Marriages and Families: Changes, Choices and Constraints Seventh Edition Nijole V. Benokraitis Chapter One

What is a Family Families are more fluid than they were in the past. Many changes in the family reflect adaptations to larger societal transformations. As a country, we continue to cling to a number of myths about the families of past generations.

What is a Family? The meaning of family changes over time and contexts and cultures. There is no standard universal definition of a family, it exists in many forms and arrangements are often complex.

What is a Family? For the purposes of this class, a family is an intimate group of two or more people who –Live together in a committed relationship. –Care for one another and any children. –Share activities and close emotional ties.

What happens in the future? Definitions of the family may become even more complex in the future. For some, family include “fictive kin” who are accepted as part of the family group but have no blood ties. Because of the recent rise in single parenthood fictive kin have become more important in our overall view of the family.

Family Functions No matter the culture, family provides certain functions for society and for its own members. Family forms vary across cultures and even within cultures. Globally, family provides five very basic and important functions.

Five Functions of the Family 1. Regulation of sexual activity 2. Procreation and Socialization 3. Economic Security 4. Emotional Support 5. Social Class Placement

Regulation of Sexual Activity The family provides norms for sexual activity including the incest taboo. The incest taboo forbids people who are too closely related by blood from sexual activity and producing children—children from these unions can have an increased risk of birth defects. Families also prevents doubts about the legitimacy of children and property rights in some cultures.

Procreation and Socialization Procreation is an essential function of the family because it ensures that society will continue. Through socialization, children learn the rules and customs of their culture and certainly the first place they are socialized is in the family.

Economic Security The family is an important economic unit that provides financial security and stability. Families provide for their own physical survival. There are several family forms where one or both parents work outside the home, but more and more in our society it is becoming imperative that both parents work full time jobs to support their families.

Emotional Security Emotional support is probably one of the most important aspects of family. Charles Horton Cooley proposed the concept of Primary Groups and said that family is the main Primary Group in every society. Our families are our emotional steadfast and enduring anchor throughout our lives.

Social Class Placement A social class is a category of people who have a similar standing or rank in society. We are all born into a specific social class based on things like our parents’ income, education, job, attitudes and values. Social class affects many aspects of family life.

What is Marriage? Marriage is a socially approved mating relationship that people expect to be stable and enduring. Some form of marriage is practiced in every society, although there are many forms.

What is Marriage Ceremonial Marriage is one in which the couple follows procedures specified by the state or other jurisdiction. It is like a legal contract. Common Law Marriages are ones in which people establish a relationship and consider themselves husband and wife, however they have never performed a ceremony to solidify their commitment. –Generally there are three requirements for common law marriages They have to live together They have to present themselves as husband and wife They can have no future plans to marry—they consider themselves married already.

Endogamy and Exogamy Endogamy requires people to marry or have sexual relations within a certain group. These might include racial or ethnic groups or clans or tribes. Exogamy permits marriage outside of one’s own group. For example in the United States in 24 states there are laws prohibiting marriage between first cousins. Even when there are no “laws” regarding who we can marry, societal norms and traditions often guide who we marry.

Nuclear and Extended Families Western societies tend to have nuclear families that are made up of married parents and their biological or adopted children. In much of the rest of the world however, extended families are much more common where parents and children and other kin such as aunts, uncles and cousins all live under the same roof.

Nuclear and Extended Families Extended families, however, are becoming more common in Industrialized countries as single parent families become more common and need more support. Because the rates of unmarried people who are living together are high, nuclear families comprise only 23 percent of all U.S. families, down from 40 percent in 1970.

Where do families live? In a patrilocal residential pattern, the newly married couples live with the husband’s family. In a matrilocal residential pattern, the couple lives with the wife’s family. In a neolocal residential pattern, the couple sets up its own household. –Often residential patterns reflect who has authority in the family.

Monogamy and Polygamy In Monogamy, once person is married exclusively to one other person. In the United States because divorce and remarriage rates are high, serial monogamy is practiced. We are married to only one person at a time, but in at least half of marriages, we are married to more than one person over our lifetime. Polygamy is when a man or a woman has two or more spouses. Over 1,000 cultures worldwide allow some form of polygamy.

The Family and Society Families are largely influenced by the society they live in and the societal changes going on around them. Because much of the world’s population live in developing countries, many of the worlds children live in extended families. By contrast in the U.S. (by 2007) one in four children live in a mother only home.

The Family and Society Many people are concerned about the demise of the nuclear family. However many social scientists contend that seeing the nuclear family as the only “natural” kind of family ignores other types of families such as gay and lesbian families.

Diversity of Family Life Clearly, there are many family forms throughout the world and we cannot measure any one type against another type. We sometimes think of “idealized” families as what we would call “nuclear families” but these expectations are changing as well.

Myths about Families Myths about families can be functional and dysfunctional. Myths are dysfunctional when they have negative consequences that disrupt a family. Myths can be perpetuated by the mass media and we can try to live up to these “idealized” standards of family behavior and function.

Myths Abound There are several types of myths about families in our society: –Myths about what is natural—for instance is it “natural” to grow up and get married and have a family?” –Myths about the self sufficient family-most families need some support at one time or another during their lifetime. –Myths about the family as a loving refuge-of course one of the main functions of families is to provide emotional support, but family also tends to be the most violent social system in our society. –Myths about the perfect marriage or the perfect family-often our expectations about marriage and the reality we face when we get married clash.

Three Opposing Views The family is deteriorating –This view of the family says that divorce, economic decline and the decline of two parent in tact families have hurt the institution of family. –The family is Changing - this view looks at the changes in family life as just that, changes. Proponents of this view say that families are indeed changing, but adapting to a new economic environment in which it is necessary for both parents to work outside the home’. –The family is Stronger than ever - This views the family as much more loving than it was in the past. Because people are living longer more generations are getting to know one another and becoming stronger family units.

Trends in Changing Families The family is changing due to changes in demographic transformations. Racial and ethnic composition of families and economic transformations all play a role in these changes.

Demographic Changes US Birth rates have declined in recent years. The average age of the population has risen from 17 in the middle 1800s to 37 in 2007! Both of these phenomenon have changed society and the way families live.

Other Changes Other changes that have impacted families in the last 50 years are: –Changes in family and non-family households (see following slide) –Singles and Cohabiting Couples (see next slide) –Marriage-Divorce-Remarriage (see next slide) –Employed Mothers (see next slide) –One Parent Families (see next slide) –Older People (see next slide)

Racial and Ethnic Diversity Ethnic families are booming. America’s multicultural umbrella includes about 150 distinct ethnic or racial groups. By 2025 only 58 percent of the population will be white. Because of huge waves of immigrations, one in five people are either foreign born or first generation US citizens. Ethnic Families speak many languages thus making the US more multilingual.

Why are Families Changing? Micro Level influences on the family –There are many influences on the family at the micro level. Decisions family members make affect everyone in the family unit, however, we must not blame all change on personal choice. There are many macro level influences over which the family or the individual has no control.

Macro Level Influences Economic Forces-In the later part of the 20 th century, many manufacturers moved their factories overseas to save money thus unemployment rates went up especially for low skilled jobs. Technological Innovations-We live longer. Medical technology allows us to live full lives, however, poverty becomes an issue for many elderly. –Other technological changes like , the internet, instant messaging, texting and cell phones have helped and hurt our families and their ties to each other and to outside resources.

Other Macro Level Influences The Mass Media-including television and video games have had a huge impact on our overall culture. Popular culture which includes television, the internet, pop music, magazines, radio, advertising, sports, hobbies, fads, fashion etc…is especially influential in informing and misinforming us about family and culture.

Other Macro Level Influences Social Movements –Over the years a number of social movements have changed family life, including the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement and most recently a marriage movement. –All of these social movements have had a huge impact on our families and our larger society.

A Global Family Perspective Understanding other cultures is essential in understanding ourselves and our place in the world. It is important to know and to understand the plights of underdeveloped countries and how these affect our own country and how our country and its policies affect other countries. Understanding other cultures gives us a less Ethnocentric view of the world and challenges us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.

Families are Transforming Whether we want to believe it or not, families are transforming not destroying themselves. In the end people create families that met their needs for love and security. Now more than ever there are expanded choices about family and family forms!