Families in Social Systems Families as Systems (4/2) Complete Naven and Family Strain What are the Forces Moving away from the Traditional Family? What are the Virtues and Vices of the Traditional Family? What Is the Dynamic of a Sick Family?

The Points: Bateson argues two main points: When you look at the custom in a complete social and cultural context, it makes sense and is needed: 1. The society is threatened with break-up into warring patrilineal clans. 2. Gender roles threaten to become so constricting that neither men nor women can function Naven by a limited violation of norms, helps prevent both of these forms of schizmogenesis.

Schizmogenesis Bateson developed the concept of a self- reinforcing dynamic that makes people split or different. This self-reinforcing can take two forms: In symmetrical schizmogenesis, what one person does makes another person do more of the same thing. In complementary schizmogenesis, what one person does makes another person do the opposite.

Symmetrical schizmogenesis For example the escalation of conflict or of boasting or of conspicuous consumption. Male competition and aggression always threaten to destroy Iatmul society, and so a man’s being a “mother” to his nephew is very important. Boasting by A Boasting by B + +

Complementary schizmogenesis For example the bullying by one person elicits the timidity of another, which elicits more bullying by the first. Iatmul men are so macho that it is hard to be nurturant; women so shy and deferent that it is hard to make a public display. Naven allows both, while expressing the embarressment. Bullying by A + + Timidity of B

Sexual Schizmogenesis Bateson argued that among the Iatmul, the macho role of men and the deferent role of women had progressed to the point where: The only way a man could be nurturant to his nephew was to “put on” being a woman And the only way a woman could make a public display of congratulations to a niece was to “put on” being a man. And the ritual inversion of roles (as in Mardi Gras) allows people to let off steam

Explanations of the divorce rates in the text The account in the text is somewhat unsystematic, and undocumented, including 1. Women have “incentives and resources to terminate a marriage 2. Spouses have more opportunity to come into contact with alternatives. 3. Affective individualism (* 477) “selfish goals” 4. Decline of stigma – change of norms.

Do these or other “factors” explain the rates? Text also lists “Other factors:” no fault divorce, decline of birth rate; decline of “family time;” increased sexual permissiveness. With respect to each, ask where it comes from and what changes it. I doubt that these factors, important as they are, can explain the data.

Re 4: Norms and Stigma Norms always constitute a positive feedback loop: What many people do becomes normal; what is normal becomes normative. But that explanation just changes the question to why what many people did changed. What is the effect of increasing stigma without changing the conditions of the behavior? BehaviorNorms + +

Re 4: Change of Norms Does the Authoritative imposition of dominant norms help strengthen them in this case. 1. Traditionalists say, “Stop rewarding and recognizing Murphy Brown, welfare mothers, or same-sex unions.” 2. But liberals believe that such policies and norms will merely further stigmatize and disadvantage the children that are already disadvantaged.

Re 3: Affective individualism “Sense of the self as a unique being with the right to pursue selfish goals.” Connected to freedom and human rights. Any society where people are not able to subordinate their wishes to the needs of the family will have trouble maintaining families. Is the “me generation” real? Where does it come from? What kinds of normative system is consistent with individual freedom?

Re: Laws, birth rate, time, sexual permissiveness Some of these changes are driven by very deep forces, and are unlikely to change. Others are probably symptoms rather than driving forces. The essential policy questions are not which can be changed by direct regulation (often none of them can, at least not constructively) but which can be altered structurally.

Conservative Accounts of Strain A number of theorists, many associated with the Family Research Council ascribe weakening of the family to: 1. The sexual revolution 2. Feminism 3. Breakdown of moral values Sociologically, to anomie. Politically, they believe there has been too much change in gender norms.