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Chapter 11 The Changing Family

Chapter 11 The Changing Family. The Problem in Sociological Perspective. Effects of the Industrial Revolution on the family Men left home Children became an economic liability Formal education A lower birthrate From rural to urban Loss of functions Changes in women’s roles. FIGURE 11.1.

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Chapter 11 The Changing Family

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  1. Chapter 11 The Changing Family

  2. The Problem in Sociological Perspective • Effects of the Industrial Revolution on the family • Men left home • Children became an economic liability • Formal education • A lower birthrate • From rural to urban • Loss of functions • Changes in women’s roles

  3. FIGURE 11.1 SLIDE 3 – INSERT FIGURE 11.1 ON PAGE 340 OF TEXT

  4. Divorce • Increased steadily since 1970 • Is divorce a sign of weakness or strength? • The children of divorce • The Nagging Dilemma of Divorce The Scope of the Problem

  5. One Parent Families • Births to unmarried women • Having just one parent • Impact on children • Absence of the father • Trying to be two parents • Discipline

  6. Other Problems • Runaway children • Pushouts: children shoved out by parents who no longer want them • Family violence

  7. Looking at the Family Theoretically: Why Is Divorce Common? • What marriage means to people has undergone extensive and fundamental change • For most the family is a major support system

  8. Symbolic Interactionism: Changing Symbols • Major Shifts in Mate Selection • The love symbol: engulfment into unrealistic expectations • Changing ideas about children • Changing expectations of parenting • Changing marital roles • Perception of alternatives • Changing ideas about divorce • Legal Changes

  9. Functionalism • How changes in the traditional functions of the family are related to divorce • Economic production • Socialization of children • Care of the sick and injured • Care of the aged • Recreation • Sexual control of family members • Reproduction

  10. Conflict and Feminist Theory • Male domination of marriage and family • False consciousness • Reproductive labor • Second shift • Power and the marital experience • Today’s women are less dependent on mates. • Marriage as an Arena for an Outgoing Historical Struggle

  11. POSTPONING MARRIAGE The U-Turn in Age at First Marriage Research Findings

  12. Research Findings POSTPONING MARRIAGE • Cohabitation • Rapid increase as sexual norms changed • Remaining Single COUPLES WITHOUT CHILDREN • In U.S., about 1 of 5 (19%) wives do not give birth • Choosing not to have Children • The “mythical child”

  13. FAMILY VIOLENCE Extent of violence―FBI reports Intimate partner violence Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence Equality Between the Sexes? Social Class and Violence

  14. Alcohol and violence The more people drink, the more likely they are to beat their spouse. The social heredity of violence Why Doesn’t She Just Leave? Spouse abuse as a defense for homicide

  15. Sexual Abuse in the Family • Types of Marital rape • Non-battering rape • Battering rape • Perverted rape • Effects of marital rape • Why do some women put up with marital rape? • Fear, low self-esteem, and little support

  16. Incest Incest taboo Extent of incest Who are the offenders? Family! Effects on victims The Pro-Incest Lobby Pedophile Liberation Army (PLA)

  17. The End of Marriage and Traditional Family? • Marriage is Weakening • Marriage Continues Strong • Changes and Challenges • What Do These Changes Mean? • The idea that the family has declined is a “sociological myth.”

  18. Social Policy • The Lasch Accusations: intrusions by professionals • Christopher Lasch • “People are trying to find in the family a refuge of love and decency in a cruel and heartless world.” • We have become a “therapeutic society.” • No evidence that these so-called experts have benefited the family • The dilemma of family policy: taking sides • Lasch’s claims expose division within social policy addressing family needs.

  19. The battleground of definitions: intervention or interference? Symbolic interactionists stress that our understanding of what “ought” to be depends on values. Often difficult to face controversial social policy without being prejudiced. The issue of poverty Many sociologists see poverty as the root of family troubles.

  20. The Future of the Problem • Rapid social change as normative • Change is so rapid and extensive that parents and children live in different worlds. • Future shock • Vertigo, the confusion, the disorientation experienced when our familiar world is transformed • Changes we can expect • Age at first marriage will continue upward • Cohabitation will continue to increase • Marriage will become even more oriented around companionship • Divorce rate will likely decline • The ideological struggle

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