By Student Sociologists: Jen, Brianna, Brian, & Alex

Social Class can determine the social being of a person. According to Lillian Rubin, children from wealthy homes are more confident and have better physical & mental health than those who from poor families. Working class women are proven to be more masculine and self dependent than stay-at-home moms.

A study showed that women from the working class wanted a husband who provided a safe & protective home whereas women from the middle class expected their husband to also provide emotional support.

Ethnicity & Race are powerful social forces – both influence family life Families are diverse and do not conform to single stereotypes based on race or ethnicity

Many Latinos: –enjoy loyalty & support of extended family –exercise greater control over children’s courtship –consider marriage an alliance of families, not just on romantic love Gender –Hispanic families encourage machismo – strength, daring, & sexual prowess among men, while women are honored & closely supervised

Puerto Ricans maintain strong extended families they knew in PR Male authority over women has diminished Overall social standing remains below average They suffer stress of unemployment and other poverty-related problems 34% of women-headed households are poor

Face economic disadvantages 3x as likely as nonhispanic whites to be poor Familes experience unemployment, underemployment, and sometimes an environment of crime & drug use Maintaining stable family ties is difficult

25% A-A women in 40’s have never married – so they are often single heads of households Single-mother families = higher risk of poverty 35% of A-A women-headed households are poor 72% of A-A children are born to single women 31% of A-A children are growing up poor

Before 1967, interracial marriage was illegal in 16 states Today, African, Asian, & Native Americans = 17% of U.S. population so 17% of marriages are expected to be “mixed” The actual % is only 2.9, which shows that race still matters, but the % is rising steadily Black-white marriages are most numerous

In modern everyday living we don’t practice patriarchy as we did in the past. It was proven that most husbands & wives with equal responsibilities will have a healthier & more pleasing marriage. But even without the normal practices of patriarchy, men still expect women to perform most and/or all of the housework.

Polls have found that married women under these expectations are mentally weaker, and have more passive attitudes toward life. A great factor in having a happier, longer life is the security of the home & the stability of well-organized parental equalities.

Married men live longer than single men, are mentally better off and are happier than single men. Men are more eager to remarry than women.