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Theoretica I Perspectives on Families

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Theoretica I Perspectives on Families multifamily householdsconsisting of an older mar- patterns of family life and variations in ried couple,their unmarried children,their married structure.Functionalist perspectives emphasize sons,and their sons'wivesand children. functionsthat familiesperform at the m z Few societies have residential patterns o known of society,whereas conflict and feminist F as matrilocal residence-the custom of a married f tives focuson familiesas a primary sourceof ts couple living in the same household (or commu- inequality. Symbolic interactionists examine 6 z nity) as the wife's parents. In industrialized nations level interactions that are integral to the roles of sJ suchas the United States,most coupleshope to live ferent family members. U o in a neolocal residence-the custom of a married ut couple living in their own residence apart from FunctionalistPerspectives i s both the husband's and the wife's parents. To this point, we haveexamined a variety of mar- Functionalists emphasizethe importance of thd riage and family patterns found around the world. family in maintaining the stability of society en4 Evenwith the diversityof thesepatterns, most peo- the well-being of individuals. According to Emi\ ple's behavior is shaped by cultural rules pertain- Durkheim, marriage is a microcosmic replicl ing to endogamy and exogamy.Endogamy is the of the larger society; both marriage and society practice of marrying within one's own group. In involve a mental and moral fusion of physical[ the United States,for example,most people prac- distinct individuals (Lehmann, 1994).Durkhei4 tice endogamy:They marry peoplewho comefrom also believed that a division of labor contributes the samesocial class, racial-ethnic group, religious to greaterefficiency in all areasof life-including affi.liation,and other categoriesconsidered impor- marriagesand families-even though he acknowl- tant within their own social group. Exogamy is the edged that this division imposes significant practice of marrying outside one's own social limitations on somepeople. group or category. Depending on the circum- In the United States,Talcott Parsonswas a key stances,exogamy may not be noticed at all, or it figure in developing a functionalist model of tln may result in a personbeing ridiculed or ostracized "in" by other membersof the group.The three most important sourcesof positiveor negativesanctions for intermarriage are the family, the church, and the state.Participants in these social institutions may look unfavorablyon the marriage of an in-group 'butsider" member to an becauseof the belief that it diminishessocial cohesion in the group (Kalmijn, 1998). However, educationalattainment is also a strong indicator of marital choice. Higher educa- tion emphasizesindividual achievement,and col- lege-educatedpeople may be lesslikely than others to identifr themselveswith their social or cultural roots and thus more willing to marry outside their 'a own socialgroup or categoryiftheir potential part- ner sharesa similar level of educationalattainment (Hwang,Saenz, and Aguirre, 1995;Kalmijn, 1998). o Functionalisttheorists believe that families serve a variety offunctionsthat no othersocial institution can adequately TheoreticaI Perspectives fulfill.ln contrasLconflict and feminist theorists believe on Families that familiesmay be a sourceof conflictover values, goals, andaccess to resourcesand power. Children in upper-class The nciology of family is the subdiscipline of familieshave many advantages and opportunities that are sociology that attempts to describe and e:rplain notavailable to otherchildren. ASATask Force Recommendation: #6 Empiricaland Theoretical . Research3"lfit is to be done well,child-rearing requires, more Analysis than most activitiesof life,a good deal of decenteringfrom . Sociological lmagination:"The life-fateof the modern individual one'sown needsand perspectives.Such decentering is relatively dependsnot onlyupon the familyinto which he was born or which easywhen a societyis stableand when there is an extended, he entersby marriage,but increasinglyupon the corporationin which supportivestructure that the parent can depend upon" (David he spendsthe mostalert hours of hisbest years" (C. Wright Mills). Have Elkind).Have the classresearch this decenteringprocess and the classdiscuss and write a briefevaluationofthis statement. factorsthat affectit. tamily. Accordirtgto Parsons(1955), the husband/ Conflictand Feminist Perspectives fatherfulfills the instrumentalrole (meeting the fam- Conflict and ily's economicneeds, making important decisions, feminist analysts view functionalist perspectives andproviding leadership),whereas the wife/mother on the role of the family in society as n idealized T fulfills the expressiverole (running the household, and inadequate.Rather than operatinghar- moniously - caring for children, and meeting the emotional and for the benefit of all members,fami- m needsof family members). lies are sourcesof social inequality and conflict over values,goals, and accessto resources power. Contemporary functionalist perspectives on and n families derive their foundation from Durkheim. According to someconflict theorists,families in = capitalisteconomies Division of labor makesit possiblefor families to aresimilar to the work environ- ; ment of a factory.Women are dominated by men 6 fulfill a number of functions that no other institu- z in the home 0 tion can perform as effectively.In advancedindus- in the same manner that workers are dominatedby capitalistsand managers z trial societies,families serve four key functions: in factories r-{ (Engels,197011884). Although childbearingand care = { for family membersin the home m l. Sexualregtlation. Familiesare expectedto regu- contribute to capi- u talism, these m latethe sexualactivity of their membersand thus activitiesalso reinforcethe subordina- r tion ofwomen through (and control reproductionso that it occurswithin spe- unpaid often devalued) 6 labor. Other gz cific boundaries.At the macrolevel,incest taboos conflict analysts are concerned with the effect = prohibit that class conflict has on the family. The ! sexualcontact or marriagebetween cer- t, exploitation tain relatives.For example,virtually all societies of the lower classesby the upper classes contributes prohibit sexual relations between parents and to family problems such as high ratesof divorce and their children and betweenbrothers and sisters. overall family instability. Some feminist 2. Socialization.Parents and other relatives are perspectiveson inequality in families responsiblefor teaching children the necessary focuson patriarchyrather than class.From this viewpoint, knowledge and skills to survive. The smallness men's domination over women existedlong and intimacy of families make them best suited before capitalism and private owner- ship property (Mann, for providing children with the initial learning of 1994). Women'ssubor- experiencesthey need. dination is rooted in patriarchy and men'scontrol over women's labor (Hartmann, 3. Economicand psychologicalsupport. Families are power 1981). According "Male responsiblefor providing economicand psycho- to one scholar, power in our soci- logical support for members. In preindustrial ety is expressedin economicterms even if it does not originate societies,families are economic production units; in property relations;women's activi- ties in the home have in industrial societies,the economicsecurity of beenundervalued at the same families is tied to the workplaceand to macro- leveleconomic systems. In recentyears, psycho- FI matrilocal logicalsupport and emotionalsecurityhave been I resldencethe customof a marriedcouple increasinglyimportant functions of the family. I livingin thesame household (or community) as the parents. 4. Provisionof socialstatus. Families confer social wife's statusand reputation on their members.These neolocalresldence the customof a marriedcouple statuses include the ascribed statuses with livingin theirown residenceapart from both the which individuals are born, such as race/eth- husbandband ttre wifeb oarents. nicity, nationality, social class,and sometimes endogamy culturalnorms prescribing that people religiousaffiliation. One of the most significant marrywithin their socialgroup or category. and compelling forms of social placement is cxogamy culturalnorms prescribing that people the family's class position and the opportuni- marryoutside their social group or category. ties (or lack thereof) resulting from that posi- soclology tion. Examplesof class-relatedopportunities are of farnily the subdisciplineof sociology that attemptsto describeand explain patterns fam- accessto quality health care,higher education, of ilylife and variations in familystructure. and a safeplace to live. : TaskForce Recommendationl #6 Empiricaland Theoretical :5.
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