THEOREDICAL PERSPECTIVES - DIVERSITY AND FAMILIES

why do we use theories?

to make sense of the world around us - and in turn, it can help us understand ourselves and our families

• drive research, help is analyze findings, and may offer solutions to family problems

• often translated into policies and laws

set of statements that explain why a particular phenomenon occurs

ecological perspective

used to understand families influence and are influenced by their environment

how many systems are in ecological theory, what are they?

4 main ones - microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, macrosystem

microsystem

family relationships, behaviors, roles

• child and parents

mesosystem

interactions across most immediate influences

• friends, healthcare providers, childrens peers

ecosystem

setting and events not experienced directly but can still influence children or parents

• school board, workplace, neighbors

macrosystem

policies, culture, societal factors

• cultural values, wars, tech changes, government

social exchange theory

views people as rational beings who decided whether to exchange goods or services based off the benefits and costs associated with it

• breadwinner-homemaker family example

• when there are unequal resources, there is risk for dependency

• power shaping bargaining

social exchange theory: shifting social interactions with aging

• wan and antonucci (2016) explain that older adults social network changes as they age to altered time horizons

• older adults not as concerned with quantity of relationships, but focused on enhancing quality for the most important and closest relationships

• exchange of social support is key aspect of social exchanging with aging

symbolic interaction perspective

focuses on individuals interpretations of symbolic behavior (and interactions)

• refers to behaviors we engage in that may have other meanings even if we don’t consciously realize it

we interpret symbols - gestures, words, appearances, tone of voice, body language - that we (as humans) have assigned meaning to

• emojis, memes, engagement ring

it can refer to having a shared understanding (attitudes, beliefs, ideas) of how we should act

postmodern perspective

in the late era (industrialization to mid-to-late 19th century). people moved through roles in a predictable way (more restricted), and kinship was assigned

the postmodern perspective suggests that personal life has changed a lot over the last few decades and has led to more diverse families

• postmodern era refers to the last fews decades of the 20th century through present day

• education, employment, romantic relationships, living arrangements, childrearing are, to an extent, choices we make (more freedom) and kinship is voluntary

role of individualism

greater diversity is driven by more emphasis on individualism

• a style of life in which individuals pursue their own interests and place great importance on developing a personally rewarding life

utilitarian individualism

• emphasizes self-reliance and personal achievement

expressive individualism

• emphasizes feeling and emotional satisfaction

plan your own adventure!

postmodern perspective

greater emphasis on expressive individualism

the choices we make reflect our self-identity, which is a sense of who we are and where we fit in the social structure

• choice may be shaped by various aspects of our identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation

its a reflective process: we reflect on your choices and experiences to determine whether we want to continue or change what we are doing

feminist perspectives

used to understand social, economic, and political inequality leading to domination, oppression, and devaluation of women in society

• micro-level (violence and exploration of women at an individual level)

• macro-level (social institutions that disadvantage women)

focus on how gender is linked to power differentials that result in inequalities

gender refers to a set of social and cultural characteristics that pace people in a continuum from women to men

• involves roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that society has deemed appropriate for women/men

three focal areas in feminist theory - family scholarships

gender inequality

• central issue

• discrimination faced by women and its intersections

family diversity

• recognizes families beyond nuclear family (e.g., same-sex families, cohabiting couples, fictive kin)

emphasis on social change

• legislation for family violence and parental leave, greater recognition of role of fathers

• feminist theory pointed out that research on parenthood mostly concerns mothers and that father are “not peripheral to family life”

feminist perspectives: intersectionality

a principle that social identities often overlap with other identities; this overlap may generate distinct inequalities due to compounding oppression

in degraffenreid v. general motors, 5 black women brought a lawsuit against general motors claim that the company discriminated against black women (due to race and gender)

the court rejected their claim - it stated that the civil rights act of 1964 was intended to focus on “race discrimination, sex discrimination, or alternatively either, but not a combination of both” (degraffenreid, 413 f supp at 143)

intersectionality

used to capture wide range of human experiences as being shaped by multiple aspects of our social identity simutaneously

bowleg (2012) explain problems in phrases like “women and minorities) we cannot all peoples lived experiences are similar

societal expectations of youthfulness and atractiveness

society places expectations of looking youthful even as people age, but this is not experienced equally

• women are criticized or scrutinized for losing their beauty when they show signs of aging

• “silver fox” is a term usually associated with men who are aging

this is not a matter of only gender nor is it only age - its a combination of advancing age and gender