The Meaning of Marriage and the Family

The Meaning ofMarriage and the Family Michael Itagaki Sociology 275, Marriage and Family

What characteristics make up a family?

Introduction • What is a family? • Our attitudes and beliefs about families can affect and distort reality. • Family life = loving and conflicting • Ethnocentrism • There is no family exactly like your family

Marriage • A legal union between a man and a woman in which: • They are united sexually. • Cooperate economically. • May give birth to, adopt, or rear children. • Assumed to be permanent, although it may be dissolved by separation or divorce.

Marriage and Culture • Marriage differs among cultures • Who may marry whom, at what age… varies from one society to another.

Marriage and Culture • Monogamy • Two spouses: the husband and wife • Preferred form in western cultures • Defense of Marriage Act

Legal marriage • Provides rights and protections to spouses that couples who live together lack. • The current legal definitions of marriage are changing in the U.S. and abroad • Ex. of same-sex marriage

Legal marriage: Same-Sex Marriage disadvantages • Family • Separation • Death/Finances

Marriage and Culture • Monogamy • Preferred form in western cultures • Two spouses: the husband and wife • Polygamy • Polygyny: One husband, more than one wife • Polyandry: One wife, more than one husband • Serial Monogamy

Family • Individuals that are related by descent, marriage, remarriage, or adoption. • Affiliated kin

Family: Ethnic Differences • Latinos—Godparents • Japanese Americans—Ie, traditional family. • Native-American tribes—The clan

The “Real” or “Ideal” Family? • Nuclear family • Traditional family • Myth or Reality?

Fig. 1-1, p.5

Four Functions of the Family • Provides intimacy. • Forms a cooperative economic unit. • Reproduction and socialization. • Assigns social roles and status.

Four Functions of the Family • Provides intimacy • Companionship = Better Health • Unsatisfactory intimacy vs. loneliness • Pets

Four Functions of the Family • Forms a cooperative economic unit. • Roles traditionally divided along gender lines • Woman’s ability to give birth is biologically determined • The family produces economically

Four Functions of the Family • Reproduction and Socialization. • Reproduction and technology • Shaping individual behavior

Four Functions of the Family • Reproduction and Socialization. • Shaping individual behavior

Four Functions of the Family • Assigns social roles and status • Traditionally divided along gender lines • Woman’s ability to give birth is biologically determined • The family produces economically

Types of Families • Family of orientation • Family in which we grow up. • Family of cohabitation • Family which we form by marrying or living together.

Advantages to Living in Families • Continuity of emotional attachments. • Close proximity. • Familiarity with family members. • Economic benefits.

Extended Family • Consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws. • May be formed through marriage or birth.

Kinship System • The social organization of the family. • In a nuclear family, kinship system consists of parents and children. • May include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Kinship System • Kin can be affiliated, as when a nonrelated person is considered “as kin.” • A relative may fulfill a different kin role, such as a grandmother’s taking the role of a child’s mother.

Changes in Patterns of Marriage and Family Life • Increase in cohabitation • In addition to almost 5 million heterosexual couples, there are 600,000 same-sex couples living together outside of marriage. • Role of Marriage • The women’s movement, family policy, and changing values, have altered the role of marriage in people’s lives.

Changes in Patterns of Marriage and Family Life • Divorce • Slightly less than half of all those who currently marry will divorce within seven years. • Normalization of Divorce • Divorce has become so widespread that many scholars view it as one variation of the normal life course of American marriages.

Changes in Patterns of Marriage and Family Life • Remarriages, Stepfamilies and Single-Parent Families • The majority of young Americans will have some experience with these either as children or adults. • Remarriage • Half of all recent marriages are remarriages. • Definition of the family has moved beyond the nuclear family to include the extended family.

Table 1-1, p.22

How Families Have Changed, 1970-2000

The Meaning of Marriage and the Family