In his collected work of literature, ‘The Family among the Australian Aborigines’, the Author Malinowski explores the idea of family given the highly immoral standard of living exhibited by the aborigine community in Australia (Collier, Rosaldo and Yanagisako 72). The presence of the family units in this community is showed from three perspectives relating to the so called universal purpose of a family. According to Malinowski, the accomplishment of human social needs sets the family as an important social institution that exists in society. One reason the author explains for family existence involves the notion of parental care of little children (Collier, Rosaldo and Yanagisako 72). In this view, Malinowski emphasizes that authentic unions and casual relationships are well distinguished with the need to nurture the children. Despite the Australian aborigines engaging in promiscuous behavior, the parents of the children was recognized as social units developed among them. In addition to this, the obligation of looking after children mandates a physical location that brought the family together, such as a fireplace. Lastly, emotional links between parents, themselves and between them and their children became evident among the aborigines. This arose when parents and children depicted long lasting bonds coupled with the responsibility of nurturing the young ones. In order to prove his point to this statement, Malinowski pointed to the era of conflicts among the community where parents became highly involved in the rescue of their children (Collier, Rosaldo and Yanagisako 72).
Modern Viewpoint
The meaning of what a family is in the modern times depicts several characteristics that became ignored with traditional viewpoints. On ...
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...e, leads to individuals’ participating in various activities along the status created by their families (Frisch and Hviid 540). The need and growth of heterosexuality becomes a determinant of an individual’s family lifestyle. For instance, such family units comprising of a single parent, say the mother, have an influence on the offspring who may be incline to follow a similar path where he/she is attracted to other persons of same sex (Frisch and Hviid 538). Politically, the roles of individuals in the World War II and postwar periods saw families being broken along certain lines. With the new development, women were found to take responsibility of children while men became involved in the war. In this view, the changes in family settings created a platform for other sexual orientations, with homosexuality as well as procreation rising steadily over the period.
Günter Grau’s article on “Gay and lesbian Persecution in Germany” from 1933 to 45 presents the detailed view of the treatment of homosexuals and the lesbians during the Nazi government period. The author tries to highlight the actions that were taken during the Socialist regime of Hitler due to their extra emphasis on the socialism. Therefore, the article also presents the analysis of the speech of the German army general Josef Meisinger to combat homosexuality during the period between World War I and ...
Dr. Marcia Langton, an anthropologist from Australia of Australian Aborigines descent, spoke at the Berndt’s lecture in 2011. Her article, Anthropology, Politics and the Changing World of Aboriginal Australians, focuses primarily on the works of an anthropologist couple Robert and Catherine Berndt. They had completed many ethnographic studies in various areas around Australia. Langton states that their work has been crucial in order to have a complete understanding of the Australian Aborigines’ society. The indigenous Australian’s society has been thoroughly researched by many social sciences through the decades. Artworks, religion, rituals, economy, politics, and even claims of UFO sightings have been recorded by a multitude of scholars. It could be argued that the Australian Aborigines’ culture has been better documented than any other non-western society. I would like to capture the movement of Australian Aboriginal tradition to a more modern society by incorporating Dr.Langton’s works as well as the work of National Geographic Journalist, Michael Finkel. By researching the society as it is today in the 21st century, I will to analyze how they relate to Australians of European descent.
One definition is “a significant social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.” While such definition is a good starting point, some modern family structures are excluded by such definition. In her essay, “Family: Idea, Institution, and Controversy,” Betty Farrell apparently assumes that the traditional family has dramatically changed, and the dynamics of change—altered the definition of a “family.” A family is no longer a picture of a particular image of the mythic past, referring to the golden days of the “1950s.” It is no longer a father, mother and their biological children living together under one roof (and certainly not with the a breadwinner father and a stay-at-home mother). In today 's modern society, it is now common to see women raising their children by themselves without their husbands’ help; unmarried couples living together; and gay and lesbian couples—while far from being universally accepted—adopting and raising children to complete their families. Therefore, despite the children living in one-parent households, or they do not live with their “married-heterosexual-biological-parents” under the same roof—does not necessarily mean they are not families. Farrell states that “a family is defined not so much by a particular set of people as by the quality of relationships that bind them together.” In other words, Farrell believes that a “family” is more than just a collection
In his 1943 work, “Sex Roles in the American Kinship System,” Talcott Parsons addresses his beliefs that the individual gendered roles in the nuclear family are essential to creating a functioning family dynamic. During this time period, the United States was in between wars and working to recover from the Great Depression. These significant events greatly shaped society not only at the time, but for future generations as well. It is almost impossible for a theorist of this time, such as Parsons, not to be influenced by such drastic social conditions and changes.
2. Compare and contrast the segregation and assimilation policies in relation to the impact they had on the Aboriginal family life.
Longley, Clifford. "Sacred and Profane: What Exactly Do We Mean by a Family?" {The Daily Telegraph} 30 Jan. 1998.
For example, “sociological and popular understanding of gay and lesbian relationships has been greatly distorted by the false presumption that only heterosexual relationships are normal ways of expressing sexual intimacy and love” (Andersen 1997, 95). This explains how society helps in influencing and identifying people sexual identities throughout their lifetime. Andersen admits that “heterosexual identity includes the belief that men have an overpowering sex drive and that women are considered more loving, soft and are link to sex [… and] contemporary sexual attitudes are shaped by phallocentric thinking-that which sees men as powerful and women as weak” (Andersen 1997, 94, 96). Although, society is lead to believe that men should be the dominant figure of the family. The reality is that, in gay and lesbian relationships, no one individual displays the behavior of an authoritative
The War selected men and women from across the country with different backgrounds and placed them in sexually segregated camps. “The war severely disrupted traditional patterns of gender relations and sexuality, and temporarily created a new erotic situation conducive to homosexual expression” (D’Emilio pg. 106). At the time of capitalism and war, young men and women whose sexual identities had not been formed where placed in single sex training facilities where they would only interact with their own sex. This made the transition for most soldiers difficult and allowed for some already lesbian or gay individuals to interact and unify because of the confines of the war. The temporary freedom of sexuality allowed for men and women to challenge some of their heterosexual upbringings. In addition to gay identities resulting from the restrictions of war communities witnessed a large increase in bars and other meeting places for gays to meet and unify post World War
Homosexual is a romantic attraction that occurs between two people of the same sex. This is the endurance pattern with an aim of experiencing sexual, affection and romantic attractions which is exclusively between similar genders. This is one of the three major categories of sexual orientation in sex. There have been many issues and concerns regarding the issue of homosexuality. In any society, homosexual has always been considered as evil and ungodly (Connors 2007). It is also considered as something extra ordinary that is only practiced by a certain part of people. For this reason, there are many discussions on homosexuality and this also includes a number of theories. These researchers are forwarded to explain the cause and the origin of homosexuality in both men and women. One of the famous theories that were forwarded on homosexuality are the theories by Freud`s and Jung. This essay introduces the theories on homosexual as they were discussed by Freud and Jung. Further, I will compare and contrast Freud’s and Jung’s theories about the sexual orientation in women. In particular, what factors lead females to become homosexual?
Note: This paper has a very long Annotated Bibliography. In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms.
"A family is a small social group of people related by ancestry or affection, who share common values and goals, who may live together in the same dwelling, and who may participate in the bearing and raising of children. They have a physical or emotional connection with each other that is ongoing" (Vissing, 2011) and is the foundation of all societies. They can be formed by a grouping of father-mother-children or even more complicated combination of relatives. In the primary stage of family life in the United States, everyone from every generation lived together in one house. Subsequently, the idea of traditional family evolved and a married couple with children is at present, often called the traditional family. There are many types of families; however, this paper will focus on the traditional family. It will describe how the functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, and the interactionism theory apply to the sociological institution known as a family. It will explain some of the similarities and differences between the sociological theories in regards to families and how they affect the family members.
There are many types of family that exists in today’s society, each important to the upbringing of any children of which may be apart of it.
Traditionally one can define family as a group of people related by blood. It is the most precious bond of all. For a child growing up fifty years ago in the west, family dynamic was defined by the people he/she grew up with who were related to by blood who provided love, care, and affection. For the Middle Eastern people, however, the definition
Family is a word with diverse meaning. As stated by the Oxford Dictionary ( ” A family is a group of people consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit.”) This is the most generic meaning of family in North America but this definition doesn 't comply with other cultures, for example, the African concept of family f states that “ Family is considered a basic cell of society. All social and cultural practices find their connection with a notion of family, either supporting or distorting it”. Family is a big part of what defines our family in our society. Our society is changing, we are transitioning to a new style of living which is isolating family tradition and practice. I (A child who grew up in Canada) have grown
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...