Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family

Family • What does family mean to you? • How many “types” of families can think of?

Family • Broad definition: a group of 2 or more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption and live together (or have lived together) • A household is different- consists of all people who occupy the same housing unit

Types of Families • Nuclear family – spouses and children • Extended family- a nuclear family plus other relatives who live together • Family of orientation- family in which you grow up • Family of procreation- family that is formed when a couple’s first child is born or adopted • Marriage - a group’s approved mating arrangement, usually marked by a ritual

Common Themes Among Marriage and Families • Each society establishes norms to govern who may and may not marry • Endogamy- marrying within your group • Exogamy- marrying outside your group Division of Power • Patriarchy- male dominated society • Matriarchy- female dominated society • Egalitarian- authority equally divided

Theoretical Perspectives • Functionalists- families contribute to the well-being of a society • Economic production, socialization of children, care of the sick and aged, recreation, reproduction • Incest taboo helps family avoid role confusion and forces people to look outside the family for marriage partners

Theoretical Perspectives • Conflict- within a family the conflict over housework is really about control over scarce resources- time, energy, leisure • Most men resist doing housework, women end up doing almost all, even though men believe it is equal • Arlie Hochschild found that after an 8 hour work day, women come home to a “second shift” • Wives work an extra month of 24 hour days each year

Theoretical Perspectives • Symbolic Interactionist - interested in how husbands view housework • Research indicates that the less difference between a husband and wife’s income, the more likely they are to share responsibilities • When husbands are laid off from work, their contributions decrease • Husbands who earn less that their wives do the least housework • Contributed to gender roles and the “threat to their masculinity”

Mr. Mom • Housework Part 1 • Housework • My Brain is Like Oatmeal

Mr. Mom What examples of the Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic Interactionist theories do we see in the clips from Mr. Mom?

Romantic Love • Provides the context in which the United States seek mates and form families • 2 components: • Emotional- feeling of attraction • Cognitive- the feeling we describe as being “in love” • Social channels of love and marriage include age, education, social class, race and religion • People tend to marry others with similar characteristics • Interracial marriage is exception

Marriage • Marital satisfaction usually decreases with the birth of a child • Social class influences how couples adjust to children • Working class are more likely to have kids 9 months after marriage and have major interpersonal and financial problems • Middle class are more prepared because of more resources, postponement of children and more time to adjust to one another

Diversity Among Families • Families today are small with fewer births that are more closely spaced • Childbearing and child rearing now occupy a smaller fraction of the adult life of parents • Death has been replaced by divorce as the major cause of early family disruption

Diversity Among Families • Married couples make up a smaller proportion of household • Single parent households, post-childbearing couples, gay and lesbian couples, and those without children are increasingly common

Raising Children • Traditionally fell on the mother, but this pattern is changing • For married couples, almost 1 in 4 children is cared for by the father • Single mothers compensate for child care gap with help from grandparents • 1 in 6 kids are in day care • Birth order is significant • First borns tend to be more disciplined and often competes to maintain attention

Single Parent Households • ½ of all children can expect to live with only one parent at some point in their lives • Numbers are growing due to: • Pregnancy among unmarried teens • High divorce rate

Single Parent Households • Teen mothers are less likely to marry than in the past • Social problems are caused by economic stress rather than the absence of a husband • Single fathers tend to get more help than single mothers

Singles/Cohabitation • As of 2013, 103 million people (over age 18) are single  this is 44% of the population (over 18) • Men and women are marrying at a later age • Being single does not hold the same stigma that it used to, especially for females

Singles/Cohabitation • Cohabitation had become common among single people • More than 3x as many couples live together without being married now than in the 1970’s • Estimates: ¼ of all children will at some time during their childhood live in a family headed by a cohabitating couple

Divorce • U.S. leads the world in the number of people who divorce • 40-50% of married couples are divorced in the U.S. • The divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher • Divorce rates hit an all-time high during the 90’s

Stepfamilies • Blended families demand both parents and children learn new roles • The lack of support systems cause stress resulting in high probability of divorce

Gay and Lesbian Couples • Less gender-stereotyped in household roles than heterosexual couples • 19 states in the U.S. allow for gay marriage • CA, CT, DE, HI, IA, IL, ME, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, and WA - plus Washington, D.C. • 31 have same-sex marriage bans

Empty Nest • Can be a difficult adjustment • Lillian Rubin argues that most women feel relieved at being able to spend more time on themselves • Couples report a renewed sense of companionship • Freedom from responsibilities • Increased leisure • Higher income • Fewer financial obligations • But we know that nowadays kids are leaving home later….or become boomerang kids

Widowhood • Women are more likely than men to face the problem of adjusting to widowhood • Women tend to live longer than men, but also tend to marry men who are older • Average age of death in the U.S for men  77.4 • Average age of death in the U.S. for women  82.2

Marriage and Family