1. Sociology of the Family
April 2, 2015

2. Recap: Ways of Defining Family
Legal
Affectual
Cultural
High level of debate in US society around definition of family
“Fragile institution”

3. What is at stake?
What family forms are considered natural, normal, and legitimate?
Why would our view of the ideal family form change over time?

4. Denial of family rights in recent history
Slaves
Interracial couples
Same-sex couples
Incarcerated people
Polyamorous families

5. Social changes  Family changes
Gender equality
Sexuality decoupled from reproduction
Civil rights and desegregation
LGBT visibility

6. LGBT families in the 21st Century
LGBT = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender

7. LGBT Families in the 21st Century
Changes in the census from 2000 to 2010
Same-sex headed households up by 80%
Unmarried, different sex cohabitation up by 40%
Married, different sex cohabitation up by 3.7%

8. Reasons for census changes
Civil unions and same-sex marriage rights
Trend toward marrying later in life
Economic decline

9. LGBT family formation New parenting configurations
Division of labor in the household
Dissolution rates and reasons

10. Discussion Questions
What do the current debates around same-sex marriage say about how we as a society feel about marriage?