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Ch. 18 The Family

Ch. 18 The Family. First, what did the new 2016 Census show about the changing face of Canadian families? Watch: 2016 Census: The Canadian families of today and yesteryear. The Average Canadian Family. What does the "average" Canadian family look like? (CBC, 2016)

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Ch. 18 The Family

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  1. Ch. 18 The Family

  2. First, what did the new 2016 Census show about the changing face of Canadian families? Watch: 2016 Census: The Canadian families of today and yesteryear

  3. The Average Canadian Family • What does the "average" Canadian family look like? (CBC, 2016) • The real Canadians behind the statistics based on the newest Statistics Canada Census facts

  4. Difficult to study families – limited knowledge: 1. Self reported questionnaires or interviews 2. Family is considered sacred & private 3. Ideal image vs reality of family life Historians use: Census records Agency records, like CAS Popular TV shows Studying Family

  5. Myths of Families • Harmony • Universal traditional nuclear family • Parental determinism (we have gone from top-down hierarchy to web within family structures) • Stable harmonious past

  6. Biases in the Study of Family Monolithic bias Conservative bias Sexist bias Ageist bias Microstructural bias Racist bias Heterosexist bias

  7. The Family: Basic Concepts • Family: a social institution that unites people in cooperative groups to care for one another, including children • Kinship: a social bond based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption • Marriage: a legal relationship, usually involving economic cooperation as well as sexual activity, and childbearing

  8. Basic Concepts (cont.) • Extended family: nuclear family plus other kin • Nuclear family: one or two parents and children

  9. Note that…. The dominance of polygyny, patrilocality, and patrilineal descent reflects the universal presence of patriarchy.

  10. Functions of the Family: Structural-Functional Analysis • Socialization • Regulation of sexual activity • Social placement • Material and emotional security Critical review:Glosses over • great diversity of family life • how other institutions are taking over its roles • negative aspects like patriarchy and family violence

  11. Inequality and the Family: Social-Conflict and Feminist Analysis Perpetuates inequality by • Property and inheritance • Patriarchy • Race and ethnic inequality Critical review:Ignores that • Non-capitalist societies have family problems • families carry out functions not easily accomplished by other means

  12. Constructing Family Life: Micro-Level Analysis • Symbolic-Interaction:Opportunities for sharing activities helps build emotional bonds. • Social-Exchange:Courtship and marriage as a negotiation to make the “best deal” on their partner. Critical review:Misses the bigger picture: • family life is similar for people in similar social and economic backgrounds

  13. Stages of Family Life • Romantic love: affection and sexual passion as the basis for marriage • Homogamy: people with same traits marry • Settling in: ideal and real marriage

  14. Filter Theory of Mate Selection Assortative Mating Likelihood that you will end up with someone ‘like’ you more than can be due to chance

  15. Elements of Homogamy • Propinquity – geographic closeness • Ethnicity & Race – most strongly enforced • SES – Income, Education, Occupational Prestige • Age • Religion – religiosity • Physical appearance • Values

  16. Family Stages (cont.) • Child rearing • Big families were necessary in pre-industrial times • Are children now a liability? • Fertility 1971, 2.1 children (replacement rate) • Fertility now, 1.6 children (below replacement) • In 2016, more than 34% young adults 20-34 lived at home • Later life • Empty nest, but grandparents help with child rearing or • Sandwich generation: adults care for young and old • Multigenerational families increasing

  17. Dominant Views of Parenthood • Parenting comes naturally • automatically know how to raise children and “instinctively” know what is best for them • Parenting is easy • not seen as a skill that needs to be learned • Parenting is a private responsibility • But..actually raising the next generation of society and reproducing the social relations of advanced capitalism

  18. Patterns in Canadian Families by Class, Race, and Gender Social Class: • middle-class wives seek communication • middle-class children enjoy better health and achieve more than children born to poor parents Race and ethnicity: • Traditional family values eroded for Natives • Most Canadians approve of mixed (religion or ethnicity) marriages Gender: few marriages are equal partnerships. Marriage seems to be more healthful for men

  19. Alternative Family Forms • Note that since the 2006 Canadian Census, the nuclear family has been in the minority • In 2016, 26.5% of households were “nuclear” families • One-parent families: 28.2% of families • Female lone-parent often disadvantaged • Cohabitation: common-law: 21.3%of families • Same sex couples: (counted for the first time in 2006) 0.9% (12% of same sex living with children) • Singlehood: increasing, now 28.2% of households • Multigenerational households: 6.3% (most growth)

  20. Common-law Relationships • According to 2018 federal law, a common-law partner: • isn’t legally married to you • can be either sex • is 18 or older • has been living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning: • you’ve been living together continuously for one year, without any long periods apart • if either of you left your home it was for: • family obligations, for work or business travel • any time spent away from each other must have been: • short or temporary • When at least one partner chooses to end the relationship, the partnership is considered to be over.

  21. Divorce and Family Life • Divorce: 4 out of 10 first marriages • Overall rate in Canada 48% (Yukon highest (60% and Newfoundland/Labrador lowest 25%) • Globally, Belgium highest 71%, Mexico lowest, 15% • Causes • Individualism on the rise • Romantic love often fades • Women are less dependent on men • Today’s marriages are stressful • Divorce is socially acceptable • Divorce is easier to get

  22. Marriage/Divorce Rates, CanadaSource: Statistics Canada

  23. Divorce (cont.) Who divorces: • Young spouses • Short courtship • Few financial resources • People with divorced parents • Less religious • Response to an unexpected pregnancy • Alcohol or drug related problems • Two successful careers

  24. Divorce (cont.) Divorce and children • Many men fail to support children • Can be entangled in bitter feuds • Risks of emotional problems and dropping out of school • Could be better than families constantly fighting • Courts favour joint custody, but problems can occur if confrontations are not avoided

  25. Other Problems in Family Life • Remarriage: 80% divorced remarry • blended families: children and parents of more than one family • Divorce rate much higher for 2nd and 3rd marriages • Family violence • Women more likely to be severely abused and killed by an intimate partner than men • Much help for women, little for men • Violence against children • Most abusers have been abused themselves as children • Elder abuse is likely underreported

  26. Family Violence in Canada • Public Health Canada reports that in 2015… • Of all violent crime, 26% due to family violence • 70% of victims were women and girls • Family violence is under-reported (only 1 in 5) • Women more likely to experience severe violence, higher rates of injury and PTSD • Indigenous women more at risk of violence than non-Indigenous • Dating violence for young women (15-24) highest • Children and youth victims: 30% of violence reported to police occurred in family. Girls 4x more likely to be abused than boys

  27. Spousal Abuse in Canada(Statistics Canada http://www.womanabuseprevention.com/html/statistics.html) • Predominant pattern is woman abuse • One-quarter of all women have experienced violence at the hands of their current or past partner • 1 in 6 currently married women reported violence by their spouses; one-half of women with previous marriages reported violence by a previous spouse • More than 1 in 10 women who reported violence in a current marriage felt their lives were in danger • Women with violent fathers-in-law are at three times the risk of assault by their partners than are women with non-violent fathers-in-law

  28. The Future of the Family • Divorce rates likely to remain high • Family life will be highly diverse • Men likely to have a larger role in childrearing • Economic changes will be influential • New reproductive technologies

  29. Food for thought….. • The future of families: four discoveries that change everything (George Carey, TedX 2016) • The new generation of millennial parents have replaced the family hierarchy with a family web

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