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Sociology paper
Gay marriage has been a hot topic in the news for many years and seems to be making progress within the past decade. I chose to write about LGBT equality because this is a current movement being seen in today’s society. Very similar to the civil rights movement or the women’s right movement, there are many opinions and perspectives on the topic weather it is a human right or an abomination. So in this essay several sociological perspective will be takin regarding this topic.
Functionalist believe in the greater good for the whole society. “Auguste Comte helped develop functionalism in the 19th century, and functionalist Emile Durkheim later compared society to the human body. Just as the body consists of different, interrelated
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Regarding LGBT equality everyone has a different perspective because of the different thing they’ve seen or been through. A person who has not been exposed to the LGBT community and have conservative parents or are from a conservative part of the nation may not be exceptionally open to the LGBT or used to them as people and peers. Whereas someone who grew up in an open community possibly had LGBT friends or peers may be more open because of this unique event in their life. This perspective is based on the individual so there is conflict, “Critics of this theory claim that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro level of social interpretation—the “big picture.” In other words, symbolic interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely on the “trees” rather than the “forest”. The perspective also receives criticism for slighting the influence of social forces and institutions on individual interactions” (about.com). Functionalist who take the whole societies perspective into consideration would not be in favor of the symbolic interactionism
Functionalism, explained by Emile Durkheim, states that each part of society is required for society to function as a whole. When the crops failed to grow, a
In sociology, the LGBT community is viewed as a subculture to the dominant world culture. The community is generally accepted by the dominant culture and although the group has some of its own beliefs and rituals/traditions, it still adheres to the fundamental beliefs and cultural expectations of the dominant culture. Before being considered a subculture, homosexual relationships and variations of sexual orientation were classified as devian behaviort. Even before that, someone who experienced homosexual thoughts or tendencies was labeled as mentally ill. The idea of homosexuality being a mental illness appeared in the DSM until 1987. There are still remnants of homophobia today but the consensus (at
Functionalism is a theory in which various social institutions and processes in society serve a significant function in order for society to continue
Functionalism perspective will be the first sociological theory reviewed. Functiolism is one of the earliest sociological perspectives Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) who was German developed ideas for the first time relating to functionalism.
The functionalist paradigm focuses on the integration of society, and how society how its own groups which has their own functions to help improve the peoples lives. Functionalist paradigm fits in the category of macro-sociology, because it focuses on the patterns that shape an entire society. Functionalists believe that society is maintained through the thought of trust and consensus on moral values for ideal behavior. Working together will result in a stable social environment that will create equality. Conflicts or dysfunctions will be view as a disease in the social system. Social conflict paradigm believes that society is divided into many groups that have their own goals, and that certain parts of the world have the luck of benefiting economic dominan...
The main points of the Symbolic Interactionism perspective is that symbols are what shape how we communicate and how we view the world. Our changing ideas affect how we understand and view different things around us. Without symbols society would be not be very coordinated, people wouldn’t be able to specify a specific time for school or where to meet for lunch. The main points of the Functional Analysis perspective, is that society is made up of several individual parts that work together for society to function properly. Each of these smaller parts has functions that are beneficial consequences of people actions and dysfunctions that are harmful and threaten the equilibrium. In this perspective the smaller parts are look at to see how they
"The functionalist perspective is a sociological approach which emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structure to maintain its stability,"(Schaefer & Lamm, 1998). This perspective looks at a society in a positive manner and sees it as stable, with all the parts working together. Under the functionalist view every social aspect of a society contributes to the society's survival, and if not, the aspect is not passed to the next generation.
Functionalism views society as the stability and assimilation of a range of forces that function within it. While society is a separate entity with a life of its own, there are individual elements contributing to that stability. Functionalism as a sociological theory emphasizes assimilation rather than the dissociation of society. Therefore, the society is seen as a whole that is compromised of parts which give one another their identity and their function. The part, whether that is education, such as a school, or sports, such as a football team, operates in relation to the other parts, and cannot be entirely understood in isolation from the other parts. All the parts are interrelated, and when there is a disturbance in any one of the parts, is when you can see the interdependence. But what is important about this theory is that “there will always be some reorganization and tendency to restore equilibrium” (Wallace and Wolf 17). Functionalist do not believe it’s crucial that the people involved in the society to be aware of this interconnectedness anymore than the brain and heart consciously realize that they work together as an organism.
Armchair anthropologists, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, and Herbert Spencer, who studied Nineteenth-Century Evolutionism, influenced functionalism theoretically (McGee & Warms 2012: 151). Functionalism did not collect data the same way nineteenth-century evolutionist did; it relied heavily on fieldwork, much like historical particularism. Functionalism viewed societies as timeless and therefor did not account for social change. One of the main key figures during the popularity of functionalism would be the “father of participant observation” Bronsiloaw Malinowski. Malinowski is important to functionalism like Boas is to historical particularism. Functionalism can be divided into two different branches. There is psychological functionalism, as well as structural functionalism. Psychological functionalism is interested how societies function to meet the psychological need as well as basic needs. This school of thought is linked to Malinowski. Malinowski believed that all cultures have the purpose to “satisfy seven needs: nutrition, reproduction, bodily comforts, safety, relaxation, movement and growth,” (McGee & Warms 2012: 152). This idea is based on psychological needs and not necessarily physical ones. Structural functionalism studies how societies maintain equilibrium and the status quo. A.R. Radcliffe-Brown is attributed to the school of structural functionalism along with influence from sociologist Emile Durkheim (McGee &
One of the major sociological perspectives is Functionalism. Functionalism is centered around the work of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Robert Merton. Functionalism is described as a system of connected parts that are designed to achieve
Functionalism is the oldest and most commonly used theoretical approach used to understand social issues. Functionalism is a macrosociological perspective that presents the idea that society consists of different components working together to help a society function as one. Sociolog...
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.
Society is created with both homosexual and heterosexual individuals. Previously when certain laws discriminated against others, such as law for women's rights to vote, these laws were changed. Changing the traditions of the country does not mean that it will lead to the legalization of other extreme issues. Each ...
Emile Durkheim’s Functionalist Theory is predicated on the ideologies that society is composed of components that are dependent on each other. Auguste Comte developed functionalism; Durkheim compared society to the human body. The body consists of different, interrelated organs that support it to survive; society consists of different workings that enable it to survive. There is a state of stability within society and if any component of that society alters it will reorganize itself to maintain stability. Functionalism will interpret the components of society in terms of contributions to the stability of the whole society. Social accord, direction and integration are paramount views of functionalism; society will endure and grow due to the shared norms and values; all individuals have a goal and vested interest to conformity and thus conflict is minimized (Pope, 1975).
There are many criticisms of functionalism and their theories: Ø Functionalist ideas almost portray humans as being autonomous and that only socialisation determines our lives. They do not really see humans as the unpredictable creatures they are, not possible to stray away from the predictable ideas that functionalists have of people. Too much stress is placed on harmony and the potential for conflict and its affects are generally ignored. Ø There is no recognition of difference by class, region or ethnic group. The functionalist picture is simply reflective of happy middle-class American families.