1. WHAT “FAMILY” HAS MEANT AND WHAT IT MEANS TODAY
FAMILY SYSTEMS
WHAT “FAMILY” HAS MEANT AND WHAT IT MEANS TODAY 14

2. The Family: A Global View
Composition: What Is the Family?
Family: set of people related by blood, marriage, adoption, or some other agreed-upon relationship

3. Self-Test Do you want to get married? Why or Why not?
Do you feel as though society demands you get married?
If your parents could choose your husband or wife, who would they choose? (specific individual / type of individual)
How different would your choice be?

4. The Family: A Global View
Nuclear Family: Consists of one or both parents and their children
Extended Family: family in which three or more generations live in same home (becoming increasingly rare)
Monogamy: form of marriage in which two individuals are married only to each other
Serial Monogamy: when a person has several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time

5. Your second cousin Vinny

6. The Family: A Global View
Composition: What Is the Family?
Polygamy: when an individual has several husbands or wives simultaneously (common)
Two types of Polygamy:
Polygyny: marriage of a man to more than one woman at a time
Polyandry: marriage of a woman to more than one husband at the same time (rare)

7. The Family: A Global View
Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We Related?
Kinship: term describing being related by marriage, birth, or adoption
Bilateral Descent: both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equally important
Patrilineal descent: only the father’s relatives are important
Matrilineal descent: only the mother’s relatives are significant

8. The Family: A Global View
Authority Patterns: Who Rules the family?
Patriarchy: males dominate. America has been largely PATRIARCHAL. Why?
Matriarchy: females dominate
Egalitarian family: family in which spouses are regarded as equals. Becoming more common today. Why?

9. Sociology of Marriage
Functionalist look at marriage as a societal need that serves six purposes:
Protection: nurture young / next generation
Socialization: establish norms and values
Reproduction: making new people
Regulation of sexual behavior: when and who
Affection and companionship: Life partners
Provision of social status: Who we marry says a lot about our place in society.

10. US Households by family type 1970-2014
Source: Fields 2004; see also McFalls, Jr. 2003:23

11. Sociology of Marriage CONFLICT THEORISTS
Marriage perpetuates wealth, status and class
distinctions and protects rigid class boundaries.
Homogamy is enforced to keep classes apart
STAT UPDATE:
For the first time ever more adults are single than married (50.2)
Case law related to marriage:
Loving v. Virginia (1967) US Supreme Court ruled states cannot ban marriage between mixed race couples

12. Mate Selection
Incest Taboo: social norm common to virtually all societies prohibiting sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relationships (usually siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts / uncles, and in some cases first cousins)

13. Mate Selection The Love Marriage
Believed by Americans to be the only “right” way to choose a partner
Coupling of love and marriage not universal
America: Men still had to ask the father’s “permission” (ask for her hand)
Higher divorce rates than arranged marriages (30-40% divorce rate)

14. Figure 14-2. Percentage of People Aged 20 to 24 Ever Married, Selected Countries
Source: United Nations Population Division 2005

15. SELF TEST IDENTIFY FOUR REASONS FUNCTIONALISTS GIVE FOR MARRIAGE.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLYGNY AND POLYANDRY?
WHY ARE ARRANGED MARRIAGES MORE SUCCESSFUL?

16. Arranged Marriages Facts:
Still common in many parts of the world: India, Japan, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan.
Facts:
Initially husband and wife had no choice today more flexibility about choice of spouse
In poorer societies many marriages are still forced
Arranged marriages tend to be very stable
Because they are better or divorce is frowned upon??

17. Alternatives to “traditional” nuclear families
Cohabitation: Living together in a committed relationship w/o benefit of formal marriage
Remaining Single
Marriage without Children
Lesbian and Gay Relationships

18. Social Policy NJ Alternatives to traditional marriage:
Domestic Partnerships (age 62 or older)
Civil Unions (Marriage Light) Same sex couples receive most of the rights of heterosexual married couples (2007). Very few because:
Same-Sex marriage (2013) One of the early states to approve gay marriage

19. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage – The issues
Opponents claim gay marriage is a threat to the institution of marriage. Opposition is usually rooted in religious beliefs about marriage.
1996 US Government passes DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) defining marriage as between one man and one woman
Proponents believe that if two consenting adults wish to marry one another the government should not stop them (equal protection under law = 14 amendment)

20. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage: Sociological Insights
Functionalists: 1. Religious / moral views toward marriage cannot be ignored
2. Hundreds of thousands of gay people want to marry their partners
Conflict theorists: Religious / intolerant deny of right to marry to groups they don’t like = LOSS OF RIGHTS!

21. Lately…
June 2015: US Supreme Court outlaws any ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional (14th Amendment)
Majority of Americans support gay marriage
Federal government now recognizes gay marriage for tax and inheritance purposes and over 1,000 other federal rights

23. Divorce Factors Associated with Divorce Impact of Divorce on Children
Greater social acceptance of divorce
More liberal divorce laws
Fewer children
Greater family income
More opportunities for women
Impact of Divorce on Children
About a third of children benefit from divorce because it lessens exposure to conflict

24. Divorce Statistical Trends in Divorce
Divorce rates increased in late 1960s, started to level and have declined since late 1980s
About 63% of all divorces in U.S. remarry

25. Divorce US DIVORCE RATES The divorce rate for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate for third marriage is 73%

26. Divorce State with the lowest divorce rate
Massachusetts (2.4 per 1,000 population)
State with the highest divorce rate
Nevada (9.1 per 1,000 population)
Percentage of US population that is divorced
10%
Median number of years people wait to remarry after their first divorce
For Males: 3.3 yrs
For Females: 3.1 yrs.
Average length of divorce proceedings
1 year.

28. Blended Families
Step / Blended families: Children from previous relationships brought into a new marriage:
Rising rate of divorce and remarriage led to significant increase in “step” relationships
The most common form of a blended family is a mother and stepfather arrangement, since mothers often maintain custody of the children
The “Cinderella Effect” – abusive treatment of stepchildren

29. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
Parenthood and Grandparenthood
One of most important roles of parents is socialization of children
Recently, U.S. witnessed extension of parenthood with adult children living at home
“Boomerang generation”or
“full-nest syndrome”

30. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life Adoption
Process that “allows for the transfer of the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood” to a new legal parent or parents
Process that “allows for the transfer of the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood” to a new legal parent or parents

31. Divorce: Figure 14-3. Rise of Single-Parent Families in the United States, 1970-2000
Richest
Middle
Class
Poor
Source: Bureau of the Census 1994:63; Fields 2001:7