SOC150: Gender, Marriage, and the Family

homogamy

people tend to marry people who resemble themselves; race, class, education, and religion

endogamy

marriage to someone within one’s social group

exogamy

marriage to someone outside of one’s social group

social institution

a set of established patterns of behavior, beliefs, and relationships that help organize society and govern social life

institution of the family

a framework for organizing relationships, sex and procreation, childrearing, socialization, and transmitting cultural norms and values; most basic social unit upon which society is built

institution of marriage

a legally recognized social contract between two people, traditionally based on a sexual relationship and implying a permanence of the union; historical basis for the family unit

important concepts of divorce

the idea of the 50% divorce rate doesn’t accurately represent reality, and politically red and religiously conservative states have the highest rates of divorce

no-fault divorce

caused a 30% reduction in intimate partner violence

premodern families

household units functioned like a small business; site for production and consumption and stronger kinship ties with extended family

nuclear family

familial form consisting of a father, a mother, and their children

breadwinner model

product of modern industrial society; compatible with society’s needs for productive workers and child nurturers, gendered division of household of labor

cult of domesticity

the idea that true womanhood centers on domestic responsibility and childrearing

gender egalitarianism

the idea that people of all genders should be treated equally and have equal rights, roles, and responsibilities. A vision where gender doesn’t affect access to opportunities or rights, and where there’s no gender-specific division of labor

gender essentialism

the idea that men and woman are innately and fundamentally different in their interests and skills

Uneven & Stalled, Paula England, 2010

argued that the change in gender relations has been asymmetrical between women and men; women are more profoundly impacted

emotional labor

the act of managing and expressing feelings to meet the emotional demands of a job or role; involves regulating your persona during interactions with others and evoking some feelings while suppressing others

invisible labor

the idea that there are types of labor around the house beyond laundry, cooking, or cleaning, like making appointments, finding lost items, and helping children remember homework

egalitarianism essentialism

a gender role attitude that combines the belief in equality for all people (egalitarianism) with the idea that men and women are inherently different (essentialism)