why study families and other close relationships 01 30 2015 1 Identify the different definitions of family and their implications Legal definition U S Census Bureau o Family Pg 3 related by blood marriage or adoption two or more people living together who are o This definition excludes heterosexual homosexual couples who are cohabitating and homosexual relationships in general Social Sciences o Family Pg 4 A relationship by blood marriage or affection in which members may cooperate economically may care for any children and may consider their identity to be intimately connected to the larger group o Family of Orientation Pg 4 family of origin marriage partnering and or parenthood Ex non married couples with kids Family you were born into also The family you make through o Family of Procreation Pg 4 o Fictive Kin Pg 4 Nonrelatives whose bonds are strong and intimate That aunt who is actually your moms best friend Why do the definitions matter o The definitions of family impact many legal rights Ex if someone is in the hospital you have to be family in the legal sense in order for you to have any input on their care you must be a legal spouse not just their romantic partner Ex social security benefits pensions health insurance etc 2 Functions of families All societies and cultures have a form of marriage o Marriage Pg 6 An institutional arrangement between persons to publicly recognize social and intimate bonds o Anthropologist William Stephens definition Socially legitimate sexual union Public announcement Undertaken with some idea of permanence Assumed with a more or less explicit marriage contract Marriages and families in all cultures include these functions o regulation of sexual behavior Who can have sex with who and under what circumstances Ex premarital sex incest o Reproducing and socializing children Society must produce children and ensure their properly Socialization Pg 7 socialized the rules expectations and culture of society The process by which people learn o Property and inheritance The development of agriculture created the need for an heir to pass on land Need for an heir lead to monogamy for assurance of an heir o Economic cooperation Family members work together to provide for each o Social placement status and roles Families give their members a social identity and member position Members find their role in the community based off these given identities and positions Ex our parents give us a religious affiliation or a lack of one racial ethnic identities these help us find where we belong in a larger group o Care warmth protection and intimacy Families are intended to provide necessary emotional care and stability 3 Micro level and Macro level perspectives on families Link between micro and macro is that all families relationships have a social structure o Social Structure Pg 8 A stable framework of social relationships that guides our interactions with others How did siblings relate how do parents relate to each sibling how do parents relate to each other etc Micro level Pg 8 Focus on the individual and his or her interactions in specific settings o I love him because o this perspective focuses on individual uniqueness personal decision making and interactions between small groups of people in specific situations o an individual in specific setting A fianc s mom had pictures of his ex wife in her house the wife to be was upset Macro level Pg 8 families and intimate relationships with the rest of society Focus on interconnectedness of marriage o Focuses on how social cultural economic and political institutions forces influences families and personal choices o How family relates to society views family as a social institution Social institution Pg 8 with a set of beliefs and rules that is organized to meet basic human needs A major sphere of social life Ex how family relates to school maybe your mom is a teacher maybe one child graduated from there and now a younger one is attending If your dad is a CEO for a bank your family will have a different social status than if your dad was a manager at a restaurant status level of the family brings different opportunities attitudes behaviors etc o Social status and families Master Status PPT 1 7 statuses that a person occupies The major defining status or 4 Families are always changing Marriage patterns Patterns of authority Marriage between one man and one o Monogamy Pg 9 woman spouse at a time gender unspecified o Polygamy Pg 9 A system that allows for more than one Not legal in the U S though is still practiced and is legal in several regions of the world Often supported by religion used to signify high a social status wealth education etc used to increase fertility o Patriarchy Pg 10 A form of social organization in which the norm or expectation is that men have a natural right to be in positions of authority over women In some societies where this is practiced its manifested and upheld in social institutions such as the government or religion May not allow women to vote or have a high level education o Matriarchy Pg 10 A form of social organization in which the norm or expectation is that the power and authority in society would be vested in women Matriarchal families are more common in lower SES classes where the mother is the head of the household The expectation that power and authority o Egalitarian Pg 10 are equally vested in both men and women Patterns of descent o Bilateral Pg 10 male and female sides of the family Descent that can be traced through both In the U S both your mom and your dad are seen as related to you as well as their relatives o Patrilineal Pg 10 exclusively or at least primarily through the man s family line A descent pattern where lineage is traced The U S is mostly bilateral but last names typically represent the fathers lineage and son s are often given their fathers name Jr the third etc o Matrilineal Pg 11 exclusively or primarily within women s families A descent pattern where lineage is traced Very few societies practice this some native American tribes Residence patterns o Neolocal PPT 1 12 couple establishes a residence and lives there independently The expectation that a newly married It used to be common practice for a newly married couple lived at home The expectation that a newly married o Patrilocal PPT 1 12 couple will live with the husband s family couple will live with the family of the wife o Matrilocal PPT 1 12 The expectation that a newly married History of family
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