Functionalist View on Same-Sex Families What is Functionalism? Functionalism is the belief that members of society form relationships with each other through rules and regulations i.e. the law. They also believe society is based on a consensus and there is no time for conflict, although it is acknowledged but is seen as only a temporary disturbance, which can be resolved. They believe it is the basis of social life without it there would be conflict and disorder. Society is seen like the human body, institutions within society playing a significant role to ensure its upkeep like schools. These institutions are what influence societies members on social behaviour. They see the family as how it functions and contributes towards society as a whole. They believe the function of a family is to educate and prepare children before they become adult workers. What is the New Right? The New Right believes the family is the cornerstone of society. They see the ideal family is that of the nuclear unit, a heterosexual relationship based on love and commitment with the reproduction of children. They believe the cause of decline in the nuclear family is due to the change in society, which is threatening the norms of marriage. They believe it shall all be resolved with the return of the traditional family norms. How is society structured from a traditionalist or functionalist point of view? As I said earlier functionalists believe rules and regulations guide society, they believe it forms the basis of consensus. They see society structured like the human body; every part has an important role to play and a significant contribut... ... middle of paper ... ...rica 50% of young Americans think gay people shouldn't have the same rights as everyone else, but they also said they didn't know enough to form a sound opinion. Most Americans said they think gay teachers should be fired, not only is that unfair dismissal, and discrimination. But what is it teaching the children? Functionalists say the main function of a family is to help educate children in social behaviour required by society. If they believe society is based on consensus then why are they encouraging conflict? Bibliography www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/scotts/domestic-partners/family.html www.familydiscussions.com/books/gillis.htm www.puclicagenda.org Family, Functionalism, and New Right Donnellan C, Sexuality Volume 23 Silva, E The New Family SAGE Publications Sociology Text Book
Gay marriage further damages the connection between marriage and parenthood by causing people to not consider marriagement just to be a parent. He later on argues that marriage has been a tradition since the beginning of time and everything supports it. “The family, led by a married mother and father, is the best available structure for both child rearing and cultural health. This is why, although some people will always pair off in unorthodox ways, society as a whole must never legitimize any form of marriage other than that of one man and one woman, united with the intention of permanency and the nurturing of children” (Colson
The American family is constantly undergoing changes. In the early 1600s, the Godly Family was the prevalent family structure of the first Europeans who immigrated to the United States (Aulette, 2010). Until 1780, families were strictly patriarchal with a male head of the family, who supervised “all social activities, including education, health care, and welfare”, and insured the family’s self-sufficiency within its community (Aulette, 2010). Following this form, the Modern Family and its sub-categories, the Democratic Family and the Companionate Family, were the dominant family structures until the 1970s (Aulette, 2010). Throughout the course of almost 200 years, families evolved into more private institutions aside from the community, women withdrew more and more from physical work on the family’s property and concentrated on their designated occupation as a mother, caregiver and housewife. Men were still the head of the family in terms of pursuing an occupation to financially provide for the family’s needs. During this time, gender-specific roles within the family were reinforced, which are still partially in effect in today’s society and family structure. Since the mid-20th century, the American family seems to be changing more rapidly than ever, partially because of the influences of the Great Depression and World War II, which led to the remarkable baby boom of 1946 to 1964. Not only did the year of 1970 mark the beginning of the most recent stage in the history of the (European) American family, the Postmodern Family, it also was the year in which the first gay couple applied for a marriage license (ProCon.org, 2013). Even though the two men’s request had been denied back then, same-sex couples and their family structure h...
In conclusion this paper has shown my perceptions on the described topics. I have identified why the family is considered the most important agent in socialization. I explained the dramatic changes to the American family and what caused them. I explained the differences in marriage and family. I expressed my feelings on the trend of diverse families, and how a change in trends to traditional views would change women’s rights.
For the majority of human history marriage was always thought to be between one man and one woman. That was, until last year when the Supreme Court passed a law, legalizing gay marriage. Many people still do not support marriage, but people’s changing ideas of what defines a marriage made the legalization of gay marriage happen. This issue can also be applied to the Functional Analysis theory. Those with this perspective may believe marriage should only be between a man and woman, because each brings different skills to the home. A gay marriage and home could be viewed as unstable, because without a man in the home it may be difficult to do extensive heavy lifting and without a woman in the home it may be difficult to do housework like sewing. Functional Analysis may believe that gay marriage threatens the balance in the home which will in turn affect other aspects of life like childcare, cooking, housekeeping, etc. Sociologist who believes in the Conflict Theory perspective may think that gay marriage developed as a result of several people protesting to lawmakers that gay marriage should be legalized. Before gay marriage was legalized, marriage was between only a man and woman simply because there was no other definition of marriage. Men always had more power over women, but gay marriage allows everyone regardless of gender to get
In recent years, gay and lesbian parenting has been a discussion of huge debate across the nation. It’s a subject with such heated conversation like that of, politics. This has also been in the interest of many studies, about how it effects a child raised by that of a two males or two females. Among other debates that involve gay and lesbian couples such as, gay marriage or gay rights. These rights have often been taken for granted by many of Americans, but while gay and lesbians are denied most of these rights. The three biggest factors that are talk about in the parenting of children by gay and lesbian parents is that of; A child needs both a mother and a father to be properly raised, a family is a male, female, and children and last and one of the most talked about is the negative effects it has on the child as they grow up and face the world with two openly homosexual parents; a “mom” and “dad. While I believe that every gay and lesbian person should be able to raise a family, just as any other person; I do have a fear for the child’s well-being, simply because of the society we live in today and the crude criticism they may face.
Bidwell, Lee D. Millar, and Brenda J. Vander Mey. Sociology of the Family: Investigating Family Issues. MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2000.
Not so long ago in United States family was defined as; a couple, a man and a woman with children. Times have changed. Today, people are moving away from this definition and now going for a modern description of what family refers to. From divorced parents, single par-ents, no children families, and gay parents they are all now included to this new definition. Ac-cording to the national census bureau “A family consists of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Like everything in life family is changing. The percentage of non-traditional family is growing more and more. As mention before homosexual families are big parts of this evolution. But many wonder; what is parenthood? How are homosexual families different from traditional families? And how different countries look at homosexual families?
...at to the stability of family life in our society. Sexual intercourse, explained by Haines (2011), is a special bond that is created for the aim of reproducing children despite not being able to, at times. It unites two dissimilar body parts in a way that can produce a reproductive effect. Thus, same sex relationships are opposed because male-female relationships are the only sort that can fully embrace the sexual complimentary (Haines, 2011). If we de-emphasize the procreative function of marriage, then it is only focused on the intensity of feeling between married couples (Pinkerton, 2014). Pinkerton (2014) said that no matter how deep and intimate one’s feelings may be, it can decrease after many years of raising children. This would ultimately lead to divorce and broken families which threatens the stability of family life in our society as stated earlier.
Sam Schulman’s “The Worst Thing About Gay Marriage” presents an interesting argument against gay marriage that hinges upon maintaining a traditional form of marriage. He actually claims that gay marriage is “unnecessary”(381). According to Schulman, there are 4 primary effects of marriage within his definition he calls the kinship system. First, marriage protects and controls a woman’s sexuality. Second, the possible pairings are limited by the kinship system to avoid incest or other taboos. Third, marriage creates a situation where licit sex can occur. Fourth, it places a clear divide between childhood innocence and adult, married, life. All of which is in addition to maintaining a standard family hierarchy, in which a marriage almost forcibly pulls two family together and creates a structure for children to be brought up in. He also presents a variety of shaky arguments with the general point that gay marriage does not and can’t have “the authority and majesty of the kinship system”(383). Since he sees gay marriage as entirely rooted in the relationship between two people, and he dismisses that as a minor part of the institution of marriage, he predicts this kind of marriage will disappear and will only be remembered with a laugh.
Since the 1970s, studies on the effect of same-sex parenting on children have been conducted in the United States. Sociological debates have occurred from the idea of allowing same-sex couples to parent. Some groups feel that allowing this would undermine the traditional ideology of marriage and skew the perception of gender roles for their children. Sociologists continue to produce empirical research that studies samples of the approximately 125,000 same-sex couples raising nearly 220,000 children and comparing their roles as parents and the adult personalities of their children to children raised by heterosexual couples. Current scientific research comparing the outcomes of children raised by gay or lesbian parents with children of heterosexual parents consistently shows that same-sex parents are just as capable of raising “psychologically healthy and well-adjusted” children as heterosexual parents. Research comparing children raised by same-sex couples and heterosexual couples found no differences in the adjustment or mental health of these children as adults.
The structural-functionalist perspective looks at society as a complex system composed of various parts much like a living organism. Each aspect of society contributes to society's functioning as a whole. Social institutions play a key role in keeping a society stable. All societies need certain things to survive (Newman 2010).
Marriage is a “socially recognized and approved union between individuals, who commit to one another with the expectations of a stable and lasting intimate relationship. It begins with a ceremony known as a wedding which formally unites marriage partners. A marital relationship usually involves some kind of contract, either written or specified by tradition, which defines the partners’ rights and obligations to each other, to any children they may have, and to their relatives. In most contemporary industrialized societies, marriage is certified by the government,” (Skolnick, 2005). Marriage is also an important institution because of the impact it has on society. Marriage is the main way that reproduction of human life occurs. In some societies it is tradition for family heirlooms or things of value be passed on through marriage. Marriage also serves as a healthy way to have intimate relationships with an individual. In most places a marriage exists between two people of the opposite sex. However, the legal definition of marriage is currently being challenged by many. According to Skolnick’s article a marriage can be defined by responsibilities that a couple would share, some examples are: living together, having sexual relations, sharing money and financial responsibilities, and having a child together. The issue is that homosexual couples can do these things like heterosexual couples.
Sociologists look at society from either a macro or micro view and the theories that define their work are based on those perspectives. There are several family theories that we learned about this semester. Briefly, Structural-Functionalism and Conflict Theory are “macro” theories in sociology. Structural-Functionalism sees society as a living machine made up of different parts which work together for the good of society. Individuals, as well as Institutions work together, and the family is the key to the well-functioning machine. Emile Durkheim, considered the Father of Sociology argues social solidarity, where people do the right thing, create harmony and have shared values. According to Durkheim the nuclear family is the only type of institution that can achieve that. Conflict Theory sees society as a pyramid with those at the top having more power and influence than those at the bottom. Males in society have more power than females. There is a power imbalance, which could lead to oppression o...
Marriage naturally creates families; it provides the conditions for a healthy environment that is beneficial to the upbringing of children. Opponents of same-sex marriage often ground their arguments on parental and religious concerns. Many argue that sa...
...uals thrive in the same way as those raised by heterosexuals. It is vital to give children the right to be with their parents rather than denying them that right. The number of those in support of the idea that raising children in gay families was a good thing rose from 11% in 2007 to 21% in the year 2007. Therefore, it means that homosexuality is not a social evil, instead of institutions focusing on homosexuality and gay marriages, they should pay attention to evils such as crime, divorce and sexual molests that have been observed to be rampant in many states. Legalizing gay marriages is vital to each government in ensuring that the needs of all their citizens are taken care. Just as race or ethnicity, homosexuality is a human nature that should be embraced. Illegalizing gay marriage means that we deny our human nature, therefore, defying the creation of mankinds.