Unit 1 - Families in Canada

How are individuals, families and society connected? How do they influence one another?

Families are composed of individuals and societies. If families experience dysfunction then interactions change within society. Individuals contribute to society, ex. performing different jobs. Society also contributes to individuals, ex. schooling. The individual his (or her) necessary contributions. The family, in turn, can continue to exist only if it is supported by the larger society.

List all of the functions of the family.

Addition of new members (reproduction or adoption), To provide physical care for their members, To socialize children, To control the behaviour of their members to maintain order (discipline), Love, To contribute to the economy (To produce and consume goods and services).

The definition of a family has changed many times over the years. How has it changed? Why does it change? (Know the differences between the Census Canada definition of the family in 1996 vs. 2021 vs. the Vanier Institute)

The definition of family has changed over the years because it is a reflection of our society when it changes. The 1996 version specifies things such as husband and wife and lone parent. While the 2021 version describes just a married couple, grandparents living with their children, and talks about adoption and children from another marriage.

hordes

Loose grouping of males and females and their offspring. They had taboos such as suppression of sexuality, control on sexual gratification, go outside the horde for sexual gratification.

monogamy

Marriage to only one person at a time

patriarchy

A social organization where men in authority and decision makers of the family.

arranged marriage

Arranged marriages are marriages in which an agreement is negotiated between families to join two people in marriage.

polygamy

having more than one spouse at a time

extended family

formed when young adults continued to live with relatives after marriage for land in agriculture.

cottage industry

a business or manufacturing activity carried on in a person's home.

Industrial Nuclear Family

men as breadwinner, woman at home, children in school. This family type became dominant in industrialized societies as people moved from rural areas to cities for work, leading to a decline in extended family households. It is often associated with a gendered division of labor, where the father works outside the home, and the mother takes care of domestic responsibilities.

post-war nuclear family (1950-1965)

It typically consists of a married heterosexual couple with children, where the father is the breadwinner, and the mother is a homemaker. This family model was idealized in the 1950s, especially in the United States, as a symbol of stability, prosperity, and societal norms following the war.

transitional families

one parent temporarily leaves the workplace

dual income family,

A family in which both spouses work full-time

blended families

families made up of adults and their children from previous marriages

chattel

personal property (women were considered chattel during agriculture and pre-industrial )

The first groupings of humans into family units may have occurred because of a unique human characteristic. Identify this characteristic and explain.

The characteristic is our large brains. Which allows us to think, problem solve and communicate.

How were families organized during this time? What was their main quest? Describe the role of men, women and children during this period.

Lived mostly in small nomadic groups of 5 - 80, Were relatives or in conjugal relationships, the main quest to get food. The role of men were hunters and toolmakers (used for killing large animals). The role of women was to Gathered - fruits, nuts, grains, herbs, AND HUNTED small prey AND LARGE PREY. While the role of children, at the age of 5 began to help family by gathering food

Hunting and Gathering

Explain why women had a stronger status in this society.

Grandma's considered group's best hunters, Nurtured young children, Essential to group bc child-bearing,

Provided ⅔ of food

Agricultural Families

What happened to the size of the family in this time period? Why? How did the roles change?

Larger families to help around the farm, women did domestic work with children and were chattel. Men would work and provide

Agriculture

During this time, children were an economic necessity. Why?

Children were needed to have more help around the house and the farm

Pre industrial Families

What was the role of children in this period? How many reach adulthood?

Started working at 7 or 8 (child labour)

Boys work on the farm or with family business - would learn from father (apprenticeship)

Girls would do household work or labour as domestic servants for other families

Urban Industrial Families

What was the most common type of family during this time? What were the key roles of each member?

The most common type of family was nuclear. The kid would go to school, the mom would do domestic work while the dad would work in factories.

Urban industrial families

Women who worked during this time received _______________ than the family wage earned by men for the same work.

one third

contemporary family

list some of the reasons why the nuclear family of the 1950's did not work. What were some of the reasons why the status of women changed in the last 50 years?

women had access to their own income = less dependent on men, women's movements to change laws, ex. 1965 birth control laws. sex before marriage became acceptable

affective nurturance?

meeting the emotional needs of family members