Chapter 6 Marriage and family - Made by Madison Smith

Are marriage and family considered social institutions?

Yes

In sociology, the term family is hard to define because …

There are many different types of families

Marriage

A groups approved mating arrangement, usually marked by a ritual

Polygny

Societies where men have more than 1 wife

Polyandry

Soctieies where women have more than 1 husband

Family

A group of 2+ people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption

Nuclear family

Husband, wife, and children

Extended family

Nuclear family and other relatives

Family of orientation

The family in which a person grows up

Family of procreation

The family formed when a couple’s first child is born

Household

Consists of all people who occupy the same housing unit

Common themes regarding marriage and family

1.) mate selection

2.) Descent

3.) Inheritance

4.) Authority

The three major patterns of descent are

1.) Billineal

2.) Patrillineal

3.) Matrineal

Billineal

Descent traced on both the mother and fathers side

Patrineal

Descent traced on only fathers side

Matrineal

Descent traced only on the mothers side

What is the importance of mate selection and systems of descent?

Mate selection and a system of a descent are regulated in societies in order to provide an orderly way of passing on property, kinship, etc ., to the next generation

In a bilineal system …

Property is passed to males and females

In a patrilineal system …

Property is passed to males

In a matrilineal system …

Property is passed to females

Endogamy

The practice of marrying within ones own group

Exogamy

The practice of marrying outside ones own group

Some norms of mate selection are …

written into law, and others are informal

Best example of exogamy is …

Incest taboo

Patriarchy

• A social system in which men dominate women

• Found in all societies

Matriarchy

A social system in which women dominate men

Egalitarian

A social system authority that is more or less equally divided between men and women

How functionalists view marriage/family?

• Stress that to survive a society must meet certain basic needs

• The family is universal

• Serves functions essential to the wellbeing of society

• E.G. economic production, socialization of women, reproduction, sexual control etc

How do conflict theorists view marriage/family?

• They believe the issue is the struggle over power

• They argue that within the family, the conflict over housework is about control over scarce resources e.g.,, time, energy, and the leisure to pursue interesting activities

• They acknowledge that there are many dual earner families today but women still pull the 2nd shift leaving women dissatisfied with their marriage

• The balance between power in marriages has led to the rising divorce rate

What are some major conflicts associated with marriage?

Divorce, Infidelity, domestic violence, finances, etc

Incest taboo

• Rules specifying which people are too closely related to have sex/marry

• Helps family avoid role confusion and forces ppl to look outside the family for marriage partners

What is the 2nd shift?

• the unpaid domestic labor and childcare that women often perform at home after completing a full day of paid professional work

How do symbolic interactionalist view marriage/family?

• They look at the meanings people give to their experiences

• For example, they are interested in how husbands view housework

According to research, are men doing more or less childcare and housework than before?

According to research, men are doing more housework and childcare than they used to.

Both genders are spending more time taking care of children and women are spending less time doing housework. true or false?

True

What did Jesse Bernard do?

• Explored how husbands and wives “see” their marriages in different lights which causes dissatisfaction

• Looked at the meaning of housework

• Looks at how the definition of family, marriage, and divorce has changed over the past 50 years

Romantic love provides…

the idealogical context in which people in the United States seek mates and form families

What are the two components of romantic love?

Emotional and cognitive

Emotional romantic love

A feeling of sexual attraction

Cognitive romantic love

A feeling we describe as being “in love”

What are the social channels of love and marriage in the United States?

Age, education, social class, race, and religion

Homogamy

The tendency of people w/ similar characteristics to marry one another, usually resulting in spacial nearness

Spacial nearness

People living near one another (in close proximity) tend to marry