McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Public and Private Families: An Introduction l Dr. Andrew J. Cherlin, author l 3rd Edition l McGraw-Hill 1-1

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Chapter One l Public and Private Families 1-2

1-3 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved How Do We Feel About the American Family? l Attempts at same sex marriage brought up questions l Widespread disapproval of homosexual relationships l 64% said it was wrong or always wrong l Why do we care about the definition of “family” when l Cohabitation is common l Births outside marriage are common

1-4 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l On one hand, marriage-centered family life remains the preference l On the other, there is much more toleration for family life without the boundaries of marriage and the idea to never marry is acceptable Are We Ambivalent?

1-5 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Postpone marriage for career or education l Women in the labor market l Greater acceptance of premarital sex l Decline in young men’s earning power l Able to avoid unwanted pregnancy l Willingness to cohabitate Characteristics of Today’s Singles

1-6 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Working toward self-fulfillment l Staying in school for higher degrees l Developing careers l Cohabiting l Having children without marrying l Many ambivalent about marriage The Young Middle Class

1-7 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Not immune to cultural trends l Economics plays a greater role l Job prospects for men without college degrees has greatly declined l Income has declined in terms of cost of living l Gap between rich and poor is widening Poor or Near Poor

1-8 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

1-9 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Social Conservative definition - only one family is “correct” l Two parent Breadwinner-Homemaker family l Economic definition - specific rules about who qualifies to be a family member l Only those that “qualify” are eligible for benefits Definition of Family

1-10 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Cultural definition - varies from culture to culture l Western nations practice monogamy - one husband and one wife l Many African, Arabic and Asian nations practice polygamy - more than one spouse at a time Cultural Definition of Family

1-11 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved What is a Family? l How well are families taking care of children, the frail elderly and the ill? l How well are families providing emotional satisfaction people value ? l Intimacy l Love l Personal fulfillment

1-12 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Public Family: Cost and Benefits l Externalities = costs or benefits that accrue to others when an individual or business produces something l Negative = costs imposed when an individual or business produces something of value to itself l Positive = benefits received by others when an individual or business produces something that is not fully compensated for to that business or individual

1-13 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Public Family: Cost and Benefits l Families “produce” children l Families care for young, poor, and elderly l By performing these tasks they are saving the public funds it would cost to do so

1-14 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Public Goods l Things that might be enjoyed by people who did not pay for or produce themselves l Children might be considered a public good l A look at Social Security as an example

1-15 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Free-Rider Problem l Tendency for people to obtain public good by letting others produce the good and they enjoy them.

1-16 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Definition = one adult, or two adults who are related by marriage, partnership, or shared parenthood, who is/are taking care of dependents, and the dependents themselves l The presence of dependents is the key to this definition The Public Family

1-17 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Private Family l Provides intimacy, emotional support and love l Relationship by blood = sharing of common ancestor, including both horizontal and vertical kinship ties

1-18 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Private Family l Definition = Two or more individuals who maintain an intimate relationship that they expect will last, and who live in the same household and pool their income and household labor l The intimacy, whether it be parent-child attachment, sexual among the partners, or sharing of inner selves is the crux of this family

1-19 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Kinship Ties From the Private Family l Created = have been constructed l Assigned = have been acquired

1-20 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Two Views, Same Family

1-21 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Sociological Perspective on the Family l Looks at the family as a single unit and a social institution l Comes with a set of roles and rules that define its importance to society l Sociologists view the social world of the family by looking at important external forces l Sociologists are uncertain of the current and future role of the family in American society

1-22 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved l Optimistic (political liberal view) l Family is changing, but it has always been changing l Changes in women’s lives in work and family roles has given them broader opportunities l Americans value increased independence Contrasting Views of the Family

1-23 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Contrasting Views of the Family l Pessimistic (political conservative view) l Marriage has weakened as an institution l With fewer children and more women working l Dire warnings of families failing health, but not fatally wounded

1-24 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Steering a Middle Course l Changes in families have benefits and costs l Great changes have occurred since mid-1900s l self-fulfillment is highly valued l more women working outside the home l increase in divorce rate l increase in single parent rate l a “thinner” culture in the home l fewer joint familial activities

1-25 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Diversity l American families are becoming more diverse l Two parent and single parent families l Many immigrant families from Latin America and Asia l Bring their own cultural traditions l Married women more likely to work

1-26 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved How Sociologists Look at the Diversity of Families l Objectively collect and analyze scientific data by using: l The scientific method and forming a hypothesis l Random samples/selection l Survey method l Observational study

1-27 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The National Survey

1-28 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Five Views of the Family l Functionalist Perspective l Conflict Perspective l Exchange Perspective l Symbolic Interaction Perspective l Feminist Perspective

1-29 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Functionalist Perspective l Focuses on stability and cooperation l Each partner performed certain functions l Husband worked outside the home l Wife did housework and childcare l Breadwinner-Homemaker Model

1-30 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Conflict Perspective l Conflict Theory l Focuses on inequality, power, and social change l Male dominance = physical force and control of economic resources l Men cannot be as dominant in societies where women produce valuable goods and the state regulates physical force

1-31 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Exchange Perspective l Exchange theory l Women choose to exchange performance of household and childcare services in return for benefit of men’s income l Men choose to perform outside labor in exchange for household and childcare services performed by women

1-32 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Exchange Perspective l When men are sole earners, they are in a “bargaining position” l When women earn money, they are less dependent on men economically

1-33 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Symbolic Interaction Perspective l Symbolic Interaction Theory l We interpret symbols of how people act l Shared understandings of how people should act creates the basis of social roles that people play l Spouse, parent, breadwinner, homemaker, child, etc. l Valuable in these times of more stepfamilies, dual career marriages, and single parent families

1-34 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Feminist Perspective l Feminist Theory l Gender defines social roles and cultural characteristics l These roles have no biological reason behind them, but are culturally dictated, therefore are socially constructed l These roles appear to be constructed to give men power

1-35 McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Perspectives From Evolutionary Psychology l Evolutionary Psychology l Women reproduced and tried to find men who provided protection and support l Men maximized their reproductive potential by impregnating many women and controlling sexual access to women