SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES REVIEW PLEASE FUCKING WORK
Sociology of Families TEST 1 REVIEW
Week 1&2 Defining Families:
Defining Close relations:
Families and intimate partners are fluid, diverse, and complex
We also see a lot of choices nowadays, historically unprecedented
Tremendous advances in science have also transformed childbearing
social media has transformed our private lives
Changes in the economy and law have also changed our definition of families
Close relations and families can be but are not limited to:
Family
Sexual relationships
Friendships
Parent-child relationships
Spousal relationships
Sibling relationships
Extended family relationships
Step-relationships etc.
Defining families:
Families versus Family:
Sociologists would use “family,” and now they prefer families to make it more inclusive and recognize the diversity that we see
Families may include a person’s origin, a family that a person might create, and also social networks that constitute a sense of family for so many Canadians today
Family relationships are numerous
Households and Families
Sociologists used to believe that a family consisted of people living in the same household, but we now know that this is not true.
Examples: Living apart together couples
transnational families
Military households
Immigration
Especially prevalent with migrant workers.
households can include non-family members living in the same dwelling
Homecare
Family friends
Chosen family
adoption
Open adoption: an arrangement where the birth parent continues to see the child, and it is made apparent which parent is which.
Fostering
The family may adopt or continue to have contact with that child if they go to live with their biological parent.
Some children live in multiple, and we know that certain groups of children are massively over-represented in the child welfare system.
At one time, only straight couples could foster and adopt children in Canada.
Skip generation families
Grandparent or grandparent raises the child because the birth parent is unable to parent the child.
Often headed by women, especially senior women, who experience strained financial resources and occasionally health issues.
Sometimes, siblings also take over the role of the parent in the household.
Normative family roles can change over time.
An example would be a family where the father has been absent from the lives of the children
and the mom has to take on two roles
Parents becoming increasingly involved in their child
Shifts during the pandemic, as people who were able to shift to remote work, more Canadians able to work remotely were more available for caregiving.
New reproductive technologies
IVF
sperm donation, eggs, embryos and surrogacy
Surrogates can be women-related or unrelated, and transnational surrogacy has also become popular.
Defining Intimate relationships:
Intimate relationships can include but are not limited to dating, marital, LAT, polyamorous, casual sexual relationships, on-off relationships, and non-monogamous relationships.
Serial monogamy: a series of monogamous relationships
Alignment between relationship status, living arrangements, and sexual relationships
Less alignment today
Sex outside of a relationship context
A Sociological Perspective on Families
Families are socially constructed and change over time and place
Contemporary sociological scholarship argues for inclusive definitions of families. Focus on activities and labour. Not family structure like nuclear, etc.
These are process-based definitions rather than definitions based on family and structure.
Families vary historically and cross-culturally.
Ideas about family life, such as ideas about appropriate infant care, parenting, etc, have changed over time.
Social Reproduction and family-process Definitions
Social reproduction: Physical, mental, and emotional labour for caring for family members.
Family process definitions focus on what families achieve and are considered family-process definitions.
Unpaid labour
The Sociological Imagination
Coined by C. Wright Mills (1959), Private experiences or problems are often a reflection of broader public issues or trends.
Inequality and discrimination
What seems like a personal experience or going through a breakup or adult children continuing to live with their parents may reflect a broader social trend.
For example, divorce and breakups reflect a decline in social stigma, but changes to family law and changes to family law have been very significant in making divorce accessible, Increased secularism, & greater financial independence for women.
We also have more Canadians living alone, which reflects increases in relationship disillusion, declining social stigma around divorce and breakups and deciding to be alone.
Historical Inequalities adversely impact certain groups, including but not limited to BIPOC, LQBTQ+ families, immigrant families, religious groups, such as Jewish and Muslim families, and families who experience the disability of a family member.
They have been historically disadvantaged by immigration policy.
A reimagining of families
Increasingly, Canadians are finding creative and sometimes unconventional ways to care and provide for themselves and their families.
Varied experiences within families
Positive and negative experiences include abuse, violence, trauma, and economic exploitation.
NON INCLUSIVE DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY:
The census family
This definition includes a wider variety of families. However, it still excludes many families.
Government reliance on non-inclusive definitions
Government definitions can exclude families from receiving support and inform the decisions we make about our private lives.
The compassionate care program (2004) was not inclusive.
Chapter 2 of Fox Book by Felicity Edholm
The idea that the heterosexual nuclear family is natural is challenged using anthropological evidence
Edholm draws on varied anthropological evidence to show ideas about:
Conception
Incest
Parent and child relationships
& the idea that marriage has existed in every society
“ghost marriages” A man who dies unmarried, and if that happens, close kin related to him will marry a wife close to him, and the children they have will belong to the deceased.
She argues for the acceptance of “unnatural” family structures.
Chapter 1 Fox and Luxton
Feminist scholars argue in favour of a more inclusive definition of family so that does not necessarily mean co-existence
Carol Stack, All our Kin (1974)
Stack was a white pregnant doctoral student who did ethnographic research on poor African families led by single African mothers, and one of her key findings is that these women relied on extensive networks of community to meet their basic needs.
They would swap resources and develop norms around sharing, and it allowed them to survive.
Argues that Family were the friends and relatives who offered help. Families were the friends and relatives who swapped and shared.
Week 3&4 Theory
Structural Functionalism:
Society is characterized by consensus over shared values
Everything in society has a function or purpose
This theory developed in the first half of the twentieth century (post-WWII)
The economy was expanding
Exported the heterosexual nuclear family (Husband breadwinner, wife homemaker)
Applied to families by various North American sociologists
This theory assumes that society is based on shared values meaning we all agree about what important in society
Functionalists view society as the human body
Parts of societies are institutions, if one part malfunctions all the others fall apart
The family is a social institution
The idealized notion of people’s interests and values
How does Structural Functionalism View Families?
The Heterosexual Nuclear Family
nuclear families are useful because they are small
Gender division of labour at home when women are not working for pay and men are
Women are specialized in familial relationships and men are specialized in money
When you combine the two roles it makes the family stronger
They believe that men and women compliment each other because of this
Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons: heterosexual nuclear family ideal
Traditional heterosexual family is the most ideal structure
A CRITIQUE OF THE MALE BREADWINNER
If everyone is reliant on that one person job-wise and something happens to that person, the family can be plunged into poverty.
Some careers are less challenging to leave and rejoin the labour market in
Talcott Parsons
Significant structural functionalists
Functions of families eroded over time because other institutions took over
For example: hospitals have taken over the care of elders whereas families used to.
FIVE FUNCTIONS OF FAMILIES:
regulating sexual activity (Monogamous marriage)
economic cooperation
reproduction
socialization of children
emotional support
Had an idealized idea of families
A CRITIQUE OF PARSONS: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
The research done shows us that a lot of families show signs of economic inequality and exploitation
Especially stepfamilies, cohabiting, and newer relationships
Lack of sharing also happens in dating
In this idealized family structure, women are usually in situations where they are financially dependent on men, despite the lack of sharing, which puts women and children at risk
Michael Young (1952): opening of the pay packet
Before we had direct deposit, employees were paid by pouch or pay packets in Britain
Studies found in Britain husbands opened their pay packet before they went home so that they didn’t have to share the entire total with their family.
This source of marital conflict prevented the wife from knowing how much her husband made—a lack of transparency
This causes major financial strains because a lot of the time the money left over isn’t enough to make ends meet
Parsons also doesn’t give us a good understanding of how money is understood and used by people
A CRITIQUE OF PARSONS: A LACK OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT; SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS; SOCIALIZATION
Parsons didn’t talk about how some of his five functions may be missing for example emotional support
He argued sexual relationships must be heterosexual, monogamous, and married, which don’t align even with the time he was from necessarily—see Kinsey’s studies around the same time.
He also overlooked agents of socialization, such as media like radio, television, music, books, etc.
Structural functionalism has been criticized for:
promoting the nuclear family
viewing diverse families as problematic
not considering that the interests of individual family members may be different suggesting that changes in families such as
the decline of the nuclear family is detrimental to society
promoting women’s financial dependence on men
Symbolic Interactionism: Unlike functionalism, this focuses on micro-level interactions and suggests society is not an external thing, instead, we actively create society through our everyday interactions.
Look at the use of symbols and how they understood by people
It gives us an in-depth up-close look into social interactions
Subjectivity (our understanding of what is happening or being understood) and how it shapes social interactions and our subjectivity
Creating and Negotiating Family Relationships
They would say that our close relationships are not external, but we actively create and negotiate these things. For example: a parent-child relationship and different parenting styles.
Free-range kids & Helicopter parenting
Less versus more intense supervision, parenting styles may change and relationships are fluid and changing over time.
Rituals and Celebrations
Symbolic interactionists would say we actively create our close relations through our daily interactions
Holidays, culture, traditions
These are ways families are created and recreated
The Social Meanings of Money
Zelizer: “Special monies”
Not all dollars are equal; money is spent differently depending on how you receive it or your family’s relationship with money
A Critique of Symbolic Interactionism
SI includes different nuances of peoples relationships with money
The criticism is for not understanding the impact of social structure; like labour market conditions or government policies
Because it focuses on micro-level interactions it ignores things like government and policies for families, like unemployment and custody laws.
Not helpful in this regard
Conflict Theory/Marxist Theory: Ideas of Karl Marx where society is characterized by social class conflict and the exploitation of workers, It is about economic for social change, revolution, and eliminating social inequality and improving the lives of workers under industrialization.
Says our economic conditions of life determine how we view the world and our sets of values
A society’s economic mode of production shapes families and how it changes families
Marxist Theory and Industrialization Public versus Private Spheres
Worker Alienation: Families before industrialization had no division between community life and work but as production shifted to factories people relied heavily on wage work
Workers are also alienated from their work, their goods, and autonomy, and it’s common for workers to do the same task repetitively.
Capitalists believe this is a way to maximize profits and efficiency
No creativity
Households then no longer become units of production but instead units of consumption
In the more wealthy affluent social classes, we get this idea that the home is a haven from the industrial factory, and it facilitates the idea the women’s place is in the home
Friedrich Engels
Talked about the emergence of private property and its relationship to family and the state
He states that it wasn’t until private property emerged, that we saw the n uclear family and monogamy emerging and women’s sexual fidelity to their husbands.
why? because men wanted to ensure that THEIR money and THEIR inheritance was passed onto THEIR children.
Shows how economic property perpetuates
Political Economy Perspective
Chapter 1 of the Fox text
Aligned with the conflict perspective
A Critique of Conflict Theory/Marxist Theory
focuses too heavily on class instead of race sexual relations and
wage work not unpaid labour in the home that women often undertake in the home
Marxist Feminist Theory
Meg Luxton;
Tries to correct this, and provides an analysis of gender using Marxist ideas to understand families and women's unpaid labour
Any analysis of capitalism has to include an analysis of unpaid labour, and Marxist feminist theory would say capitalism is the primary source of women’s inequality
Capitalism wouldn’t work if unpaid labour weren’t done.
Meg Luxton: More than the Labour of Love: Three Generations of Women’s Work in the Home
Took place in the 70s when heterosexual marriage was the only option for women
looks at three generations of housewives
They knew they needed to secure marriage
Participant observation
These women spoke about sex, their relationship to abuse and violence
She argues that women’s unpaid labour is NEEDED for capitalism to function, and without women’s unpaid labour capitalism would collapse
This is because capitalism relies on women to care for their workers
But this is also because women often take on primary socialization roles, and they shape future generations into capitalist society
Because Meg Luxton’s research takes place in a mining town, there is a highlight on the brutal working conditions of miners and how this may manifest into domestic violence or have adverse effects on families
Critique of Marxist Feminist Theory
According to this theory, women’s oppression in society is a result of capitalism, and socialism is a means to achieve gender equality in society
However, scholars have pointed out that:
Even in non-capitalist societies, women experience gender inequality
Example: Gender gap in earnings in societies based on socialist and communist principles
Broader critiques include that feminist scholarship has not been inclusive of all women
For instance, Black women, disabled women, immigrant women, Indigenous women, and women in poverty were largely overlooked in feminist scholarship
Feminist Scholarship and Social Policy
Feminist Scholarship systematically examines:
women’s experiences, gender inequalities in the private realm of intimate relationships, gender inequalities in the public realm, and other institutions
It wasn’t until feminist scholarship that women's realities and experiences were studied and investigated
It wants to examine:
basic features of family functions such as caregiving and family violence
exposes inequalities and has critiqued how the media glamourizes heterosexual romance
embraces inclusive definitions of families
Offers concrete policy recommendations such as those that support:
Working parents such as universal childcare
support for those living in poverty
Eldercare and seniors
protection and supporting people fleeing family violence
services that protect women's choices
A critique of the Heterosexual nuclear family
Some functionalists would argue that women taking care of the domestic labour in the home is functional to society, whereas feminist theorists would argue it is problematic because women lack financial autonomy or independence
Furthermore, it wasn’t until feminist literature and scholarship that basic features of family life, such as food and preparing meals were studied
Arlie Hochschild’s Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home
Arlie Hochschild went into people’s homes heterosexual working married couples with children and showed how women perform a disproportionate amount of unpaid labour (childcare, housework, and cooking)
She called this the “Second Shift” and found that women do a disproportionate amount of unpaid labour even when they are working the same number of full-time hours as husbands
We find today that men do more work within the household than they did 50 years ago. However, there is still a big inequality
The research shows that in heterosexual relationships, moving into a marriage or cohabitation results in more unpaid labour for women and less for men,
This is important because it has consequences for relationships and mental health but also basic things like sleep and leisure
Research on LGBTQIA+ shows a more equal division of labour
Money and Economic Inequalities in Families
Feminist theory draws our attention to the potential for gender-based economic inequalities
This is research done by both sociologists and economists
They find that economic inequality is a feature of a lot of relationships and families and that economic inequality is gendered
For example:
Women having lower levels of personal spending
Spending more money on collective spending
Women are more likely to experience financial deprivation in relationships
There are strong cultural norms that marriage should be about sharing and altruism, and because of these strong norms, people emphasize cooperation rather than inequality and conflict
there’s a fair amount of research that shows us that women in intimate relationships try to avoid conflict, particularly around money and one way to do that is to avoid discussing these issues
Historically, men have been the breadwinners of the family however this is rapidly changing, and we are seeing more and more women making more than their male partners
In some relationships, couples don’t disclose their gaps in pay because it goes against the traditional societal norm of men being the financial provider
Different types of feminist theory
Feminism is an umbrella term that encompasses different types of feminist theory, including liberal, radical, Marxist, and inclusive
Liberal Feminism
Liberal feminist theory argues for equal opportunity for women, such as pay, work opportunities, and equal value and treatment in institutions
Focuses on the public sphere
Radical feminism
Sees women’s oppression as caused by patriarchy and that impacts the private sphere of families, sexualities, and how women’s bodies are regulated
Tackles issues like family violence, intimate partner violence, control over women’s bodies, and reproductive rights
Radical feminism has also developed a critique of heterosexual relationships arguing that that is the site of oppression for many women
Critique of feminist theory
Feminist theory has been critiqued for several reasons; one specifically is that feminism only focuses on the concerns of one specific kind of women—privileged women—exclusive
This includes white women, middle-class women, and affluent women and ignoring the needs of so many groups of women who have historically experienced unique forms of inequality and social status
For example, poor women, Indigenous women, black women, disabled women, immigrant women, LGBTQIA+, older women etc.
Inclusive Feminism
The need to include the experiences of ALL women
Postmodernist theory
Postmodernism developed in the middle of the 20th century and was used in many fields, such as music and architecture.
Critique of grand narratives
Criticizes the theories prior that are based on one variable being the most important to understand society
Rejects a singular variable or objective truth that helps us to explain society or a singular explanatory framework
It says that truth and knowledge are contested, fluid, situation-specific
They would also say that ideology or discourse is a way to gain political and economic power, and individuals or groups with power can advance certain sets of ideas that suit their interests, and deny other truths
If we want to understand discourse we must understand the power
Post-modernist theorists are interested in ALL different types of discourse and truths
It analyses the diversity of human experiences and how our identities shape our experiences
Why is discourse important?
The reason is that if a discourse is denied to you, inequality and injustices can be enforced
Discourse shapes our views on life
If we do not have access to discourse, your worldview and understanding of your options are limited
For instance, choices around our intimate relationships
These may be limited if we don’t see diversity or feel as though it will be accepted
Michel Foucault
Has written books on the criminal justice system, the role of psychiatry in criminal justice, sexuality, the history of the social construction of mental illness, etc.
Within these writings, he analyses this idea of knowledge, and power, and how our understanding of various social phenomena changes over time
For post-modern theorists there is no singular truth that explains society; nothing is absolute, and every idea must be examined and constructed.
Deconstructing Knowledge
Talks about how research cannot be only scientific because of human subjectivity
It is difficult to eliminate the researcher’s biases from the research they do because, for every researcher, every decision is shaped by their background.
So, the goal here is to deconstruct ideas of knowledge and challenge any hierarchies of knowledge.
The reason that knowledge and ideologies are hierarchical is because the people with power can produce knowledge and have it legitimated to people.
Post-modernism — Discourse on parenting and families
Post-modernism would suggest that certain discourses would shape our ideas surrounding families, intimate relationships, sexual relationships, etc.
For instance, discourses around parenting, what it means to be a good parent
These ideas permeate society, even in media, from so many sources (experts, social media, schools, etc.)
This knowledge influences parents about how to parent
Sometimes, these discourses are used in institutional contexts such as schools.
For example, child welfare
Post-Modernism — Discourse on sexual relationships and marriage
Discourse on sexuality and marriage has changed significantly over time, and these shape the decisions we make in our intimate relationships.
In earlier periods, young people were denied knowledge about pursuing anything other than heterosexual marriage
Religious discourse, too—some religions support divorce, remarriage, cohabitation, pre-marital sex and same-sex marriage while others do not—and these discourses impact the decisions we make
For example, if someone is experiencing violence, they may not speak out, get help, or leave out of fear of retaliation from their religious groups.
Glinda Wall - Breastfeeding discourse
Another specific example is the discourse surrounding breastfeeding
Dr. Wall looked at pamphlets produced by the Canadian government given to new mothers, distributed in doctors offices and hospitals
She found that they advocated for breastfeeding and that this was the best option to feed an infant
So much so that infants that are breastfed are less likely to experience health consequences
Parents are impacted by reading this discourse
So, if mothers are told that breastfeeding is the best option for nourishing a baby, one consequence is that new mothers may feel shame in the stigma is they don’t breastfeed if they choose not to or are unable to
These discourses around breastfeeding are very powerful because they equate being a good mother with breastfeeding, so mothers who do not breastfeed may feel guilty
Impacts the extent to which mothers will have less or more assistance with infant care and paid employment
Additional counteractive discourse suggests that women should do what feels best for them and their families and that women may not want to or can’t breastfeed and that is okay! lees coercive to new parents
However, this discourse is not provided to parents
Critiques of post-modern theory
Difficult to understand
Not as easy to grasp and isn’t as straightforward
Makes it difficult to explain society but formulate social policy
Life Course Theory: Glen Edler Jr. — Children of the depression
This theory follows people over time and explores various social dynamics
Over time families change, and these changes have effects on the entire family system
Life course perspective helps us understand families and family change
Five Principles of Life Course Theory:
1. Human development occurs throughout the life
2. people build their own lives through choices and actions
3. our life courses are shaped by the time in which we live
4. The same events affect individuals and families differently depending on when they occur in the life course
Timing
5. lives are linked
Transitions in one person’s life can impact the entire family.
So, these principles focus family studies on social context, change, and choice.
Critique of Life Course Theory
This theory has been critiqued on the grounds of the challenge of connecting an individual’s experiences to their social environment and the time in which they are living
The theory talks about the timing of life events and that experiencing events too early may lead to disadvantages however, we know that there is a wide variety of factors that play a role in shaping someone’s life
For example, having a baby as a teenager
- Each of these theories helps us understand society and families in terms of practicality, you can also use a bunch of theories
Week 4 Foraging societies and pre-industrial societies
Foraging societies
Are non-privatized living arrangements
Today, we see people live behind closed doors; it’s private, and because of that, there is a clear division between the private sphere and the public sphere.
However, foraging societies did not live this way.
These living arrangements facilitate gender equality because of shared childcare.
They view childcare as not a woman’s responsibility but the community's responsibility
Because it’s a non-privatized living arrangement, it also protects against violence against women—everyone can see what is happening
Foraging society
No privatized nuclear family, they exist within a larger group
Partnerships in these groups are also fluid
Semi-nomadic groups
Mobile because they are living off the land and water
Non-rigid division of labour by gender
Women are gathering, and men are hunting. However, they gather most of the food.
Men could help gather food and care for children.
The gendered division of labour is kind of shared.
Classless societies (no private property)
No one owns the means of production
Everyone has direct control over their means of production
Co-operation and democratic decision-making
A sense of collective responsibility
Extra-marital relations are allowed.
Apart from the basic family, traditional structures are not present
Monogamy was not normative in hunting and gathering society
People are still tied to their kin; they are not emotionally dependent on their spouses like today, though
Women are not economically dependent.
Women are going out and gathering their food.
Although women today are working and dependent, it’s still skewed toward men earning more than women.
Men tend to fare a lot better financially after a breakup or divorce in contemporary society.
Less family violence
Less opportunity for abuse in this environment because everyone is living together
Spacing between children is high.
Because women’s labour is needed for society, women do bare gatherings.
Chapter 3 key findings
Leacock studied families, marriage, sexual relationships, reproduction, and social reproduction in a hunting-gathering society in Newfoundland and Labrador (how these are organized)
Montagnais-Naskapi
In the 1960s, Leacock used fieldwork and old records left by 17th-century missionaries.
Used to be nomadic and became more structured because they went from being reliant on hunting—to fur trade with Europeans
The Innu or Montagnais-Naskapi are characterized by:
Economic cooperation and generosity
lack of social hierarchy
gender equality
lack of private property
non-privatized living arrangements
sexual openness
“Strongly egalitarian but with an edge in favour of male authority and influence”
Missionaries, when coming into contact, tried to convince men to adopt European notions of monogamy and sexual fidelity
They also saw divorce as a problem
once the Naskapi started getting involved with the fur trade, this brought about changes in the family structure and gender division
As economic production shifted from hunting/gathering to fur trade, they became…
Settled
increasing division between private and public spheres
Violence against women increased, and children began to rely only on their parents
Shift toward the nuclear family
men held greater power
Increasing division of labour by gender
women became economically dependent
families became nuclear
By the end of the chapter, Leacock says that family life shifted toward the nuclear level, with men holding the majority of the power.
Pre-industrial Society
Based largely on agricultural production
It gives us the chance to identify major changes in family life and gender relations.
Chapter 4 (Fox and Tilly)
Explores 18th and early 19th century England and France
Challenging Myths about Families in pre-industrial Society
Myth one: Families were always three generations of children, grandparents, and parents
Truth: The norm was the nuclear family, only the wealthy class could have a larger family size and many people living under the same roof. Generational co-residence was short-term and usually avoided
Why? Life expectancy was very short, premature death was common, and death rates matched birth rates lol.
Myth two: Families were large
Truth: Most pre-industrial families were not that big
Why? On average, it was mom, dad and two kids because of high death rates.
Additionally, the land could only provide so much food for some people
They may have appeared larger because of hiring individuals to work on the farm, for example, the apprentice
Myth Three: Children were not cherished and loved
Truth: there were serious economic constraints, and the reality of infant and child death rates had an impact on parental child relations
Many people believe this because of weird parenting practices like wet nurses. Twice the number of babies died when being fed by a stranger or woman as opposed to their mothers, and malnutrition was apparent, which led to babies being malnourished.
Babies were not treated well, lowkey.
Kids’ labour was needed for households to survive, if a household could not feed a child, that child was sent to another household.
Myth Four: Views of relatives—people took care of their family members
Truth: The eldest son wins the lottery in the process of giving their land to their son, they would have particular legal contracts to guarantee that they would be taken care of well
which goes against the notion that everyone was taking care of each other because why the fuck did they need that crazy of a legal contract
Myth Five: Quality of kin relationships (very strong)
Truth: pre-industrial families were kind of anti-personal because they had to focus on economic issues
For example, children being shipped to work outside of their families at the age of 6
This economic consideration determined the time when and if someone could get married.
Characteristics of pre-industrial families:
Both units of production and consumption
Family economies versus family wage economies
Land enclosures in England
before this, people were referred to as peasants. They did have free access to these lands, but over time, these lands were closed off to them.
Focus on households rather than family.
They didn’t often describe families as families; they would describe them as lineage.
Household composition determined by labour needs
There was no notion of a family which is distinct from the outside world
For example, servants are not distinguished from other members of the household, except obviously, the servant will not receive an inheritance
Children would be sent to live outside the household if there was a risk of no food for them
The size of a household could change depending on the needs of the household
Marriage based on economic factors
A household is a production unit, and people would get married only if they could afford
Childless or single people were often looked down upon because they typically lived under the conditions of others.
Property laws, inheritance laws, and custody laws were patriarchial
No empty nest households because men would just inherit everything
Labour of women was ultimately owned by their husbands
Women had no legal rights to their children or production, even in the event of death
1859: Married women in Ontario could own property
Family economies versus family wage economies:
Family economies
are both units of production in consumption (people making things and working in their homes
The family economy is the labour needs of the household
Families have to strike a balance between their labour and their consumption
Domestic mode of production
Family Wage economies
People are working for wages outside of the home
and among these households, as we move to industrialization, families may live together, but they are not making things in their home
This means family membership becomes shared consumption, not shared production
Inheritance laws favour the eldest son.
It was rare for a woman to inherit her husband’s property after he passed away.
There were restrictions on remarriage as well.
Roles for men and women have become increasingly rigid.
Sexual division of labour increases
Less rigid than industrial society
Both men's and women’s labour was essential.
In agricultural households, there were less rigid roles because women’s labour was needed during harvest times.
Increasing polarization in men's and women’s roles over time
Division of labour by age and sex
More was expected of older children than younger children (psychical tasks)
The argument by Tilly and Scott was that the household was dependent on women’s work regardless of the division of labour.
Families were patriarchial and Paternalistic.
Men had authority, when a woman got married, she was seen as the legal dependent of her husband.
The person prioritized was the born son.
Social inequality, upward and downward spiral
Societies where social inequality is firmly established and comprised of layers of dependency
Feudalism
Nobility owns the land, and peasants work the land in exchange for food and protection.
Pre-industrial society was characterized by layers of dependency.
Married women were dependent on their husbands with no legal status of their own, children were dependent on parents, and any unmarried adult was also in a dependent position.
Families required children’s labour, and if it was not needed or could not afford, they would be sent to live elsewhere.
These were non-privatized as households were economically dependent on others; the community had a stake in family relations and a lack of privacy.
For instance, for farmers, agriculture was organized and regulated by the community, and if there were problems within a household, there may be consequences for the entire community.
Servants also lived in the house.
Economic factors determine whether an individual can marry
Tilly and Scott talked about the contracts
The contract is very specific about what each family would have to give
Parents ensured their children would be able to set up their independent household after marriage
Poor people were barred from marriage, and many people were paid in food and shelter
Women had to save money for a dowry before marriage
Meaning they had to work
People married within their social class
You had to have the economic means to get married
Later age at marriage: Many people never married
Divorce was not possible because husbands’ and wives’ labour was needed.
Shorter marriages due to shorter life expectancy
How Elderly Individuals Lived During Retirement
very specific contracts between the elderly and children
Elderly people without property could be dependent on community charity
Summary
Pre-industrial families were units of production
With industrialization, families become units of consumption
Change from a family or domestic economy to one where the family no longer forms the basis of labour
Families no longer organize labour, and the capitalists start to
Industrialization and Family Life
Hareven, “Dynamics of Kin in an Industrial Community” (Fox, Ch 5):
Focus on French Canadians who migrated to Manchester, New Hampshire, between 1880 and 1930 to work in a large textile mill.
Family and kin networks played a significant role in shaping family life during industrialization.
Nuclear families were deeply connected to wider kin networks, providing support across people’s lives.
Exchange theory: Kinship was framed in terms of short- and long-term exchanges, calculated in terms of costs and benefits.
Women were kin-keepers and managed key family decisions (migration, marriage, etc.).
Capitalists depended on these kin networks for labor recruitment and training, relying on chain migration to save money.
Industrialization increased the sexual division of labor, making it harder for working-class families to conform to traditional gender roles.
Margolis, “Putting Mothers on the Pedestal” (Fox, Ch 6):
Shift in motherhood roles during industrialization: Women became responsible for raising moral children.
Cult of Domesticity: Defined women’s roles as primarily being wives and mothers, shifting responsibility from paternal to maternal roles.
Declining birth rates and the erosion of women’s economic roles contributed to a shift toward maternal responsibility.
Women were expected to find happiness through their household's well-being, framed as their “natural calling.”
Emergence of sentimental views on childhood innocence and the need to protect children.
2. Impact of the Cold War and Government Surveillance
LGBTQ+ Apology:
In 2017, the Canadian government apologized to thousands of LGBTQ+ Canadians who were fired from jobs during the 1950s and 1960s due to their sexuality.
Cold War-era paranoia led to the belief that LGBTQ+ individuals were security risks who could be blackmailed by Soviet agents.
Government surveillance and homophobia were rampant during this period, forcing many to hide their sexuality.
Adams, “Sexuality and the Post-war Domestic Revival” (Fox, Ch 7):
Heteronormativity: Heterosexuality was seen as the “normal” sexual orientation.
Adams builds on Foucault’s ideas of discourse and surveillance, showing how institutions and government used surveillance to enforce conformity.
Economic prosperity post-WWII and the emotional need for stability led to the reinforcement of the heterosexual nuclear family as a marker of adulthood and patriotism.
Families that didn’t conform (e.g., LGBTQ+, unmarried, childless) were viewed with suspicion and as potential Communist sympathizers.
Growth of suburbs and homeownership, supported by government policies (education, job training, loans), reinforced segregated gender roles and consumerism.
3. Post-War Family Trends and Social Pressures
Post-War Economic and Social Changes:
Unique post-WWII decade with rising fertility rates (baby boom), earlier marriages, fewer divorces, and widening educational gaps between men and women.
Increase in homeownership, driven by growing incomes and government policies.
Pressure to conform to the ideal of the heterosexual nuclear family was seen as linked to citizenship and patriotism, promoted by media and pop culture.
People who didn’t conform (e.g., unmarried, non-heteronormative individuals) were viewed with suspicion during the Cold War, with ties to communism.
4. Sexuality and the Kinsey Reports
Kinsey Reports (1948/1953):
Groundbreaking reports on human sexuality based on interviews with thousands of people (though the sample was predominantly white).
Challenged normative understandings of sexuality by presenting sex as a subject for scientific study, separate from moral or religious contexts.
The reports revealed that many people engaged in non-normative sexual practices, helping to normalize diverse sexual behaviors.
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1. Industrialization and Family Life
Hareven, “Dynamics of Kin in an Industrial Community” (Fox, Ch 5):
Context: Examines the lives of French Canadians who migrated to Manchester, New Hampshire, between 1880 and 1930 to work in textile mills. Industrialization transformed family structures and labor dynamics.
Kin Networks:
Kinship networks were integral to both family life and the capitalist economy. The nuclear family didn’t function in isolation but was embedded in wider networks of kin.
These networks provided emotional, financial, and logistical support across different life stages, such as migration decisions, marriage, and economic survival.
Exchange Theory:
Relationships within families were often framed as exchanges—both short-term (immediate help) and long-term (life-long support)—where the costs and benefits of each exchange were weighed, reinforcing mutual aid.
Role of Women:
Women acted as the “kin keepers”, responsible for maintaining family connections and making key decisions like when to migrate, return to Quebec, or arrange marriages. Their roles were central in preserving these networks.
Capitalist Reliance on Kin:
Employers and capitalists recognized the efficiency of family labor. They relied on chain migration, where one family member would come to work in the mill and later bring others, reducing recruitment costs and ensuring a trained workforce.
Family connections were advantageous for textile mills as they provided a reliable and stable labor source, saving money on hiring and training.
Sexual Division of Labor:
Industrialization intensified the sexual division of labor. Men and women experienced distinct work roles, with men typically in manual labor and women often in domestic or factory roles.
This increased tension for working-class families, where adhering to traditional gender norms (e.g., women as homemakers) was often impossible due to economic necessity, leading to role strain.
Margolis, “Putting Mothers on the Pedestal” (Fox, Ch 6):
Context: Industrialization reshaped social expectations around gender, particularly the roles of women in the family. Margolis explores the redefinition of motherhood in this era.
Cult of Domesticity/Canon of Domesticity:
The “Cult of Domesticity” emphasized that a woman’s value and self-identity came from her roles as a wife and mother, positioning women as moral guides for the family.
This ideology claimed that women were naturally suited to raise children, cultivate virtue, and maintain the household—responsibilities that had previously been shared with fathers.
Shift from Paternal to Maternal Responsibility:
With industrialization, there was a notable shift in parental responsibilities. Where fathers had previously been seen as moral heads of the household, this role now increasingly fell to mothers.
Women were seen as responsible for their children’s morality and happiness, a cultural shift exacerbated by the erosion of women’s traditional economic roles and the declining birth rate.
Impact on Working-Class Women:
While this idealized view of domesticity was challenging for all women, it was particularly difficult for working-class women. Economic realities often forced them to work outside the home, conflicting with societal expectations of womanhood as defined by the “cult of domesticity.”
Sentimentality of Childhood:
Childhood was increasingly viewed through the lens of “innocence”—a fragile state to be protected from the dangers of the adult world. This concept placed additional pressure on mothers to shelter their children and manage their moral development.
Women’s happiness was tied to their children’s well-being, further emphasizing their roles as caregivers and moral gatekeepers.
2. Impact of the Cold War and Government Surveillance
Canadian Government Apology to LGBTQ+ Canadians:
Historical Context: In 2017, the Canadian government formally apologized to LGBTQ+ individuals who were purged from military, public service, and other jobs during the 1950s and 1960s due to their sexual orientation.
Cold War Paranoia:
During the Cold War, the Canadian and American governments viewed LGBTQ+ individuals as security risks, believing they could be blackmailed by the Soviet Union due to their sexual orientation.
Homophobia and transphobia were pervasive, with individuals forced to hide their sexuality to avoid discrimination, job loss, or accusations of being a threat to national security.
Surveillance and Conformity:
Governments employed surveillance to identify and remove individuals they saw as deviant. LGBTQ+ people were among those targeted, seen as threats to the moral fabric of the nation.
The 2017 apology acknowledged the lasting harm this era caused LGBTQ+ Canadians.
3. Post-War Family Trends and Social Pressures
Adams, “Sexuality and the Post-War Domestic Revival” (Fox, Ch 7):
Context: Adams examines how post-WWII economic prosperity and emotional recovery from the war reinforced heterosexual norms and pressured people to conform to the nuclear family ideal.
Heteronormativity and Conformity:
Heterosexuality was seen as the only permissible sexual orientation in post-war discourse, with the nuclear family presented as a patriotic duty.
Building on Foucault’s ideas of discourse and surveillance, Adams shows how public institutions (government, media, and schools) monitored and enforced conformity to this norm, suppressing other sexual identities.
The discourse surrounding heterosexuality reinforced self-regulation—people internalized societal expectations and conformed to avoid suspicion or punishment.
Economic Prosperity and Family Life:
The post-war boom created unprecedented economic growth: rising incomes, increased home ownership, and government support (e.g., education, job training, mortgage loans). This fostered the baby boom (increased fertility) and earlier marriages.
Women who married in the 1950s had more children and married younger than their mothers, reversing the pre-war trends of rising age at marriage and declining fertility.
Educational and Gender Gaps:
The educational attainment gap widened, with men receiving more education than women, reinforcing traditional gender roles.
Government policies supported the expansion of the suburban middle class, but this also reinforced gender segregation, as women were expected to be homemakers, while men worked.
Pressure to Conform:
Non-conforming families (unmarried individuals, LGBTQ+, couples without children) were seen as deviating from the ideal of the heterosexual nuclear family. These groups were viewed with suspicion, often linked to Communist sympathies during the Cold War.
Citizenship and National Identity: In both Canada and the U.S., the nuclear family was framed as central to citizenship and national identity. Failing to conform was seen as unpatriotic, and those outside this structure were marginalized.
4. Sexuality and the Kinsey Reports
Kinsey Reports (1948/1953):
Context: Pioneering studies of human sexual behavior published in two parts: the first focused on men (1948) and the second on women (1953).
Scientific Study of Sex:
Prior to the Kinsey Reports, sexuality was largely framed in religious or moral terms. The reports challenged these views, presenting sexuality as a subject that could be studied scientifically and detached from moral judgments.
Kinsey’s work helped to normalize conversations around sexuality, as it revealed that many people engaged in non-normative sexual behaviors.
Impacts on Public Perception:
The reports showed that sexual diversity was more common than previously acknowledged, helping individuals who engaged in non-normative sexual behaviors feel less isolated and deviant.
While the reports were criticized for sampling biases (primarily white participants), they played a crucial role in sparking more open discussions about sexuality, challenging societal norms and laying the groundwork for later sexual liberation movements.