Why Study Families and Other Close Relationships Families have changed Colonial America families were businesses schools churches and correctional health and welfare institutions o African Americans and slavery 1st come to America start of family life here Industrialized and Urbanized America separate work and home life waves of immigration o Poor working class middle and upper class division of man vs women labor mostly in white middle class Modern America o Jobs are based off goods and services o Lots of hours and lots of education is expected o Technology has allowed some flexibility Burgess and Locke 1945 A group or persons united by the ties of marriage blood or adoption constituting a single household interacting and communicating with each other in their respective social roles husband and wife mother and father son and daughter brother and sister and creating and maintaining a common culture Seccombe A relationship by blood marriage or affection in which members may o Cooperate economically o Care for children future generations o Consider their identity intimately connected to the larger Definition of a Family group Types of family treated like family Functions of Family Family of orientation family where you were born Family of procreation family you make in your own life Fictive Kin Aunt Uncle not family but so important that they are Regulation of sexual behavior Reproducing and socializing children Property and inheritance Economic cooperation and provision Social placement status and roles Care warmth protection and intimacy Social Status Sex and Gender Key Terms Sex biological characteristics male and female anatomy determined at birth Gender culturally defined attitude and behaviors associated with and expected of the two sexes What it means to be masculine or feminine Gender Role the expectation about appropriate masculine and feminine attitude and behaviors defined by society does not necessarily correspond with one s sex o Agentic Instrumental Role traditionally masculine o Communal Expressive Role traditionally female characteristics characteristics o Androgyny an in between role have both traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine characteristics Socialization the process by which society influence member to internalize attitudes beliefs values and expectations Gender Identity the degree to which an individual sees him or herself as feminine or masculine based on society s definition of appropriate gender roles o We are born male and female biological sex Our culture and place in history defines what it means to be masculine and feminine gender We gradually assume masculine and feminine characteristics gender role as part of the process by which we learn the ways of society socialization When we look at ourselves we might label oneself as masculine or feminine gender identity Nature vs Nurture Heredity vs Environment Heredity Nature o boys are typically more active in the womb o girls display more signs of distress when getting their feelings o girls are better at paying attention focusing and doing quiet hurt activities o kids naturally drawn to gender specific toys Theories of Gender Socialization Disclaimers o These are various ideas about how we get to know what gender we are and our gender behaviors we express o They are mostly bases on a early childhood developmental o Many of the theories incorporate aspects of nature and perspective nurture Social Learning Theory o Children learn gender roles from parents siblings school and the media who serve as models from masculine and feminine behaviors o Children imitate models and are rewarded for sex appropriate behavior o More bases off nurture Self Identification Theory o Kohlberg Child becomes aware of being either male or female around age 3 o Children categorize themselves by identifying behaviors that are appropriate to their sex o Children socialize themselves from available cultural materials Gender Schema Theory and boys behave o Bem Children develop a basis of knowledge about how girls o Once this framework is developed this schema influences how the child processes new information o The child will retain gender consistent information easier than gender inconsistent information Chodorow s Theory of Gender o Chodorow Children develop a primary identification with their caregiver usually the mother o Females develop an identity and model behaviors from their relationship with their caregiver o Males do not identify with opposite sex caregiver and must separate early to develop their identity and characteristics of detachment and independence Social Status Race Ethnicity and Social Class Race Ethnicity o Race implies a biological distinct group bases on physical features o Scientific thinking rejects the idea that there are separate races distinguished by biological markers o Race is a social construction o We are all part of the human race o The term minority implies that persons in those groups experience some disadvantage exclusion or discrimination in American society as compared to the dominant group non Hispanic white Americans African Americans Minority Groups A higher proportion of black children 32 than those of other ethnic groups live in poverty Blacks are more than twice as likely as whites to suffer the death of an infant 68 4 of births to unmarried mothers in 2002 Kin networks extend beyond the nuclear family unit than do whites Married blacks have more egalitarian gender roles Divorce rates are higher Far more likely to have never married Black women have traditionally been employed High rates of incarceration poorer health and high morality has affected the sex ratio of African American men More than half of the recent growth of the Hispanic population is due to international migration 29 of Latino children are poor Education levels are low 57 graduated high school Hispanics Hispanic culture of hard work ethic may draw individuals into the labor market As likely as whites to be married and less likely to be divorced Familistic values Catholic religious values explain for higher fertility rates Larger households than any other ethnic group Lower infant mortality rates than whites Females likely to be in the work force American Indians High infant mortality rates Tend to marry at younger ages than blacks and whites Have higher rates of cohabitation Higher proportion of divorce Respect for elders Asians Fastest growing of all ethnic groups Often termed model minority because of
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