: • Divide into 6 groups and each discuss one of the following as to how it is portrayed on TV • Crime • Sex • Conflict and problems in families • Men & Women • Races • Single parent families

18. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY AMOUNTS OF CRIME?

19. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY AMOUNTS OF CRIME? • Create a perception that the world is a dangerous place. • People that are more fascinated with crime watch more shows on crime which confirm their views.

20. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY SEX?

21. HOW DOES MEDIAPORTRAY SEX? • Sex acts like extramarital affairs, premarital, rape, prostitution appears to happen 4x more frequently than they really do. • Physical beauty and appearances are extremely important. • Rarely see anything on birth control. • Rarely see loving marital sex.

22. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY CONFLICT & PROBLEMS IN FAMILIES?

23. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY CONFLICT & PROBLEMS IN FAMILIES? • Love will conquer all. • 30 minutes can resolve any problem. • Usually solved with manipulation or humor. • Divorce is rare & a trend towards non traditional families. • Total omission of household chores which is a huge source of conflict. • Life is much less complicated than in reality. • Rarely see divorce, unemployment, chronic illness, death, poverty, caring for elderly.

24. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY MEN & WOMEN?

25. HOW DOES MEDIA PORTRAY MEN & WOMEN? • Middle class women like the Cosbys. • Working class men like Homer Simpson.

26. HOW ARE DIFFERENT RACES PORTRAYED?

27. HOW ARE DIFFERENT RACES PORTRAYED? • Whites over represented. • Blacks improving. • Perpetuates racism.

28. HOW ARE SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES PORTRAYED?

29. HOW ARE SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES PORTRAYED? • Fathers head household 5x as often. • Single women want to marry & single men enjoy their freedom. • The reality is single father remarry more often than women. • Step families have harmony or solve a problem in a single episode. • Affiliated kin shown as families.

30. SOAP OPERAS: What do you see on afternoon TV? • High rates of conflict, betrayal, infidelity, divorce & multiple marriages with secrets they keep from their spouse. • Exaggerated amounts of sex.

31. TALK SHOWS:

32. TALK SHOWS: • Group therapy for the masses that everyone can afford. • Primary purpose is to entertain or raise the rating. Definite difference in scholarly research whose primary purpose is to gain knowledge. • Topics are high interest or shocking materials to attract an audience.

33. WE ARE IMMERSED IN THE MEDIA! WHAT CAN WE DO? • To keep from being used? • To keep from being manipulated? • To keep from being negatively influenced? • To keep the media from displacing the family, education, or religion in our lives?

34. ADVICE: • Be skeptical. • Search for biases, stereotypes, and lack of objectivity. • Look for moralizing. What are the underlying values? • Go to the original source and see how valid they are. • Seek additional information. The whole story was probably not told - watered down info.

35. WHAT IS FAMILY? Activity:

36. ARTICLES ON FAMILY SITUATIONS:

37. ARTICLES ON FAMILY SITUATIONS:

38. ARTICLES ON FAMILY SITUATIONS:

39. ARTICLES ON FAMILY SITUATIONS:

40. ARTICLES ON FAMILY SITUATIONS:

41. DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY • Nuclear family: Mom, Dad, Kids • Traditional family: Father bread winner, Mom is homemaker (Only 8-11% of all families)

42. On a blank piece of paper, draw your family visually. (Refer to page 29 Genogram)On the other side with pictures draw what a family is - no words.Have a few share theirs. Some may include friends, foster family, grandparents, step families, mother-in-law, aunts/uncles, nephews/nieces, etc. Activity:

43. Family Types • Living alone • Cohabitation • Couple with no children (DINK) • Divorced adults • Single parent families • Step families • Adoptive/Foster family/legal guardians • Grandparents living with families or raising grandchildren • "Boomerang" families - children move back in

44. The Decline of Traditional Families

45. Household Composition

46. DEFINITION OF FAMILY Book’s definition: Two or more adults related by blood, marriage, or affiliation who cooperate economically, share a common dwelling place and may rear children.

47. Functions of Families • Family ties like intimacy. • Economic cooperation - families are consuming and producing units. • Reproduction and socialization. • Only a family can produce a socialized adult.

48. WHAT SHOULD A CHILD LEARN IN A FAMILY? • Values, moral • Culture and traditions • Self concept • How to solve problems/conflict resolution • Commitment to family is first • Each member must contribute • Change is possible • How to make a decision • Communication

49. Assignment of Social Roles and Status (Identity) • We belong to two families in our lifetime: • Family of Origin: You were the child • Family of Procreation: You are the parent

50. WHY LIVE IN A FAMILY? • Love and closeness • Offer continuity in emotional attachments, rights, and obligations. • Close proximity which facilitates cooperation and communication. • Abiding familiarity with others. Can know ourselves and others well. • Economic benefits.