Not

es
THEFAMI
LYANDHOUSEHOLD
 Ahousehol
dist
het
erm usedt
odescr
ibet
hegr
oupofpeopl
eli
vi
ngt
oget
heri
nthesamepl
ace
e.
g.a
f
ami
l
y,gr
oupofst
udent
s,acoupl
efost
eri
ngchi
l
dren,
alodgerr
ent
ingar
oom i
nahouse.

 Ahousehol
dconsi
stsofaper
sonl
i
vingal
oneoragr
oupofpeopl
ewhol
i
vecommunal
l
ye.
g
shar
eaccommodat
ionand/
oreatt
oget
her

 Def
ini
ti
onoft
hef
ami
l
yist
hati
tconsi
stsofamar
ri
edcoupl
eandt
hei
rchi
l
drenwhoal
lli
ve
t
oget
her
.Oncewebegi
ntopr
obet
hisdef
ini
ti
on,howev
er,t
het
askofdef
ini
ngt
hef
ami
l
y
becomesmuchmor
edi
ff
icul
t.Whenwebegi
ntol
ookmor
ecl
osel
yatt
hei
deaoft
hef
ami
l
y,
t
hepi
ctur
ebecomesmuch mor
ecompl
i
cat
ed.I
tisv
erydi
ff
icul
tto dev
isean adequat
e
def
ini
ti
onwhi
chi
ncl
udesal
loft
hepossi
blev
ari
ati
ons.Soci
ologi
stsdi
sagr
eeonhowt
odef
ine
af
ami
l
y.Somepr
efert
ouset
het
erm“
fami
l
ies”r
athert
han“
thef
ami
l
y”,r
ecogni
singt
hata
v
ari
etyofdi
ff
erenthousehol
dar
rangement
sandf
ami
l
yty
pesexi
sti
nmoder
nBr
it
ain.

 Af
ami
l
yisal
lthepeopl
ewhoar
erel
atedt
oeachot
herei
thert
hroughbl
ood,mar
ri
ageor
adopt
ion.

 Fami
l
y:Twoormor
egener
ati
onsofpeopl
eti
edt
oget
hert
hroughbl
ood,mar
ri
ageoradopt
ion.
Ant
honyGi
ddensaddshowadul
tmember
sar
eassumedt
ohav
ear
esponsi
bil
i
tyf
orcar
ingf
or
chi
l
dren.

 Fami
l
y–asetofper
sonsr
elat
edbybl
oodmar
ri
ageoradopt
ionl
i
vingi
nthesamehousehol
d.

Var
iat
ionsi
nfami
l
yst
ruct
ure

Thest
ruct
ureoft
hesoci
etyv
ari
esf
rom soci
etyt
osoci
ety
.

Nucl
earf
ami
l
y

 Ther
ear
etwobasi
cty
pesoff
ami
l
y:nucl
earandext
ended.Nucl
earf
ami
l
yconsi
stoft
wo
gener
ati
onsoff
ami
l
ymember
s(par
ent
sandchi
l
dren)l
i
vingi
nthesomehousehol
d.

 Anucl
earf
ami
l
yisonemadeupofanadul
tman,
anadul
twomanandt
hei
rdependentchi
l
dren.
Tr
adi
ti
onal
l
y,t
hemanwast
he“
breadwi
nner
”,r
esponsi
blef
orpr
ovi
dingwhatt
hef
ami
l
yneeded
t
osur
viv
eandpr
osper
,whi
l
ethewomanwasr
esponsi
blef
orhomeandf
ami
l
y.Thi
ski
ndof
 f
ami
l
yhasof
tenbeent
houghtofast
he“
nor
mal
”or“
typi
cal
”fami
l
y.Nucl
ear–apar
entor
par
ent
sandt
hei
runmar
ri
edchi
l
drenl
i
vingt
oget
her
.

 Thecont
act
swi
thwi
derki
n(aunt
sandcousi
ns)ar
eusual
l
yinf
requentandmor
eli
kel
yinv
olv
e
i
mper
sonal
cont
act
ssuchast
het
elephoneandemai
l
.

 Fort
hisr
eason t
hisf
ami
l
yst
ruct
urei
ssomet
imescal
l
ed i
sol
ated nucl
ear(
ref
lect
ing i
ts
i
sol
ati
onf
rom wi
derki
nandi
tseconomi
cisol
ati
onf
rom t
her
estoft
hesoci
ety
)orconj
ugal
uni
t-asel
f-
cont
aineduni
twher
efami
l
ymember
sar
eexpect
edt
osuppor
teachot
hersoci
all
y,
economi
cal
l
yandpsy
chol
ogi
cal
l
y

 Commoni
nIndust
ri
alandPost
indust
ri
alnat
ions.

 I
sthenuclearfami
lychangi
ng?Lessthanaquar
terofhousehol
dsi
nBrit
ainar
enowcoupl
es
wi
thdependentchi
l
dren.Thi
ssuggest
sthatt
henucl
earfamil
yisi
ndecl
i
ne.

 Agrowingpropor
ti
onofcoupl esli
vi
ngt oget
herarenotmarri
ed,andagrowingnumberof
f
amili
esarereconst
it
uted-
-thatis,theyarecreat
edfrom oneortwofamil
iesbr
eaki
ngup
t
hroughsepar
ati
onordivor
ce.

 Manypeopledospendpar t
soft hei
rli
vesinnucl
earfami
lystil
l
.Ifwearet
othehousehol
dswe
countasnuclearfami
li
escoupl esbeforetheyhavechi
ldren,andcoupl
esaft
erthechil
dren
havegrownupandar eindependent,t
henmor ethanhal
fofhouseholdsar
ebasedonnuclear
famil
yrel
ati
onshi
ps.

St
rengt
hs:par
ent
smakei
ndependent
,aut
onomous(
sel
f-
rul
i
ng)deci
sions;

 par
ent
/chi
l
dbondi
sst
ronger
;

 Mor
egeogr
aphi
cmobi
l
ity(
mov
ement
).

Weaknesses:Fewereconomi
cresour
ces,

 Weakenedbondswi
thot
herr
elat
ives.

Alt
hought
herehavebeensomanychangesi
nBri
ti
shfami
lyl
if
e,t
henucl
earf
ami
l
yisst
il
lthet
ypeof
famil
ymostof
tenseenontel
evi
siondr
amasandi
nsoapoper
as.

Adver
ti
sementsalsomakeuseoft
henucl
earf
ami
l
y.Aswel
last
hemedi
a,pol
i
tici
ansofal
lpar
ti
es
al
sotalkal
otabout“t
hefami
ly
”.

Poli
ti
calpart
iesar ekeent
obeseenas“ t
hepartyofthefamil
y.”t
hekindoffami
lytheymeanisthe
convent
ionalnuclearfami
l
yoftheFatherandhusbandwhoi sthemainbreadwi
nner
, t
hemotherand
wif
ewhocar esforhomeandf ami
ly(alt
houghthesedaysshemaydosomepai dwor kaswel
l)and
oneortwo( butnott oomany
)chil
dren.Inadver
tisement
sthetwochil
dreninthi
sfami l
yar
eusuall
y
oneboyandonegi
rl
,heal
thy
,happyandwhi
te.

Sociologist
sarguet hatthemedi aandpolit
iciansar eineffectshowingonepar t
icularki
ndoff amil
y
asbet terthanallothertypesoff ami
ly-t
hecer ealpacketfami l
y.Theyshow ast er
eotype,basedin
truthbutmi sl
eadingbecauseitexaggerat
est hegoodf eat
ur eswhilenotacknowledgingthenegati
ve
side(whatwecal lthe“darkside”ofthefami l
y).Thest er
eot y
pecont ai
nstwoideas:t hatf
amili
es
shouldbemadeupoff at
her,motherandchildrent hatt
hef atherandmothershoul dhavedif
fer
ent
roles.

I
tisassumedthatmenar enatur
all
ybett
ersui
tedfort
hewor
ldofwor
k,andt
hatwomenar
ebet
terat
doi
ngdomesti
cwor k,
lookingaft
erthehomeandfamil
y.

These ideas aboutt he famil

y are connect
ed to a par
ti
cularv i
ew withi
n soci
ology,t
hatof
functi
onali
sm.Forf uncti
onali
sts,t
heconv ent
ionalnucl
earfami l
yistheidealfami
lyf ormoder
n
societybecauseitf
it
st heneedsofsocietysowel l
,andmakest hebestuseofmen'sandwomen's
dif
ferentnatur
alabi
l
iti
es.

I
nthepast,peopl
ehadtorel
yont hei
rfamil
iesformanyneeds,f
orexampl
etocar
efort
hem when
t
heyweresickorol
d,t
olendorgi
vemoney ,
toteachthem.

ExtendedFami l
y:asthenamesuggestsinvol
vesomeaddi t
ionalfamilymembers.Isonewher ethe
nuclearfamil
yhasbeenaddedt o,orext
ended,ei
therverti
call
y(i.e.wit
hgrandparent
s,parentand
chi
ldren)orhorizont
all
y(i
.e.wi
thtwoormor ebrothers/
sister
sl i
vingwitht
heirrespect
ivespouses
andchildren)
.

 Anextendedf
amilycont
ainsanucl
earfamil
y,butaddedtoi
tareotherr
elat
ives.I
fther
eare
thr
eegenerat
ionsli
vi
ng toget
her(
grandpar
ents,parent
sand chi
l
dren)thi
si sa vert
ical
l
y
ext
endedfami
ly.

 Ifthereareotherrel
ati
vesofthesamegenerati
on,suchastwobrother
s,thei
rwi
vesand
chi
ldrenli
vi
ngt oget
her,t
hisisahor
izont
all
yext
endedfamil
y.Thi
skindoffamil
yhasof
ten
beenmor ecommoni nthepastt
hant
oday,andmorecommoninpoorcount
ri
es.

 Almostev er
y one has extended famil
y;nowadaysthough we arel ess li
kel
yt olive with
member sofourext endedfami l
y.Ext
endedfamil
ymay bedefi
nedasr el
ati
veslivi
ngtogether
whodonotmeett hestri
ctdefini
ti
onofanuclearfamily
.Mayi ncludeanucl earfamil
ypl us
otherrelati
vessuchasanucl earfamil
yandanuncl eormayber el
ati
vessuchas2adul t
sibli
ngsshar ingahousehol d. Mostcommonl y,wet hinkoft he3gener at
ionhousehol d
(grandparents,parentsandchildren)t
hatexi
stsi
nmanyAgr ar
iansocieti
esbutt hi
sisnott he
onlyform ofext endedfamily
.

 Theincreaseintel
ephoneandcarownershi
pnow hel
pspeopl
ekeepi ntouchwiththei
r
rel
ati
vesevenift
heylivesomedi
stanceaway
.Ther
earegr
oundsfort
hinki
ngthatext
ended
famil
yli
nksremai
nstrong.

 Extendedfamil
iesmayl i
veapar t
,buttheygett oget
herforimpor
tantoccasi
ons,suchas
Christ
mas,weddingsandfuner
als.Moreoverl
ifeexpectancyhasi
ncr
eased,andrel
ati
vescar
e
formanyelder
lypeopl
ewhol i
vewiththem ornearby.
 St
rengt
hs:mor
eeconomi
cresour
cesduet
omor
eadul
tscont
ri
but
ingi
ncome;

 Mor
eadul
tsav
ail
abl
etocar
eforchi
l
drenand

 Teachchi
l
drenf
ami
l
ytr
adi
ti
ons(
soci
ali
sat
ionoft
hechi
l
d).

 Ext
endedf
ami
l
ywasmor
eusef
uli
nthatal
argef
ami
l
ymeantt
hatt
her
ewer
emor
epeopl
eto
t
urnt
o.Todayt
hesef
unct
ionshav
ebeent
akenov
erby
,forexampl
e,doct
orsandhospi
tal
s,
banks,
school
sandsoon.Wenol
ongerneedt
obeabl
etot
urnt
olar
geext
endedf
ami
l
ies.

Weaknesses:Lackofaut
onomyf
oradul
tpar
ent
sast
heel
destf
ami
l
ymember
sret
aint
hemost
power
,ev
eni
nchi
l
d-r
ear
ingandeconomi
cdeci
sions.

 Moder
nindust
ryal
soneedpeopl
ewhocanmov
etowher
ether
ear
ejobsav
ail
abl
e.I
tismuch
easi
ert
omov
eanucl
earf
ami
l
ytoanewar
eat
hananext
endedone.

Theext
endedf
ami
l
ytoday

 Theexistenceoft heextendedfamil
yamongmi nori
tyet
hnicgr oupsrai
sest hequest
ionofhow
widespreadt hiskindoff amil
yisi
ntheUKt oday.Accor
dingt ofuncti
onal
istssuchasParsons,
theextended f amil
yi st hedominantfamil
yt ypeinpr e-
industri
alsociety,buti
nmoder n
i
ndustri
al societyiti
sreplacedbythenucl
earfamily
.

 Forexample,asNicki
eCharles’(
2005)studyofSwanseaf ound,t
hecl
assi
cthree-generati
on
fami
lyalll
i
vingtoget
herunderoneroofisnow“ al
lbutext
inct
”.Theonl
ysi
gnif
icantexcepti
ons
shefoundwereamongt hecity
’sBangl
adeshicommunity.

 Howev er
,whi
letheextendedfamil
ymayhav edecl
i
ned, i
thasnotentir
elydi
sappeared.I
nst
ead,
asPeterWill
mott(1988)argues,i
tcont
inuestoexistasa‘disper
sedextendedfami l
y’
,wher
e
rel
ati
vesaregeographi
call
yseparat
edbutmaintai
nf r
equentcontactthr
oughvisi
tsandphone
cal
ls.

 Simil
arly,MaryChamber lai
n’
s(1999)studyofCaribbeanf ami
l
iesinBri
tai
nfoundthat,despi
te
beinggeogr aphical
l
ydi sper
sed,theycont i
nuetopr ovidesupport
.Shedescribest hem as
‘
mul t
iplenuclearfamil
i
es’ wi
thcloseandf r
equentcontactbet
weensibl
ings,
uncles,
aunt sand
cousins,whoof t
enmakeabi gcontr
ibuti
ontochil
dreari
ng.

 Nicki
eChar l
esfoundt hatcontactremai nshighbet
weenmothersanddaughters.Howeverin
thecaseofbr ot
hersandsi st
ers,therehadbeenashar pdecl
ineinbothsupportandcontact
.
Thisaff
ectedwhocount sas‘fami l
y’-thosewhodon’tkeepi
nt ouchorprovi
desupportmay
ceasetobedef i
nedasf amil
y.Conv ersely
,fr
iendsmaybecome‘famil
y’i
ftheyareseenoften
andhelponeanot her
.

 AsChar l
esshows,t her
eissomev ar
iabi
li
tyinwhatcanbeexpect
edofdifferentr
elat
ives.For
example,JanetFinchandJenni
ferMason( 1993)f
oundt
hatmoreisexpect
edoff emalest han
males.Howev er
,peopledocont
inuetofeelsomeobli
gat
iont
owardsthei
rextendedkin.
  Over
all
,evi
dencesuggeststhatt
heext
endedfami
lycont
inuest
oplayanimpor
tantr
olef
or
manypeopl
etoday,pr
ovidi
ngbothpr
act
ical
andemoti
onal
suppor
twhencal
l
edupon.

 However,thi
sisverydi
ff
erentfrom Par
sons’cl
assi
cextendedf amil
y,whosemember sli
ved
andworkedtoget
herandwer eboundbystrongmutualobl
igati
ons.Never
thel
ess,somesense
ofobl
i
gat i
ondoesremai
n,atleastt
osomeki nandasalastresorti
nti
mesofcr i
sis.

“
Theext
endedf
ami
l
yisdy
ingout
.”Ev
aluat
ethear
gument
sforandagai
nstt
hiscl
aim.

CHANGESI
NTHEFAMI
LY/DI
VERSI
TY

 Int
he1950smostfami
l
ieswer
etradi
ti
onal
nuclearf
amili
es,
withamother,f
atherandt
heir
chi
l
dren.Thepar
ent
sweremar
ri
edandusuall
ythechil
drenwouldbet
heirbi
ologi
calof
fspr
ing.

 Nowadayst herearemanydiff
erentty
pesoffami
l
ies–themodernnucl
earf
ami
l
yisclosestt
o
thet
radit
ionalnuclearf
amil
y,buttheadul
tsmayl
ivet
oget
herwi
thoutbei
ngmar
ri
ed(cohabit
)
andtheymi ghtnothavechi
ldr
en.

 I
nthepastitmadesensetot
alkabout“
TheFamil
y”,
butnowi
tismor
eaccur
atet
otal
kabout
“
Famil
ies”becauset
herei
ssomuchdi v
ersi
ty.

Lone-
par
entf
ami
l
ies

 Loneparentfami
l
iesnowmake-
up24%ofal
lfami
l
ies.Onei
nfourchi
l
drennowl
i
vei
nal
one-
parentf
amily
.

 Ov
er90%ofl
one-
par
entf
ami
l
iesar
eheadedbywomen

 Unti
lthe1990s,di
vorcedwomenwerethebiggestgroupofl
onemother
s.Fr
om t
he1990s
si
ngle(nev
ermarri
ed)womenbecamet
hebiggestgroupofl
onemot
her
s.

 Achil
dlivi
ngwi
thal
onepar
enti
stwi
ceasl
i
kel
ytobei
npov
ert
yasachi
l
dli
vi
ngwi
tht
wo
par
ents.

 Si
ngl
ehood–Peopl
ear
est
ayi
ngsi
ngl
elonger
.Av
eragef
ir
stmar
ri
ageagesar
elat
erf
orbot
h
sexes(
about27f
orwomenandal
most29f
ormen)
.Inaddi
ti
on,t
her
eissomeev
idencet
hat
t
her
eisani
ncr
easei
npeopl
ewhowi
l
lst
aysi
ngl
e(nev
ermar
ry)
.

Reasonsf
ort
hepat
ter
ns

 I
nthepast
,thedeathofonepar
entwasacommoncauseofl
one-
par
entf
ami
l
ies,
butt
hisi
sno
l
ongerv
erysigni
fi
cant
.

 Lone-
par
entf
ami
l
ies t
end t
o be f
emal
e-headed f
orsev
eralr
easons.These i
ncl
ude t
he
 wi
despr
eadbeliefthatwomenarebynat
uresui
tedtoan‘expr
essi
ve’
ornurt
uringr
ole;
thef
act
t
hatdi
vorcecourtsusual
lygi
vecust
odyofchil
drentomother
sandthefactthatmenmaybe
l
esswil
l
ingthanwoment ogiveupworkt
ocareforchi
ldr
en.

 Manylone-par
entfami
liesar
efemale-
headedbecauset
hemother
sar esi
ngl
ebychoice.They
maynotwi shtocohabitormarr
y,ortheymaywishtoli
mitt
hefather
’si
nvol
vementwiththe
chi
ld.JeanRenvoi
ze(1985)foundthatprof
essi
onalwomenwereabletosuppor
ttheirchil
d
wit
houtthefat
her’
sinvolv
ement.

 Equal
ly
,asEll
i
sCashmore(1985)f
ound,someworki
ng-cl
assmother
swit
hlessearningpower
chosetol
iv
eonwelfar
ebenefi
tswit
houtapar
tner
;oft
enbecauset
heyhadexper
iencedabuse.

 Femi
nisti
deas,
andgr
eat
eroppor
tuni
ti
esf
orwomen,
mayal
sohav
eencour
agedani
ncr
easei
n
t
henumberofnev
er-
mar
ri
edl
onemot
her
s.

 Mor
eoppor
tuni
ti
esf
orandmor
esoci
alaccept
anceofsi
ngl
ehood.

 Whent
hef
atherandmot
herar
enotmar
ri
edandchi
l
drenar
ebor
noutofwedl
ock.

 Speci
fi
cal
l
y,womenar
enol
ongerv
iewedas“
oldmai
ds”i
ftheyar
en’
tmar
ri
edat21,t
her
eis
mor
etol
eranceofhomosexual
i
tysucht
hatt
her
eisn’
ttheneedt
ohi
deone’
shomosexual
i
ty,
and

 Busi
nessesar
eincr
easi
ngl
ywi
l
li
ngt
ohi
reandpr
omot
esi
ngl
epeopl
e.

 The numberofl
one-
par
entf
ami
l
ies has i
ncr
eased due t
othe i
ncr
ease i
n di
vor
ce and
separ
ati
onand

 Mor
erecent
ly,t
hei
ncr
easei
nthenumberofnev
er-
mar
ri
edwomenhav
ingchi
l
dren.Thi
sis
l
i
nkedt
othedecl
i
nei
nst
igmaat
tachedt
obi
rt
hsout
sidemar
ri
age.

Si
ngl
epar
ent
ingi
sal
soi
ncr
easi
ng.Appr
oxi
mat
ely40%ofchi
l
drenar
enowbor
noutofwedl
ock,a
f
our
fol
dincr
easesi
nce1970.Thi
sisnotuni
for
m byeducat
ional
andeconomi
cbackgr
ound,
howev
er.
Amongwomenwi
thabachel
or'
sdegr
eeorhi
gher
,onl
yabout10%ar
eunmar
ri
edwhent
heygi
vebi
rt
h;
f
orwomenwi
thsomecol
l
egebutnodegr
ee40%,and57%f
ort
hosewi
thahi
ghschooldi
plomaor
l
ess. Howev
er,bi
rt
hst
oteenagemot
her
shav
edr
oppeddr
amat
ical
l
y,bynear
lyhal
f,si
nce1991.
Mostunmar
ri
edmot
her
stodayar
eint
hei
r20sandear
ly30s.

Lonepar
ent
hood,
thewel
far
est
ateandpov
ert
y

 TheNewRightthi
nkerCharl
esMurray(1984)seesthegrowt
hoflone-
parentf
amil
iesasresul
ti
ng
fr
om anov
ergener
ouswelfarest
ateprovi
dingbenef
itsf
orunmar
ri
edmot hersandt
heirchi
l
dren.
 Mur r
ayar guesthatthishascr eat
ed a ‘per
verse i
ncenti
ve’;thatis,i
trewardsirr
esponsibl
e
behav i
our
,suchashav i
ngchil
drenwi t
houtbeingablet opr ov
ideforthem.Thewel far
estate
createsa‘dependencycul
tur
e’i
nwhi chpeopleassumet hatthestatewil
lsuppor
tthem andthei
r
chil
dren.

 ForMur r
ay,t
hesol
uti
onistoabol
i
shwel f
arebenef
it
s.Thi
swoul
dreducet
hedependencycul
tur
e
thatencour
agesbi
rt
hsoutsi
demarr
iage.

 However,cr
iti
csofNewRi
ghtv
iewsarguethatwelf
arebenefi
tsarefarf
rom gener
ousandl
one-
par
entfamil
iesar
emuchmorel
ikel
ytobeinpover
ty.Reasonsf
orthisi
ncl
ude:

1.Lackofaf
for
dabl
echi
l
dcar
epr
event
slonepar
ent
sfr
om wor
king:
60%oft
hem ar
eunempl
oyed.

2.I
nadequat
ewel
far
ebenef
it
s.

3.Mostl
oneparent
sar
ewomen,whogener
all
year
nlesst
hanmen,hencet
heyf
aceeconomi
c
andemot
ional
probl
ems

4.Fai
l
ureoffat
her
stopaymai
ntenance,especi
all
yift
heyhav
efor
medasecondf
ami
l
ythatt
hey
havet
osupport
.

5.Lonefami
lyparent
sespeci
all
yifi
tsf
emaleheaded,maybevi
ewedasanout
castordev
ianti
n
soci
ety
.Ther
efor
esociet
ymaynotbeprepar
edtoassistt
hem.

6.Pr
obl
emsassoci
atedwi
thf
ami
l
yrel
ati
onshi
psandmul
ti
ple–r
olef
ulf
il
ment
.

7.Pr
obl
emsemanat
ingf
rom cont
actwi
tht
hepr
evi
ousspouse.

St
epf
ami
l
ies/
reconst
it
utedf
ami
l
ies

 Stepf
amili
es(oft
encal
l
edr econst
it
utedf
ami
l
ies)accountf
orov
er10% ofal
lfami
l
ieswi
th
dependentchi
l
dreni
nBri
tai
n.

 In86%ofstepfamil
ies,
atleastonechi
ldi
sfrom thewoman’ sprevi
ousr
elat
ionshi
p,whil
ein11
%t her
eisatleastonechildfrom t
heman’spreviousrel
ati
onship.I
n3%ofst epf
amil
iesther
e
arechi
ldr
enfrom bothpar
tners’pr
evi
ousr
elati
onships.

 El
saFernandKat eSmit
h(1998)f oundthatst
epfamil
iesarever
ysimilartofir
stfamil
i
esinal
l
majorrespect
s,andthattheinvolvementofstepparent
sinchildcareandchi l
drear
ingisa
posi
ti
veone.However,
theyfoundthatingener
alstepf
amili
esareatgreaterr
iskofpovert
y.

 Howeveraccordi
ng to Graham All
an and Graham Crow (
2001)
,stepfamil
i
es may face
par
ti
cularpr
oblemsofdi v
idedloyal
ti
esandi ssuessuchascontactwit
ht henon-
resi
dent
par
entcancausetensi
ons.

 JaneRibbensMcCarthyetal(2003)concludethatther
eisdi
v er
sit
yamongt hesefamili
esand
so weshould speakof‘ st
epfamili
es’pluralrat
herthan‘thest epf
amil
y’
.Somehav efew
tensi
ons,whi
lef
orthosethatdo,thetensi
onsarenotsodiff
erentfrom t
hosein‘i
ntact
’fami
li
es.

Reasonsf
ort
hepat
ter
ns
  Stepfamili
esareformedwhenl oneparent sform newpart
nerships.Thusthefact
orscausi
ng
an increase i
nt he numberofl one parents,such as di
vorce and separ
ati
on,are al
so
responsibl
eforthecreat
ionofstepfami
lies.

 Morechi ldr
eninst
epfami
li
esaref r
om thewoman’sprevi
ousrel
ati
onshipthantheman’
s
because,whenmarr
iagesandcohabi
tat
ionsbr
eakup,chi
ldr
enar
emor elikel
ytoremai
nwit
h
thei
rmot her.

 Stepparent
sareatgr
eat
erri
skofpov ert
ybecausether
eareoft
enmor echi
ldr
enandbecause
thestepfat
hermayal
sohav
et osupportchi
l
drenfr
om aprevi
ousrel
ati
onshi
p.

 Someoft hetensi
onsfacedbystepf
amil
iesmaybet
her
esul
tofal
ackofcl
earsoci
alnor
ms
abouthowindiv
idual
sshoul
dbehaveinsuchf
amil
i
es.

Cohabi
tat
ion–Li
vi
ngt
oget
herwi
thoutbei
ngmar
ri
ed.

Cohabi
ti
ngusedt
obeunaccept
abl
eandwascal
l
ed“
li
vi
ngi
nsi
n”.

Chi
ldren bor
nt o co-
habitin coupl
esweret r
eat
ed asdi
ff
erentand i
nferi
orbecauset
heywer
e
i
ll
egit
imate.Butbythemid-1990saquar
terofal
lsi
ngl
ewomenwer eco-
habit
ing.

Therehadbeenahugeshi f
tinpubli
copinionsothatpeopl
enolongerf
earedstrongdisappr
oval.
Therearedif
fer
enttypesofco-
habit
ati
on: Thecommonestonei nBri
tai
nseemst obet he“tr
ial
marri
age”;acouplel
ivedt
ogethert
oseei ftheywouldbeablet
oli
vetogetherpermanentl
y.The
i
ntenti
oniseventual
l
yt omarr
yunlessthi
ngsgowr ong.

Anothertypeisvi
rtual
l
ythesameasmar r
iageexceptt
hatnocer
emonyhastakenplace.Thecoupl
e
arecommi t
tedtoapermanentrel
ati
onshi
p;pr
ivat
epromisest
oeachot
hertaketheplaceofthe
tr
adit
ional
v ows.

Somecohabit
ati
oninv
olv
esshor
t-
ter
mr elat
ionshi
pswi
thoutcommi
tment
.Al
otofco-
habi
ti
ng
rel
ati
onshi
psevent
ual
lyl
eadt
oamar r
iage.

Thissuggeststhatmar
ri
ageassuchisnotbei
ngrej
ected,
butdel
ayed.Thi
scanbef
oreconomi
c
reasons--i
tgiv
est i
metosav
eup,fortheweddi
ngorforahouse.

Mor
epeopl
earesti
l
linhi
ghereducat
ioni
nthei
r20sandmaynotf
eelf
inanci
all
yindependentenough
f
ormar
ri
agefory
ears.

Reasonsar
edel
ayedageofmar
ri
age,

 I
ncr
easedsoci
alaccept
ance,
/mor
esoci
all
yaccept
abl
eand

 Adesi
ret
o“t
ryout
’amat
epr
iort
omar
ri
age.

 Secul
ari
sat
ion-
ist
hepr
ocesswher
ebyr
eli
gioust
hinki
ng,pr
act
iseandi
nst
it
uti
onsl
oosesoci
al
si
gni
fi
cance.I
tref
erst
othedecl
i
ningsi
gni
fi
canceofr
eli
gioni
nsoci
ety
.
  I
ncr
easedf
earofdi
vor
ce

 Ri
singcostofweddi
ngs

 Gr
owi
ngeconomi
cindependenceofwomen

 I
mpr
ovedaccessofcont
racept
ion

Unt
ilr
ecent
ly,whencoupl
escohabi
tedbef
oremar
ri
age,t
hei
rdi
vor
cer
atewasact
ual
l
yhi
ghert
han
coupl
eswhodi
dnotcohabi
tpr
iort
omar
ri
age.Thi
swasnott
houghtt
obebasedoncohabi
tat
ion,
per
se.Coupl
eswhocohabi
ttendt
ohol
dmor
eli
ber
alat
ti
tudes;coupl
eswhodonotcohabi
thol
dmor
e
conser
vat
iveat
ti
tudesandbel
i
evemor
est
rongl
yint
hei
mpor
tanceofst
ayi
ngi
namar
ri
age,ev
enan
unhappyone.Howev
er,r
ecentr
esear
chbydemogr
apherWendyManni
ngi
ndi
cat
est
hatf
orcoupl
es
i
ntheU.
S.whomar
ri
edsi
ncet
hemi
d-1990s,cohabi
tat
ioni
snotassoci
atedwi
thahi
gherr
iskof
di
vor
ce. I
nsomecount
ri
es,l
i
keAust
ral
i
a,l
i
vingt
oget
herbef
oremar
ri
agehasact
ual
l
ybecomea
"
prot
ect
ive"f
act
oragai
nstdi
vor
ce.

Mor
eSameSexf
ami
l
ies

 Therearesti
llonl
yaverysmallnumberofsamesexf amil
i
es,butthesear
enowmor esocial
l
y
acceptabl
e.Thisi
sbecauseofcampaignsbygayrightsgr
oupsandchangesinlaws,suchas
beingall
owedt ot
eachaboutsamesexr el
ati
onshi
psinschoolsandanequalageofsexual
consent.

 Theint
roduct
ionofci
vi
lpartner
shipagreement
s,whi
char
esi
mil
art
omar
ri
agecont
ract
s,but
opentosameandopposi t
esexcouples.
Gaycouplesarenowall
owedt oadopt.

 Functi
onali
stssayt
hatthef
amilyandotherinsti
tut
ionsofsoci
etyneedt
oev ol
veinor
derto
conti
nuetobeusefuli
nsociet
y,sowouldviewsamesexf amil
i
esasposit
iveprov
idi
ngthat
theycont
inuetodowhattheyaresupposedt o.

 Femini
stshav
emixedvi
ewsonsamesexfamili
es,
becauset
her
eissti
l
leconomi
cinequal
i
ty
bet
weenmenandwomen, whi
chmeansthatgaymenaremoreli
kel
ytohavemor
emoney ,
bet
terj
obsandhi
gherst
atust
hanl
esbi
ans.

 Ther
efore,
samesexf ami
li
esshoul
dnotbel
ookedatasbei ngal
lthesame.
TheNewRi ghtseesamesexfamil
i
esasbadforsoci
etybecausetheyar
esoci
ali
singchi
l
dren
thewrongway .

Smal
l
erhousehol
dsi
ze
  Ther
ear
emor
esi
ngl
eper
sonhousehol
ds(
aper
sonl
i
vingont
hei
rown)–t
hisi
sduet
o:

 Womenli
vinglongert
hanmen,
sotheyar
emorel
i
kel
ytobeawi
dowwi
thgr
ownupchi
l
dren
andgr
andchi
ldrenwhodonotl
i
vewitht
hem.

 Youngerwomenchoosi
ngacar
eerov
ermar
ri
ageandf
ami
l
y.

 Fami
l
iesal
sohav
efewerchi
l
drent
hani
nthepast
:

 Somecoupl
eschoosenott
ost
artaf
ami
l
yatal
lforf
inanci
alorcar
eerr
easons.

 Ther
eismoreinfer
ti
li
tyt
hanint
hepast(
peopl
ecan’
thav
echi
l
drenoft
hei
rown)butal
somor
e
avai
l
abi
li
tyofcontr
acept
ion.

 Lesschi
ldr
endiedur
ingchi
l
dbir
thandchi
ldhoodbecauseofbetterheal
thcar
eandl
i
ving
standar
ds,sofami
li
esdonotneedtohav
elargenumbersofchil
drenjusti
ncasesomeof
them di
e.

 Femini
stsvi
ewt hesechangesposit
ively,
aswomenhav egreat
erchoi ceovert
hei
rfut
ureand
canusecontracepti
ontoprot
ectthemsel v
esf
rom unwantedpregnancieswhil
stst
il
lbei
ng
sexual
lyact
ive.I
tismoreacceptabl
ef orwomentochooseacar eerrathert
hanafamil
ythani
n
thepast.

 TheNewRi ghtbel
i
evethatawoman’
srol
einsoci
etyi
stobeawi
feandmot
her
,sowoul
dsee
thesechangesashav
inganegat
ivei
mpactonsoci
ety
.

 SomeFunct
ionali
stswouldseet
hesechangesasposi
ti
ve,becauset
hepopul
ati
oni
s
i
ncreasi
ngi
nsize.Ther
eforesmal
lerf
amil
iesensur
esoci
etydoesnotbecomeunst
abl
e.

 OtherFunct
ional
i
stswouldpoi
ntoutthatt
hereasonforthel
argepopul
ati
onisbecauseof
i
mmi grat
ionandther
efor
earguethatweneedlargerBr
it
ishf
amili
esandlessi
mmi grat
ion.

Mor
efami
l
iesf
rom di
ver
secul
tur
albackgr
ounds

 I
nt he1950sthegovernmentencour
agedpeopletomov et
otheUKtot
akeupjobsthatwer
en’
t
beingdone.Thesefamil
iesbr
oughtthei
rcult
urewit
hthem,i
ncl
udi
ngdi
ffer
entpat
ter
nsof
famil
yli
fe,of
tentaki
ngtheform oft
heextendedfamil
y.

 Sincethe1950s,morepeoplehavecometoli
vei
ntheUK, f
ormanyreasons,
incl
udi
ngneeding
asylum f
rom warandviol
ence,j
oini
ngfami
l
ymember sal
readyl
iv
inghereandbecauseof
changestoEuropeanlawthatall
owspeopl
etoworkanywherewi
thi
ntheEuropeanUnion.

 ManyFemini
stsseethi
schangeasposi
ti
ve,becausewomenaremovi
ngawayf
rom count
ri
es
wheret
heyhavefew
ornori
ght
s,someti
meswher er
apeisusedasaweaponinciv
ilwar
s.
  TheNewRightarecompl
etel
yagai
nsti
mmi
grat
ion,
becausei
twat
ersdownBr
it
ishcul
tur
eand
(t
heysay)l
eadsto
hi
gherunemploy
ment.

 ManyFuncti
onal
i
stsagreewi
ththeNewRi
ghtopi
nion,
butsomepoi
ntt
otheusef
ulf
unct
ion
ser
vedbyimmigrat
ioni
nthe1950s.

Whyi
smar
ri
agel
esspopul
ar?

 Femini
stswoul
dar
guethatt
hedecl
i
neofmar
ri
agei
sar
esul
tofwomenbei
ngmor
eawar
ethat
theyar
eexpl
oit
edi
nthenucl
earf
amil
y.

 Fewerwomenar
ewi l
l
ingtoti
ethemsel
vesdownt
ooneman,
andmor
ear
ewi
l
li
ngt
olookf
or
moreful
fi
ll
i
ngal
ter
nati
ves.

 However,t
henumberofwomenwhoremar
rysuggest
sthatmarri
agecont
inuestoat
tract
women;perhapsmanyseet
hepr
obl
em moreasfindi
ngther
ightpar
tnerr
athert
hanthenatur
e
ofmar
riageit
self
.

 Anotherr
easonmaybethecostoft
heaver
agetradi
ti
onalchur
chweddi
ng.Theaveragecosti
s
nowabout£8000.Aregi
str
yoff
icemaybecheaperbutmanypeopl
ewil
lfeel
thatt
heyhav e
missedoutift
heyt
akethi
sopti
on.

 Mor erecentl
y,anewsetofideashasari
senandhasbeenbehindmanygover
nmentpolici
es.
ThisNewRi ghtviewisconcer
nedbywhatitseesasthedecli
neoft
henucl
earfami
ly.The
stableenvir
onmentchildr
enneed,i
tisar
gued,hasbeenundermi
nedbyawholeser
iesof
changesbegi nni
nginthe1960s.

 Theseincl
ude:
easierabor
ti
onandcont
racept
ionmorediv
orceandco-
habit
ationthe
ri
seoflonepar
ent
smor ei
ll
egi
ti
matebi
rt
hswomengoi ngouttoworki
ngreaternumber
s--
theyar
eseenastaki
ngmen'sjobsandmakingi
thar
derf
orment obebr
eadwinners.

 Allt
hesechangesareseenasevidenceofcoll
apsei
nmoral
sandthecr
isi
sinthef
amil
y,and
asl
eadingt
oot herprobl
emssuchasgr owingcr
imeanddr
ugabuse.Weneed,
saytheNew
Ri
ght,t
oret
urnt otr
aditi
onal
fami
l
yv alues.

 I
dent
if
yandexpl
aint
wot
ypesofmar
ri
age.[
8]
 I
dent
if
yandexpl
aint
wor
easonswhyacoupl
emaychoosenott
omar
ry.[
8]

Adopt
ion– Thet
rendi
sfr
om cl
osedadopt
ion(
wher
eal
lrecor
dsar
eseal
edatt
het
imeoft
he
adopt
ion)t
oopenadopt
ion(
wher
eaccesst
oadopt
ionr
ecor
dsi
sav
ail
abl
etobi
rt
hpar
ent
s,adopt
ive
par
ent
sandt
headopt
ee.
)Thet
rendbeganwi
tht
heneedt
oaccessmedi
cali
nfor
mat
ion/hi
stor
yof
bi
ologi
cal
par
ent
s.
Ther
ear
emanyunr
esol
vedet
hicalandl
egali
ssues,howev
er.I
frecor
dsar
eseal
ed,t
henopened,
pr
ivacyv
iol
ati
onsoccur
.Ifpr
ospect
iveadopt
ivepar
ent
slear
nofmedi
calpr
obl
emsi
nthechi
l
d’s
f
ami
l
yhi
stor
y,wi
l
ltheyt
urndownt
headopt
ion?Whoser
ight
sar
emosti
mpor
tant
?Thechi
l
d?The
bi
ologi
calpar
ent
s? Theadopt
ivepar
ent
s? Fi
nal
l
y,l
awsv
aryf
rom st
atet
ost
ateandsomepeopl
e
(
notal
l
)ar
eopt
ingf
ort
otal
l
yopenadopt
ionswher
ethebi
ologi
calmot
her(
andpossi
blyf
ather
)and
adopt
ivepar
ent
sknoweachot
herandmayev
enshar
evi
sit
ati
onandcust
odyr
ight
s.

Di
vor
ce-TheU.
S.di
vor
cer
atei
sthehi
ghesti
nthewor
ldbuti
sdecl
i
ning.Af
terr
emai
ningatcl
oset
o
50%off
ir
stmar
ri
agesf
orsev
eraldecades,i
tbegant
ofal
lin1996.I
tisnowabout40%.Howev
er,
t
her
ear
edi
sti
ncteducat
ionandsoci
alcl
assdi
ff
erencessi
nceoneoft
hemaj
ori
ssuesi
ndi
vor
cei
s
economi
cinst
abi
l
ity
.Formi
ddl
eandupperi
ncomecoupl
eswi
thcol
l
egedegr
ees,
ther
atei
slesst
han
30%.Themaj
ori
tyofdi
vor
cedpeopl
eremar
ry.

Egal
i
tar
ianMar
ri
ages-Theshar
eofmot
her
sempl
oyedout
sidet
hehomehasquadr
upl
edsi
ncet
he
1950sandt
odaynear
ly3/
4ofwomenwi
thchi
l
drenwor
kout
sidet
hehome.Thenumberofwomen
whoar
ethei
rfami
l
ies'sol
eorpr
imar
ybr
eadwi
nner
shasi
ncr
easedt
o40%t
odayf
rom 11%i
n1960.
Cul
tur
alat
ti
tudesar
eadapt
ing.62% ofal
lAmer
icans,and72% ofadul
tsunder30,v
iew ani
deal
mar
ri
ageasonewher
ethehusbandandwi
febot
hwor
kout
sidet
hehomeandshar
echi
l
dcar
eand
househol
ddut
ies.

For
msofMar
ri
age

Monogamy–t
wopeopl
emar
ri
edonl
ytoeachot
her
.Mostof
tent
hisi
sonemanandonewomanbut
i
nsomenat
ions,
andsomest
atesi
ntheU.
S.,
monogamousmar
ri
agemaybebet
weent
woper
sonsof
t
hesamesex.

Ser
ialMonogamy–ani
ndi
vi
duali
smar
ri
edt
ooneper
sonatat
ime,
soi
tismonogamy
,buthasmor
e
t
hanonespousei
nhi
s/herl
i
fet
ime(
duet
odeat
h,di
vor
ce)
.Inmoder
nBr
it
ain,
mostofWest
ernEur
ope
andt
heUSA t
her
ear
ehi
ghr
atesofdi
vor
ceandr
emar
ri
age.Somepeopl
ekeepmar
ryi
ngand
di
vor
cingaser
iesofdi
ff
erentpar
tner
s,buteachmar
ri
agei
smonogamous.
.

Ser
ialMonogamy:Hav
ingsev
eralmar
ri
agepar
tner
s/l
ongt
ermr
elat
ionshi
psov
ert
hecour
seofone’
s
l
if
e,oneatatime.
Matr
if
ocal
:af amil
ycent
redonthefemal
e.Thef
emal
erunst
hehousehol
dandcombi
nesbot
hthe
‘
expr
essi
ve’and‘i
nstr
ument
al’
rol
es.

Pol
ygamy–oneper
sonl
egal
l
yhasmor
ethanonespouseatt
hesamet
ime.

Ther
ear
emor
ecul
tur
esi
nthewor
ldt
hatl
egal
l
yal
l
owpol
ygamyt
hant
her
ear
ethatl
egal
l
yal
l
owonl
y
monogamy(
li
ket
heU.
S.) Howev
er,mostpeopl
ewor
ldwi
del
i
vei
nmonogamousr
elat
ionshi
ps
becausepol
ygamyi
smor
eexpensi
veandonl
ythosewi
thgr
eateconomi
cresour
cescanaf
for
dto
pr
act
icei
t.Pol
ygamyt
akest
wof
orms.

Pol
ygy
ny–onemanandt
woormor
ewomen.Mor
ecommonoft
het
woduet
othet
radi
ti
onsof
pat
ri
archyandsoci
etalshor
tagesofmenduet
owar
. Af
tert
heI
ran/
IraqWar
,Ir
anpr
act
iceda
modi
fi
edf
orm ofpol
ygy
nyknownasmut
a.I
tissanct
ionedbysomei
nter
pret
ati
onsoft
heI
slami
c
(
Shi
i
te)f
ait
hbuthadf
all
enoutoff
avourdur
ingt
heShah’
sregi
me.

Duet
oashor
tageofmen(
becauseofwar
),i
twasbei
ngencour
aged. I
tisat
empor
aryv
erbal
cont
ractbet
weenamar
ri
edmanandanunmar
ri
edwoman.I
naf
ew cases,womenhav
emul
ti
ple
t
empor
arymar
ri
agest
osuppor
tthemsel
vesandt
hei
rchi
l
dren.Themaj
ori
ty,howev
er,ar
elongt
erm
andmeant
hatt
hemansi
mpl
ysuppor
tsmor
ethanonehousehol
d.I
tisi
mpor
tantt
oremembert
hat
chi
l
drenbor
nofmut
amar
ri
agesar
elegi
ti
mat
e.I
twasr
eli
giousl
ysanct
ionedandpr
act
icedt
orebui
l
d
soci
ety
.

Pol
ygamyi
sagener
alt
ermr
efer
ri
ngt
omar
ri
agebet
weenamemberofonesexandt
woormor
e
member
soft
heopposi
tesexatt
hesamet
ime.Accor
dingt
oMur
doch,pol
ygamyi
sfoundi
nabout
76%ofal
lsoci
eti
es.They
'r
etwodi
ff
erentt
ypesofpol
ygamy
:

Pol
ygy
ny-pol
ygy
nyi
sthemar
ri
ageofonemant
o2ormor
ewomenatt
hesamet
ime.Thi
sisv
ery
commonandi
sfoundi
nabout75%ofal
lsoci
eti
es.I
tiswi
del
ypr
act
isedi
nIsl
ami
ccount
ri
essuchas
Egy
ptandSaudiAr
abi
a.I
tisal
sopr
act
ised(
il
legal
l
y)amongsomeMor
monsi
ntheSt
ateofUt
ahi
n
t
heUSA.Thepossessi
onofsev
eral
wiv
esi
sof
tenseenasasi
gnofweal
thandsuccessandgener
all
y
onl
ythosemenwhocanaf
for
dtosuppor
tsev
eralwi
vespr
act
icepol
ygy
ny.Becauseoft
his,ev
en
wher
epol
ygy
nyi
sal
l
owed,
onl
yasmal
lnumberofmenact
ual
l
ypr
act
icei
t.I
nanycase,
thenumber
s
ofmenandwomeni
nmostsoci
eti
esar
eusual
l
yfai
rl
yev
enl
ybal
anced,
andt
hey
'r
enotofwomenf
or
al
lment
ohav
emor
ethanonewi
fe.

Pol
yandr
y–onewomanandt
woormor
emen.Cur
rent
lypr
act
icedi
nTi
bet
.Int
ermsofpr
act
ical
i
ty,
it
makesnosense(
ther
eisnoshor
tageofwomeni
nTi
bet
.) Howev
er,i
tisembeddedi
ncul
tur
al
t
radi
ti
ons.I
tisani
n-gr
oup(
endogamous)f
orm ofmar
ri
agesucht
hat
,whenev
erpossi
ble,awoman
mar
ri
esaf
ami
l
yofbr
other
s.

Pol
yandr
y-pol
yandr
yist
hemar
ri
ageofonewomant
o2ormor
emenatt
hesamet
ime.Pol
yandr
y
appear
stoar
isewhenl
i
vingst
andar
dsar
esol
owt
hatamancanonl
yaf
for
dtosuppor
tawi
feand
chi
l
dbyshar
ingt
her
esponsi
bil
i
tywi
thot
hermen.I
tisf
oundamongt
heTodasofsout
her
nIndi
aand
t
heMar
quesan
I
slander
s,andhasbeenr
epor
tedasoccur
ri
ngi
npar
tsofTi
bet
.

DescentPat
ter
ns

Pat
ri
li
nealdescent–af
ami
l
y’sl
i
neagei
str
acedont
heman’
ssi
deoft
hef
ami
l
y.Commoni
nmost
Agr
ari
ansoci
eti
es.

Mat
ri
li
nealdescent–af
ami
l
y’sl
i
neagei
str
acedont
hewoman’
ssi
deoft
hef
ami
l
y.Commoni
n
Hunt
ingandGat
her
ingsoci
eti
es.TheJewi
shf
ait
htr
acesr
eli
giousher
it
aget
hroughf
emal
eli
neage.

Bi
l
ater
aldescent–af
ami
l
y’sl
i
neagei
str
acedonbot
hsi
desoft
hef
ami
l
y.Commoni
nIndust
ri
aland
Post
indust
ri
alsoci
eti
es,al
thoughv
est
igesofpat
ri
li
nealdescentr
emai
nsuchast
hest
il
lrel
ati
vel
y
commoncust
om oft
hechi
l
drent
aki
ngt
hef
ather
’sl
astname.

Newl
ywedResi
dencePat
ter
ns

Mat
ri
local
resi
dence–t
henewl
ywedcoupl
emov
einwi
tht
hebr
ide’
sfami
l
y.Ex:
Nav
ajo

Pat
ri
local
resi
dence–t
henewl
ywedcoupl
emov
einwi
tht
hegr
oom’
sfami
l
y.Ex:
Chi
na,
Viet
nam

Neol
ocalr
esi
dence–t
henewl
ywedcoupl
emov
eint
othei
rown,newr
esi
dence,separ
atef
rom ei
ther
si
deoft
hef
ami
l
y.Ex:U.
S.

Cour
tshi
pandMat
eSel
ect
ion

Endogamy–nor
msr
equi
ri
ng/
encour
agi
ngpeopl
etomar
rywi
thi
nthei
rsoci
algr
oup.Tr
adi
ti
onal
l
y,
t
hiswast
omai
ntai
nski
l
lsandpowerwi
thi
nthesoci
ety
.Todaymostpeopl
emar
ryendogamousl
y
becausewemor
efr
equent
lysoci
ali
zewi
thpeopl
esi
mil
art
ousi
nter
msofr
ace,
class,
rel
i
gion,
etc.
Exogamy–nor
msr
equi
ri
ng/
encour
agi
ngpeopl
etomar
ryout
sidet
hei
rgr
oup.Tr
adi
ti
onal
l
y,t
hiswas
t
obr
ingi
nneededski
l
lsort
omakepeacewi
thanot
hersoci
ety
.Today
,insoci
eti
eswher
epeopl
e
chooset
hei
rownmat
esf
orr
easonsofr
omant
icl
ove,t
her
eisani
ncr
easei
nexogamousmar
ri
ages.
Howev
er,
endogamyi
sst
il
lthenor
m.

Homogamy
/Het
erogamy

Homogamy–choosi
ngamat
ewi
thsi
mil
arper
sonal
i
tyandsoci
alchar
act
eri
sti
cs.Ex:t
woext
rov
ert
s
whoar
ebot
hCat
hol
i
candenj
oyt
heout
door
s.

Het
erogamy–choosi
ngamat
ewi
thdi
ssi
mil
arper
sonal
i
tyandsoci
alchar
act
eri
sti
cs.“
Opposi
tes
at
tr
act
.”Ex:
Ami
ddl
ecl
assPr
otest
antex
trov
ertandanuppercl
assHi
ndui
ntr
over
t.

*
Homogamyi
smor
esuccessf
uli
nmai
ntai
ningl
ongt
ermr
elat
ionshi
ps/
mar
ri
ages.

Matriarchy
:afami
lywher
et hef
emaledominat
es.Insomesoci
eti
esmat
ri
archymeanst
hatfami
ly
l
inagei spasseddownthroughthefemal
el i
nes.Matr
iar
chycoul
dbeseenast heopposi
teof
patr
iarchytoo.

Patr
iar
chy:Aform ofsoci
etyi
nwhichmalesar
etherul
ersandleader
sandexer
cisepower
,bot
hat
thel
evelofsoci
etyasawholeandwit
hini
ndi
vi
dual
househol
ds.

Funct
ional
i
stper
spect
iveonf
ami
l
y
Gener
alassumpt
ions

 Soci
etyi
sli
ket
hehumanbody

 Sy
stemsi
nthebodywor
kst
oget
herf
ort
hebenef
itoft
hewhol
e.

 Eachsy
stem i
srel
i
antoneachot
her

 Eachsy
stem hasshar
edr
ules(
Nor
ms&Val
ues)sot
heyar
eal
way
sinhar
monywi
tht
heot
her
syst
ems.

 Ther
eis‘
consensus’
bet
weenal
lsy
stems

 Thisconsensusi
sstar
tedwithpri
marysoci
ali
sat
ioni
nthef
ami
l
yandt
henr
einf
orcedbyev
ery
system i
nthebody–educat
ion,chur
ch,
mediaetc

Howdoest
hisappl
ytof
ami
l
y?

Whenconsi
der
ingtherol
eoffamil
yinsoci
ety
,funct
ional
i
stsuphol
dthenoti
ont
hatf
ami
l
iesar
ean
i
mport
antsoci
ali
nsti
tuti
onandthatt
heypl
ayakeyr ol
einstabi
l
izi
ngsoci
ety
.

Theyal
sonot
ethatf
ami
l
ymember
stakeonst
atusr
olesi
namar
ri
ageorf
ami
l
y.Thef
ami
l
y—andi
ts
member
s—per
for
m cer
tai
nfunct
ionst
hatf
aci
l
itat
ethepr
osper
it
yanddev
elopmentofsoci
ety
.

 Funct
ional
i
stsseet hefamil
yasPOSI TI
VEforsoci
ety.Theybel
i
evet
hatt
henucl
earfami
lyi
sa
posi
ti
veinsti
tut
iont hati
sbenefi
cialtosoci
ety-theylookatthef
unct
ionst
hatthenucl
ear
famil
yperf
ormsf orthegoodofsociet
yasawhole.

 Sociol
ogistGeorgeMur dockconductedasurveyof250soci et
iesanddet
erminedthatther
e
are
fouruni
versalresi
dualfuncti
onsofthefamil
y,thesearereproducti
on,
pri
mar ysoci
ali
sati
on
(educat
ional
),emotional/sexual
grati
fi
cat
ion(sati
sfact
ion)andeconomicprovi
sion(support
):
(Lee1985).

 Reproducti
on:-.Soci
etyobviousl
yneedsnew membersifi
tistosur
viv
e.Thef ami
l
yhas
chil
drenwhichmeanst hehumanr acekeepsgoi
ng.Thef
amil
yhasani mpor
tantr
olei
n
procreat
ion(br
eeding)andchil
dbear
ing.

 Accordi
ngt oMur dock,thefami l
y(whichforhimincl
udest hestateofmarri
age)regulat
es
sexualr
elati
onsbet weeni ndi
vidual
s.Hedoesnotdenyt heexist
enceorimpactofpr emarit
alor
extr
amar i
talsex,
butst atesthatthefamilyoff
ersasociall
ylegit
imatesexualout
letforadult
s
(Lee1985).Thisoutletgiveswayt oreproduct
ion,whi
chi sanecessarypartofensuri
ngthe
survi
valofsociet
y .

 Thef
ami
l
yrepr
oducest
hehumanr
ight
sandt
hef
utur
ewor
kfor
ce.

 Sometimesfamili
esalsohelpt
or egul
ateadul
tsexualbehav
iour
.Thi
sisbecausethenuclear
famil
yinpar
ticul
arisbasedonmonogamy( arel
ati
onshipbet
weentwoindi
vi
duals-
-amanand
awoman) .Consequentl
y,marr
iedpeopleareexpectedtohaveonl
yonesexualpartner
,and
extr
amari
talsexisvi
ewedwithdisappr
oval
.

 Pri
mar ySoci
ali
sati
on:Societyneedstoensuret hatnewmember swillsuppor
titsnormsand
val
ues.Thefamilyt
eacheschi l
drennorms(acceptabl
ebehaviour)andv al
ues(r
ightandwrong).
Throughtheprimarysocial
isati
onprocess,whichtakesplacewi t
hinthef ami
ly,welearnthe
cul
tureandwayofl i
feofoursociety
.Insodoing, welear
nhowt ofiti
nandhowt oconfor
m.

 Oncechi
ldrenar
epr oduced,t
hefamil
yplay
sav i
talr
oleintrai
ningt
hem foradul
tli
fe.Asthe
pri
maryagentofsocial
izat
ionandencul
tur
ati
on,t
hef amil
yteachesyoungchil
drentheway sof
thi
nki
ngandbehavingthatfoll
owsocial
andcult
uralnorms,val
ues,bel
ief
s,andatti
tudes.

 Par
entsteachthei
rchi
l
drenmanner
sandci
vi
li
ty.Awel
l
-manner
edchi
l
dref
lect
sawel
l
-
manneredparent.
 Parentsal
soteachchil
drengenderroles.Genderr olesar
eanimpor t
antpartoftheeconomic
funct
ionofafamil
y.Ineachf ami
ly,t
hereisadi vi
sionoflaborthatconsi
stsofinst
rumental
andexpressi
verol
es.Ment endtoassumet heinstrumental
rol
esi nthef
ami l
y,whicht
ypical
l
y
i
nv ol
veworkoutsi
deofthef amil
ythatprovidesfinancial
supportandestabl
ishesfamil
ystat
us.

 Womentendtoassumetheexpressiv
erol
es,whicht
ypical
l
yinvol
veworkinsi
deofthef
amily
whi
chpr
ov i
desemoti
onalsupportandphy
sical
careforchi
ldr
en(CranoandAronof
f1978)
.

 Accordingtofunctional
ist
s,thedif
ferenti
ationoft her olesont hebasisofsexensurest hat
famil
iesar ewellbalancedandcoor dinated.Whenf ami lymember smov eoutsi
deoft hese
rol
es,thefamil
yisthrownoutofbalanceandmustr ecalibratei
nordertofunct
ionpr
operly
.For
example,ifthefatherassumesanexpr essiv
er ol
esuchaspr ovi
dingdayti
mecaref ort he
chil
dren,themot hermustt akeonani nstrumentalr olesuchasgai ni
ngpai dempl
oy ment
outsi
deoft hehomei norderfort
hefami l
yt omaintainbal anceandfuncti
on.

 I
nt hi
sway,t
hefamil
yalsoactsasanagencyofsoci
alcontr
ol.Theef
fect
sofnothav
ing
under
goneapr
ocessofpr
imar
ysoci
ali
sat
ionar
ever
yser
ious.

 Thefamil
yisasy stem withi
nthe‘body’
.Throughsocial
i
sationchi
ldrenl
earnthe‘
rul
es’(Nor
ms
&Values)ofthei
rsociety.Thisensuresthatsoci
etyconti
nuesinitsharmoni
ousstate.Sothe
fami
l
yi sanimportantsystem wit
hinsoci
ety–i ti
sabuildi
ngblockforsoci
ety

QUESTI
ONS:

1.“Thefamil
yisthemosti
mpor
tantagentofsoci
ali
sat
ion.
”Ev
aluat
ethear
gument
sforand
agai
nstthi
scl
aim.

2.I
dent
if
yandexpl
aint
woway
sthatf
ami
l
iesactasagent
sofsoci
alcont
rol
.

 Emot
ionalGrat
if
icati
onandNur t
ure:mostofusneedstabl
erel
ati
onshi
pswit
h,andsuppor
t
fr
om,otherpeople.Thefamil
ysuppliesuswit
hemot i
onalandpsychol
ogi
calsuppor
tand
comf
ort.I
tisaplaceofsaf
etyandsecuri
ty.

 EconomicProvi
sion(
support
):weal
lneedfi
nanci
alsuppor
t,f
oodandshel
ter
,parti
cul
arl
yifwe
areyoung,
elder
lyorsi
ck.Thefamil
ymeetstheseneedsi.
e.t
hefami
lygi
vesfinanci
alsuppor
t,
i
tfeedsandprovi
desshelt
erfori
tsmembers

Al
thoughthefamil
yhaslostmanyofit
sf unct
ions,
itst
il
lhast
woi
mpor
tantf
unct
ionsaccor
dingt
o
af
unctional
i
stsoci
ologi
sts,Tal
cot
tParsons:

 Famil
yper formsessenti
alfuncti
onsf orsoci
etyandi tsmember s.Accor
dingtoPar sonsthe
fami
lyis‘functi
onall
yfi
t’–itfi
tstheneedsoft hesociet
yiti
sin.Inprei
ndustr
ialsoci
etyitwas
anextendedf amil
yandinindustr
ialsoci
etyi
tisnowt henucl
earfamily.

 Stabil
i
sati
onofadult
s-Fami
lyissomewherethatt
heworki
ngmancanrel
axandbethemsel
ves
–t akeoutthei
rfr
ust
rati
onsinsafeenv
ironmentrat
hert
hanatwor
k.Thest
abi
li
sat
ionofadul
t
personal
it
ies.

 Thef
ami
l
yal
sopr
ovi
descomf
ortandsecur
it
yforexampl
emember
saswel
laschi
l
dren.The
 secondfunct
ionhassometimesbeencall
edt
he“warm bat
h”-
-thef
ami
l
yhasawar
m,l
ovi
ng
envi
ronmentwherethecar
esoftheworl
dcanbewashedaway.

Howhast
hisv
iewbeencr
it
ici
sedbyot
hert
heor
y’s/
wri
ter
s?

 Assumesthefamil
yishar
moni
ousandi
gnor
econf
li
ctandexpl
oit
ati
onl
i
kechi
l
dabuseand
women’soppr
essi
on

 Assumest
henucl
earf
ami
l
yisuni
ver
sal
l
ythenor
m andi
gnor
esf
ami
l
ydi
ver
sit
y

 Cr
it
ici
sedbyMar
xist
swhoseet
heconf
li
cti
nsoci
ety

 Femi
nistcr
it
ici
sei
tforbei
ngoppr
essi
vet
owomen–ser
vest
heneedsofmen

 Functi
onal
lyfi
tideaofpar
sonshasbeendi
sprov
edastherei
sevidenceofnucl
earf
ami
l
y’si
n
prei
ndustr
ial
timesoft
endi
dnotli
vel
ongenoughtoseegr
andchi
l
dren

 Extendedfami
li
esinindustr
ial
times(
Ander
son)–pov
ert
ymeantt
hatt
hiswast
hebestt
ypeof
familyformut
ualsupport

 Lossoffunct
ionwi
thi
ndust
ri
ali
sat
ion-f
ami
l
ynol
ongerpr
ovi
deeducat
ionandheal
thcar
e,t
he
stat
edoes.

Mar
xistPer
spect
iveont
heFami
l
y
Whatdot
heybel
i
eve?Howdoest
hei
rtheor
yappl
ytot
hef
ami
l
y?

 Soci
etybasedoncapi
tal
i
sm.

 Conf
li
ctbet
weenr
uli
ngcl
assandwor
kingcl
ass.

 Soci
etyi
sbasedoni
nequal
i
tybet
weent
hesecl
asses

 Al
lsy
stemsi
nsoci
ety
,educat
ion,
chur
ch,
medi
a,sat
ehel
pmai
ntai
nthecl
assi
nequal
i
ty

 Theworki
ngclasshavedev
elopedafal
secl
assconsci
ousness=>t
heybel
i
evet
hati
tis
ri
ghtt
hattheyworkfort
herul
ingcl
ass,

 Mar xi
stsseethefami l
yasNEGATI VEforsociet
y .Marxi
stsarecri
ti
calofthefamil
yandsoci
ety
.
Theybel i
evesoci
et yisbasedonaconf li
ctbetweent heclasses–wor ki
ngclassandrul
ing
class.Thefamil
yhel pst omaintai
nclassdif
ferencesinsociet
yast herichcanaffor
dtogive
theirchi
ldr
enabet terstarti
nli
fethanthepoor,e.g.payforabettereducati
onandgetthem a
goodj obeit
heri
nt heirownbusinessorthei
rfri
endsbusinesses.

 Marxi
stsbel
iev
ethef
ami
l
ysoci
ali
sest
hewor
kingcl
asst
oacceptt
hati
tisf
airt
hatt
hecl
asses
ar
eunequal.

 Confl
ictt
heor
ist
sarequicktopoi
ntoutt
hatAmeri
canfamil
ieshavebeendef
inedaspri
vate
ent
it
ies,t
heconsequenceofwhi
chhasbeentol
eavefamil
ymat t
erstoonl
ythosewit
hinthe
 f
ami
l
y.

 Confl
i
ctt
heor
yhi
ghlight
stherol
eofpoweri
nfamil
yli
feandcont
endst
hatt
hef
ami
l
yisof
ten
notahav
enbutr
atheranarenawher
epowerstr
uggl
escanoccur.

 Thisexerci
seofpowerof t
enentai
lst
heperfor
manceoffamilystat
usr ol
es.Confl
icttheor
ists
mayst udyconfl
ict
sassimpleastheenfor
cementofrul
esfrom parenttochil
d,ortheymay
examinemor eseriousi
ssuessuchasdomesti
cviol
ence(spousalandchild)
,sexualassault
,
marit
al r
ape,andincest
.

 Thef ir
ststudyofmari
talpowerwasper f
ormedin1960.Resear
cher
sfoundthattheper
son
with
themostaccesst oval
uer esourceshel
dthemostpower.Asmoneyisoneofthemost
valuable
resources,menwhowor kedi npaidl
aborout
sideoft
hehomehel dmorepowerthanwomen
who
wor kedinsi
dethehome( BloodandWol f
e1960).

 Conflictt
heori
stsfi
nddisputesov erthedivi
sionofhousehol dlabort obeacommonsour ceof
mar i
taldi
scord.Househol
dl aboroffersnowagesand, theref
ore,nopower .Studiesi
ndi
cate
thatwhenmendomor ehousewor k,womenexper iencemor esatisfacti
oni
nt hei
rmarri
ages,
reducingthei
ncidenceofconf l
ict(Colt
rane2000) .Ingeneral
,conf l
i
cttheori
ststendtostudy
areasofmar r
iageandlif
ethati nvolv
einequalit
iesordiscrepanciesi npowerandauthori
ty,as
theyar er
efl
ecti
veofthelargersocialstruct
ure.

•Revol
uti
on=>whenwor ki
ng cl
assreal
i
set
heyar
ebei
ng expl
oit
ed t
heywi
l
lrev
oltFami
l
y
per
for
msimpor
tantf
unct
ionsforcapi
tal
i
sm

Passi
ngonweal
th=>makesur
eit
’sy
ourson

I
deological
funct
ion=>justif
iesr
uli
ngclassposi
ti
onofpower&worki
ngcl
assaccept
ance
•Unitofconsumption=>f amil
ybuytheproduct
sitmakesf
ormorethant
heyarepai
dtoproducei
t
thusmakemor eprofit
sf orRuli
ngclass

Whatar
ethest
rengt
hsoft
hesev
iewswi
thr
egar
dthef
ami
l
y?

 Expl
ainst
hei
nequal
i
tyi
nsoci
ety

 Expl
ainshowwor
kingcl
assacceptt
hisi
nequal
i
ty

 Expl
ainshow capi
tali
sm ev
olv
edt
hrought
hebui
l
dingupofweal
thandneedt
opasson
weal
thtoyourownf amil
y

Howhast
hisv
iewbeencr
it
ici
sedbyot
hert
heor
y’s/
wri
ter
s?


Assumest
henucl
earf
ami
l
yisdomi
nant&i
gnor
esgr
owi
ngf
ami
l
ydi
ver
sit
y.

 Femi
nist
scr
it
ici
sei
tfori
gnor
ingt
heexpl
oit
ati
onofwomen– f
ami
l
yser
vesmennot
 capi
tal
i
sm

 Functi
onali
stsayMar xi
stsi
gnor
ethebenef
it
sthef
ami
l
ybr
ingsi
tsmemberi
nmut
ual
supportandint
imacy

 Funct
ional
i
star
guet
hatwel
i
vei
nconsensusnotconf
li
ct

 Ther
ehasnotbeenar
evol
uti
on.Kar
lMar
x:oneoft
hef
oundi
ngf
ather
sofsoci
ology

 Developedtheor
yofsoci
ety–conf
li
ctt
heor
yBasedoni
nequal
i
ty–t
hoset
hathav
erul
e
thosethathavenot
.

 Maintaint
hei
rposi
ti
onofpowerthr
oughi
deol
ogy–t
hev
iewsoft
hedomi
nantcl
assbei
ng
acceptedbyt
hesubordi
nat
ecl
ass.

 Wor
kingcl
asshaveaf
alsecl
assconsci
ousness–wi
l
lbear
evol
uti
ononcet
heyr
eal
i
se
t
hei
rexpl
oit
ati
on

 I
npri
mit
ivesoci
etynorestr
ict
ionsonsexualr
elat
ionshi
ps–asweal
thwasaccumul
atedso
r
ichmenneededtoensurepaterni
ty=>monogamywasessenti
al

FEMI
NISTPERSPECTI
VEONTHEFAMI
LY

 Al
lhav
eacommonbel
i
eft
hatwel
i
vei
naPat
ri
archal
soci
ety-Al
lSeekequal
i
tyf
orwomen

 Femini
sm Femini
stsseethefamilyasNEGATIVEf orsociet
y.Femini
stsbeli
evet hefamil
yis
badforwomen.Gi rl
sandboy slearnthei
rdif
ferentgenderrol
eswi t
hinthef amil
yt hr
ough
soci
ali
sat
ion.Gi
rl
scopythei
rmothers,doi
nghousework,whil
stboyscopythei
rfathers.

 Theythenl
ear
nthatt
hisi
showmaleandfemal
er olesshoul
dbe.Femi
nist
sbel
i
evet
hatt
he
f
amil
yismaledomi
nat
ed–t het
ermf
ort
hisi
spat
riarchal
.

Li
ber
alFemi
nism

Whatdot
heybel
i
eve?Howdoest
hei
rtheor
yappl
ytot
hef
ami
l
y?

Gai
ningequal
i
tyt
hroughcampai
gni
ng

Hasbr
oughtgr
eat
erequal
i
tyi
nthef
ami
l
y

Women’
svot
e,SexDi
scr
imi
nat
ionAct
,Equal
PayAct

Si
mil
arv
iewt
o‘Mar
chofpr
ogr
ess’
view–t
hingsar
eget
ti
ngbet
ter

Whatar
ethest
rengt
hsoft
hesev
iewswi
thr
egar
dthef
ami
l
y?

Campai
gni
nghasbr
oughtt
hef
ami
l
ycl
osert
oequal
i
ty

Shar
edr
olesi
nthef
ami
l
ywi
thmendoi
ngmor
e
 At
ti
tudest
ohowboy
sandgi
rl
sar
esoci
ali
sedi
schangi
ng

Howhast
hisv
iewbeencr
it
ici
sedbyot
hert
heor
y’s/
wri
ter
s?

Changesi
nlawdonotmeanchangesi
nat
ti
tude

Marxist& Radicalfemini
stcrit
ici
se vi
ew f
orignor
ing t
he under
lyi
ng cause ofi
nequal
i
ty and
oppressi
on
MarxistFemi
nism whatdotheybeli
eve?Howdoest
hei
rtheor
yapplyt
othefamily
?

Seecapi
tal
i
sm ast
hesour
ceofwomen’
soppr
essi
on

Womenper
for
mvi
tal
funct
ionsf
orcapi
tal
i
sm

Repr
oduci
ngt
henextl
abourf
orce

Absor
bingmen’
sanger

Reser
vear
myofcheapl
abour

Whatar
ethest
rengt
hsoft
hesev
iewswi
thr
egar
dthef
ami
l
y?

Hi
ghl
i
ght
swomen’
sexpl
oit
ati
onbycapi
tal
i
sm

Dual
bur
den/
tri
pleshi
ft
/reser
vear
myofl
abour

Howhast
hisv
iewbeencr
it
ici
sedbyot
hert
heor
y’s/
wri
ter
s?

Ignor
esmoder ndayl
ifewherethewomancanbet hebr
eadwinnerwomenwereoppr
essedbef
ore
capit
ali
sm sonoguar
anteet
hatabol
i
tionofcapi
tal
i
sm wil
lmeanendofoppr
essi
on

Keypl ay
ers:Whatdot heysay?Fr anAnsl
ey–“womenar etaker
sofshi t
”Theydealwi ththei
r
husband’sangerandf
rustr
ati
onsfr
om work.Shebel
i
evest
hatwomenar eoppressed-dualortr
ipl
e
burden.Howeverwomenar eworki
ngaswellashavi
ngchi
l
drenherresear
chdoesnotacknowledge
thi
s

Radi
cal
Femi
nism

Whatdot
heybel
i
eve?Howdoest
hei
rtheor
yappl
ytot
hef
ami
l
y?

Keydivi
sioninsocietyisbetweenmen&womenBel ievethatpat
ri
archyl
eadst
othesubordinat
ionof
womenandchi l
drenint hehomeandi nwi derSeepatri
archyassourceofwomen’
soppressionMen
benef
itfr
om t hefamilysociety.Rapeandsexualassault=>malepowerWantt oabol
i
sht hefamil
y,
womencanl i
vewithoutmen
Whataret hestr
engthsoft heseviewswit
hr egar
dthefami l
y?

Hi
ghl
i
ght
showwomenar
esubj
ect
edt
omal
edomi
nance

Hi
ghl
i
ghtt
hepowermenhav
eov
erwomenShowshowt
hispoweri
sexer
ted

Howhast
hisv
iewbeencr
it
ici
sedbyot
hert
heor
y’s/
wri
ter
s?
I
gnor
esf
actt
hatsomewomenl
i
ket
oli
vewi
thmenandl
i
kebei
ngmot
her
s

Li
ber
alfemi
nistcr
iti
cisefornotseeinghow women’
sli
veshav
eimpr
oved,bet
terj
obs,accesst
o
di
vor
ce,
cont
roloverfert
il
it
y,choi
ceaboutmar
ri
age

Key pl
ayer
s:What do they say
? Germaine Gr
eer:‘sleeping wi
tht
he enemy
’ pol
i
tical
l
esbi
ani
sm’=>cr
eat
eal
lfemal
ehousehol
dstoendmaleoppression

Di
ff
erenceFemi
nism Whatdot
heybel
i
eve?Howdoest
hei
rtheor
yappl
ytot
hef
ami
l
y?

Womenar
edi
ff
erentandexper
ienceoppr
essi
ondi
ff
erent
lydependi
ngoncl
assoret
hni
cit
y

ManyBl
ackf
ami
l
iesseet
hef
ami
l
yasposi
ti
veI
tact
sasasuppor
tint
hef
aceofr
aci
aloppr
essi
on

Whatar
ethest
rengt
hsoft
hesev
iewswi
thr
egar
dthef
ami
l
y?

Acknowledgethatwomenhav edif
fer
entexperi
encesWetheref
orecannotgenerali
seaboutwomen’
s
exper
iences
•Despitedif
ferenceswomendoshar emanyoft hesameexperience,compar
edt oment heyf
acea
great
erriskofdomesti
cviol
ence,
sexualassaul
t,l
owpay,
li
vinginpov er
ty,
expl
oit
ati
on


SymbolicInteracti
oni
sm
I
nt er
acti
onistsviewtheworl
dint
ermsofsy
mbol
sandt
hemeani
ngsassi
gnedt
othem
(LaRossaandRei t
zes1993)
.

 Thefamil
yitsel
fisasymbol.Tosome,iti
safat
her
,mot
her
,andchi
l
dren;
toot
her
s,i
tisany
uni
onthatinvol
vesrespectandcompassi
on.

 Inter
act ionistsstresst hatfami l
yisnotanobj ectiv
e, concretereali
ty.Li
keot hersoci al
phenomena, itisasoci al const r
uctthatissubj ectt otheebbandf lowofsoci al nor msandev er
-changi ngmeani ngs.
Considert hemeani ngofot herelement soff ami l
y:“parent”wasasy mbol ofabi ologicaland
emot ional connect iontoachi ld;wit
hmor epar ent-chil
drelationshipsdevelopingt hrough
adopt i
on, remar r
iage,orchangei nguar dianship,thewor d“ parent”todayislessl ikelytobe
associ atedwi t
habi ol
ogical connectiont hanwi thwhoev eri ssociall
yrecognizedashav ingthe
responsi bili
tyforachi l
d’supbr ingi
ng.Simi larl
y,thet er
ms“ mot her
”and“ f
ather ”ar enol onger
rigi
dlyassoci atedwi ththemeani ngsofcar egiverandbr eadwi nner.Thesemeani ngsar emor e
free-
flowi ngt hroughchangi ngf amil
yr oles.

 Int
eractioni
stsalsorecogni
zehowthefamil
yst
atusrol
esofeachmemberaresocial
l
y
constructed,pl
ayinganimport
antpar
tinhowpeopleper
cei
veandint
erpr
etsoci
albehav
ior
.

 I
nteract
ionist
sviewt hefamil
yasagr oupofr oleplayersor“actors”t
hatcomet ogethert
oact
outthei
rpar t
sinanef for
ttoconstr
uctaf amily
.Theser olesareupf ori
nter
pretati
on.Int
he
l
ate19thandear ly20thcentur
y,a“goodf at
her,”forexample,wasonewhowor kedhardto
prov
idedfinanci
al securi
tyf
orhischil
dren.Today, a“goodfather”isonewhot akestheti
me
 outsi
deofwor
ktopr
omotehi
schi
l
dren’
semoti
onalwel
l
-bei
ng,
soci
alski
l
ls,
andi
ntel
l
ect
ual
growth—i
nsomeways,
amuchmoredaunt
ingt
ask.

 The pr imar yf unct ion oft he f ami lyi st or eproduce soci et

y ,bot h bi ological
ly,t hrough
procr eation,andsoci ally,thr oughsoci al i
zation.Gi vent hesef uncti
ons,one' sexper ienceof
one' sf ami l
yshi ftsov ert ime.Fr om t heper spect i
veofchi l
dren,t hef ami l
yi saf ami lyof
orientation:t hef ami lyf unct i
onst ol ocat echi ldrensoci ally,andpl ay samaj orrolei nt heir
soci ali
zat i
on.Fr om t hepoi ntofv iewoft hepar ent (s),thef ami l
yi saf ami lyofpr ocreation:the
fami lyfunct ionst opr oduceandsoci alizechi ldr en.I nsomecul turesmar ri
agei mposesupon
woment heobl igationt obearchi l
dr en.Innor ther nGhana, f orexampl e, pay mentofbr i
deweal th
signifies a woman' sr equirementt o bearchi l
dr en,and women usi ng bi rth controlf ace
subst ant i
alt hreat sofphy sicalabuseandr epr i
sal s.
[211]Pr oducingof fspringi snott heonl y
funct i
onoft hef ami ly
.Mar riagesomet i
mesest abl i
shest hel egalf atherofawoman' schild;
establ i
shest hel egalmot herofaman' schi ld;gi vest hehusbandorhi sf ami lycontrolov erthe
wife'ssex ualser vices,l abor ,and/ orpr oper ty;gi v est hewi feorherf ami l
ycont r
olov erthe
husband' ssexualser vi
ces,l abor ,and/ orpr oper ty;est ablishesaj oi
ntf undofpr opertyf orthe
benef itofchi l
dr en;est abl i
shesar elationshipbet weent hef amiliesoft hehusbandandwi fe.
Nosoci etydoesal loft hese;nooneoft hesei suni ver sal.[
212]I nsoci etieswi t
hasexual
divisionofl abor ,mar r
iage,andt her esul t
ingr elationshi pbet weenahusbandandwi f
e,i s
necessar yf ort hef ormat i
onofaneconomi cal lypr oduct ivehousehol d.I nmoder nsoci eti
es
mar riageent ail
spar t i
cularr ightsandpr i
vil
eget hatencour aget hefor mat ionofnew f amili
es
evenwhent herei snoi ntentionofhav ingchi ldr en