History of Family Lecture 1.1b
Fall 2025: Lecture 1.1b History of Family Notes
Announcements and Course Logistics
Office hours for tomorrow have been moved to Zoom.
The first reading quiz is scheduled for next Tuesday (9/2).
A "Get to Know You Survey" will be available tomorrow and is due before class next Thursday.
Students willing to share their notes with peers who have a note-taking accommodation are encouraged to contact the TA.
Defining "Family"
Definitions from the US Census Bureau
Family: A group of related people living together.
Household: The person(s) who live in a housing unit.
Sociological Perspective
According to Skolnick & Skolnick (2009), "The family deals with reproduction and care and support for children and adults."
Our Working Definition of Family
As defined by Howe on page 3, "Family will be … defined as a group of two or more people connected by blood, adoption, marriage, or choice, who may rely on each other for social, emotional, and financial support."
Distinctions in Family Literature
Family of Origin: Refers to the family in which an individual grew up.
Family of Procreation: Refers to the family an individual creates.
Found or Chosen Family: A group not related through biology (and often not through legal means) that provides ongoing support to each other.
Family Structure
Definition
Family structure encompasses the number of people within a family, their relationships to each other (e.g., married, romantically involved, siblings, parents, other relatives), and various demographic variables.
Is there a "Correct" Family Structure?
Short Answer: No.
SNAF (Standard North American Family): A historical, idealized concept involving a working father, a homemaker mother, and two children. This concept is a fallacy; there is no single "standard family" and there never has been.
Examples: Even historical figures like George Washington lived in varied family structures, demonstrating the lack of a singular norm.
Family Processes
Definition: Family processes describe what family members do to, for, and with each other.
Evolution of Function: The function of families in society has significantly changed over time, directly impacting family processes.
History of Family: A Timeline of Transformations
Historical Periods and Shifts
13,000 Years Ago to Today: The historical trajectory of family can be divided into distinct periods:
Hunter-Gatherer to Agricultural: Spanning from 11,000 years ago to approximately 1850.
Agricultural to Industrial: From around 1850 to roughly 1965.
Industrial to Postindustrial: From approximately 1965 to the present day.
Key Changes in Family Function
Shift from Public to Private: In agricultural societies and earlier, family function was largely public, centered on production. With the Industrial Revolution, family shifted to a more private sphere, no longer primarily serving as a unit of production for society.
Shift to Self-Expressive Values: The post-industrial era has seen a move towards self-expressive values, emphasizing individual fulfillment within family life.
Evolution of Gender Roles
Gender roles have changed multiple times throughout history.
Historically, women often worked outside the home, frequently in roles traditionally considered "female."
The 1950s represented a reversal and a more extreme version of female gender roles, emphasizing the homemaker ideal, which was not historically typical.
Love and Marriage
The concept of love as a prerequisite for marriage is a relatively recent development.
In arranged marriages, love is still not always a necessary component.
In pre-industrial families, love and commitment were not necessarily linked in the way they are often perceived today.
The Changing Role of Children
Pre-industrial Era: Children were primarily seen as "producers," contributing actively to the family's economic survival and labor.
Transformation to Economic Dependents: Over time, children transitioned from producers to economic dependents, meaning they require significant financial investment from their parents.
Shift from "Work" to "Play": Children today are far more likely to engage in play and education than in labor.
Cost of Raising Children: Raising a child has become increasingly expensive. The USDA estimated that for a child born in 2015 (middle-income, married couple), the cost would be approximately 233,610.
Decreased Childbirth Rates: Coinciding with the increased cost of raising children and their changing roles, rates of childbirth have significantly decreased.
Child Labor Statistics: Data from 1890 to 1930 in the United States shows variations in labor force participation for children aged 10-13. For example, around 1890, the participation rate for boys was over 15\%, for girls around 10\%, and both sexes together around 13\%. These rates generally declined over the period, with a sharp drop after 1915 for girls and by 1920 for boys and both sexes, indicating a move away from child labor.
Is the American Family on the Rise or in Decline?
Human Tendency to Criticize the Present
There is a pervasive human tendency to believe that current ways of doing things are inferior to those of the past.
Generational Overview
G.I. Generation: Born 1900 to 1924
Traditionalists or Silent Generation: Born 1925 to 1945
Baby Boomers: Born 1946 to 1964
Thirteeners or Generation X: Born 1965 to 1979
Millennials or Generation Y: Born 1980 to late 1990s
Gen Z, iGen, or Centennials: Born late 1990s to 2010s
Criticisms of Current Generations (e.g., Gen Z)
Current discourse often blames the latest generation (currently Gen Z) for various societal problems. Examples include articles titled "10 Problems with Gen Z in the workplace" or "Gen Z is made of zombies - less educated, more depressed, without values."
Counter-Evidence for Gen Z
College Enrollment & Parental Education: Pew Research Center data suggests Gen Zers are more likely to be enrolled in college and to have a college-educated parent compared to Millennials, Gen Xers, or Early Boomers at a comparable age.
Among 18- to 21-year-olds no longer in high school, COLLEGE ENROLLMENT:
Gen Zers in 2018: 57\%
Millennials in 2003: 52\%
Gen Xers in 1987: 43\%
Among 7- to 17-year-olds living with a parent who has at least a bachelor's degree:
Gen Zers in 2019: 44\%
Millennials in 2003: 33\%
Gen Xers in 1987: 24\%
Early Boomers in 1969: 15\%
Historical Precedent: "Every Generation is the Worst"
1958/1963: Bye Bye Birdie: The musical/movie reflected outrage over figures like Elvis Presley, with lyrics like "Kids, I don't know what's wrong with these kids today / Kids, who can understand anything they say? / Kids, they are disobedient, disrespectful oafs / Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy, loafers."
1790: Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family (Reverend Enos Hitchcock): Lamented that "The free access which many young people have to romances, novels, and plays has poisoned the mind and corrupted the morals of many a promising youth; and prevented others from improving their minds in useful knowledge."
1624: The Wise-Man's Forecast against the Evill Time (Thomas Barnes): Complained that "Youth were never more sawcie, yea never more savagely saucie . . . the ancient are scorned, the honourable are contemned, the magistrate is not dreaded."
Conclusion
The consistent pattern of adults complaining about younger generations suggests that it may simply be a tendency for older generations to express dissatisfaction with the youth, rather than an objective decline of family or generational quality. This phenomenon has been documented for centuries, as compiled from historical complaints shared by Paul Fairie (@paulisci) in a 2022 tweet thread.