In America, families to us are represented as a simple mother, father, their x amount of children living in the suburbs with their white picket fence. They all are the same race, they all have the same hair color, and the same mannerisms. The perfect family. However, in everyday life it’s obvious that this concept doesn’t apply to everyone. In sociology, families are very diverse and can be described as many things, but in terms of marriage most of them are simplified to the concepts of exogamy and endogamy. Exogamy, according to The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology by Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein, is when someone marries someone from a different social group, while endogamy is when someone marries someone in the same social group as them. A social group is described as “is a collection of people who interact with each other …show more content…
During slavery and until the late 1960’s, interracial marriages were deemed illegal by anti-miscegenation laws. These laws prohibited racial mixing through marriage, living together, or through sexual intercourse until the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional in the Loving v. Virginia case in 1967. With that law being overturned, people in the United States were allowed to get married to those in other races and cultures. Oppositely in India, they have a cultural rule that states people are only allowed to marry those within their group, varna, or caste group. According to the Manusmriti, the caste system in India divides Hindus into 4 groups- the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras. The caste system dictates every aspect of life from where you live to what you eat. Upper and lower caste lived in segregated colonies and wouldn’t accept gifts or food from those lower than them. Simply in India, “a marathi will get married to a marathi...and Vaishya have to marry Vaishya and so on,” (BBC, 2017). Sikhs, Jains, Muslims also follow a endogamous
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
Thousands of years ago, Indian society developed into a complex system based on different classes. This system is known as the Caste System. It separated Indians into different castes based on what class they were born into. As thousands of years went by, this system grew larger and became further complex (Wadley 189). This system caused frustration for the Indian citizens because they were receiving inequality.
According to americanhistory.si.edu there was a law in Nebraska in 1911 that stated “Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood.” Laws like these were harsh on African Americans and this law was passed as Jim Crow Laws were coming to an end. These weren’t just laws to the people of that time, they were a way of life. The Jim Crow Laws undermined multiple amendments and through the Unite States into turmoil and riots.
Although, in some cultures the practice of exogamy can also practice endogamy because many have to marry outside their group, but due to partners being found in their community it allows for the practice of endogamy (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride, 2015). Endogamy is very beneficial to the family because when someone marries another person in that same location/town, it helps build up that community and allows their wealth to grow (Monroe, 2015-Kinship systems). Exogamy is beneficial to the family due to this practice having lower risks of infant mortality because they marry outside their family, which lowers the risk of birth defects (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride, 2015). Exogamy also helps create alliances between other towns and allows people to build relationships with others (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride, 2015). For example, when different kingdoms wanted to create an alliance through marriage to fix being enemies with one another, this allowed them to fix the conflict they
Although society has progressed immensely, the freedom to marry someone of a different ethnicity is relatively new. The anti-miscegenation laws that were adopted by so many states were created in colonial times.
At no point in my adult life did I realize that I was following a pattern that would be looked at as endogamy when I accepted the proposal from my husband, all this time I thought it was more about what I found appealing. And as it relates to exogamy, I find it actually embarrassing to think that our country only forty-one years prior to electing the first black president ruled it unconstitutional in all states to prohibit interracial marriages. I must acknowledge I have grown as it relates to colorblindness; I am in agreement with Taylor’s view when he states “We should be willing to examine the forces that make us who we are, and that use us to create and maintain social arrangements, particularly when it comes to race. Paul Taylor
The trend and patterns of interracial marriages have increased substantially in America over the past few years. Between the early 1970 and late 1980’s after abolishing laws prohibiting interracial unions, the proportion of interracial marriages was under five percent of all married couples in America (Lewis & Robertson, 2010). Although recent surveys indicate that the percentage of interracial marriages is a little over five percent in America, the rate and frequency of occurrence are alarming (Lewis & Robertson, 2010). The American society has become more diverse and much of this diversity has been attributed to the growing number of new immigrants (Qian & Lichter, 2011). Immigration has lead to assimilation of many cultures into the mainstream American culture and as a result narrowing the gap between majority and minority groups. The United States of America Census Bureau show that there has been a dramatic increase in population due to immigration (Qian & Lichter, 2011). For instance, between 1980 and 2007, the Hispanic population in America has doubled while the Asian population has increased by four percent, and the Black population is more or less the same over the same time period (Lewis & Robertson, 2010). The increase in size of the population has resulted in the increase rate of interracial marriages. Interracial unions in the 1980’s represented about three percent of all marriages in America (Lewis & Robertson, 2010). In the year 2000, interracial marriages have only increased approximately by two percent, with marriages between Hispanic and white representing the greatest balance of all interracial marriages (Lewis & Robertson, 2010).
Interracial Marriage SOC 200 Nadine Castro May 4th, 2017 Mrs. Miller Abstract Interracial marriage represents a form of exogamy—that is, out-group marriage, in which two people from different racial groups marry. An example would be a Japanese descent getting married to a Latino descent. Or any other race out there, it is just two different races getting married (Csizmadia, 2014). In the paper below I have written about the U.S. Supreme Court Case Loving v. Virginia 1967. It is about a couple that was a White male and an African woman that got married in the district of Columbia, but they were from Virginia and were later arrested.
Traditional marriage happens when one person marries another person within the same race and culture. Interracial marriage happens when one person marries another person with a different race or culture. From knowledge passed down from generation to generation, traditional marriage exists as the only true, holy marriage. Traditional marriages are approved by many people because of social norms society has followed for centuries. Everyone expects individuals to marry the same race, but when an individual marries outside of acceptable race or culture everything seems to blow up. It’s not civil to judge a person by whom they love and decided to
In the article Arranging a Marriage in India, Serena Nanda, a professor of Anthropology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, writes about what she learned about arranged marriages in India from interviewing informants and participating in arranging a marriage herself. Nanda brought in some American biases about how marriage and love are “supposed” to work. She initially had trouble accepting why someone would want or let another arrange their marriage instead of seeking a partner themselves. Nanda’s difficulty understanding arranged marriages, is a result of having grown up in a culture that leaves such decisions to the individual. Furthermore, if the quotes given in the article are an indication, Nanda let her biases influence her conduct
In American culture the view on arranged marriages are not looked at very favorably. This is because we have grown up with the knowledge that when it comes time to marry we will have chosen our spouse of our own free will. The match will be a love match and one that is chosen through our own needs. Young men and women in India grow up with an opposite view on marriage. They know that when it comes time to marry their parents will find them a suitable mate and it will be considered scared and a lifelong commitment (Agence France-Presse.) A total of 74 percent of respondents from across India voted in favour of traditional "arranged" marriages, according to the poll by private television channel NDTV. In the Hindu faith, marriage is considered a sacred rite and not merely, legal, but holy merger of the bride and groom. Marriage in Indian is considered almost a determement to society. It can be impacted by several factors including geography, historical attributes, monetary and most recently social networking. Typically, the parents of the bride are in control and make the choices necessary to make a good match for their daughter.
...ithin their own race, while others embrace the chance to mix cultures. Though these couples are free to marry whomever society as well as family can affect these couples’ decisions through mixed response and unfair treatment.
It is safe to say that most human societies develop social hierarchies. Quite a few also develop a stratified system with an underlying ideology and relatively standardized marital practices. Europe, until quite recently, had a fully-fledged hierarchical system called feudal system. It had a great deal in common with caste system, though its mechanisms were different. Europe may have almost completely eliminated the feudal system in favor of a very loose socioeconomic class system, but it is not the only one doing so. India is also in the process of swapping out the caste system for the socioeconomic class system, making it not quite as prolific as people tend to consider it to be. It is safer to say that India’s caste system is the world’s strongest surviving stratified hierarchical system.
The current manifestations of the caste system are now far more generalized across the Indian subcontinent than was the case in former times. Caste as we now recognize has been endangered, shaped and perpetuated by comparatively recent political and social developments. This is evident even i...
Since the fourth century, arranged marriages have been a part of the Indian culture. Many believe that it was practiced to reinforce the social, economic, religious, and geographic principals of India. Arranged marriages have six functions in the Indian community: (1) helps maintain the social satisfaction system in the society; (2) gives parents control, over family members; (3) enhances the chances to preserve and continue the ancestral lineage; (4) provides an opportunity to strengthen the kinship group; (5) allows the consolidation and extension of family property; (6) enables the elders to preserve the principle of endogamy, or marrying within certain limits ("In Love with India..."). Centuries ago, arranged marriages were more predominant in the upper class. As time went on, arranging marriages moved to the middle and lower classes too. Today, the Indian government says that 95% of the marriages in India are arranged (Lai).