The Difficulties in Defining the Family
The Oxford Dictionary gives the meaning of 'family' as 'parents and
their children, sometimes including grandchildren and other
relations'.
Murdock's definition of the family is: 'The family is a social group
characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and
reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom
maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one of more
children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.' While
this may have been satisfactory when it was written, changing times
and social standards mean that we should reconsider the definition of
the family.
The numbers of men and women who have declared themselves to be
homosexual and participate in gay relationships and sexual activities
is growing and because of this we should consider same sex couples as
part of a family. In certain states in America (for example San
Francisco), same sex couples are permitted to marry in church and it
is legally binding. This would imply that homosexuality is becoming
acceptable not only by the general public - the majority of which no
longer view homosexuality as unusual - but also by the church. It is
also legal in certain parts of the world for gay couples to adopt
children, which is an important commitment and requires trust on the
part of the adoption agency. Therefore it would be safe to say that a
family does not have to be limited to two adults of opposite sexes.
There have been deviations on the subject of a family containing one
wife and one husband, as it is common in some cultures for there to be
Polygamy - meaning that the re...
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...ly vague and it could be suggested that
there are different types of family, the last example I have given
being a 'nuclear family' that has two adults of opposite sexes and one
or more children. This is not the only type of family but it would be
possible for all my examples so far to be described as different kinds
of family.
It is clear from the examples I have used that there is no particular
definition that can efficiently cover all the types of family I have
looked. The definition of a family varies with culture, tradition and
how a person looks at their own family. The one common factor seems to
be that a family is a social group where the members share
responsibility and support each other. They do not have to be related
by blood although that is often the case and there is usually an adult
in the family.
The film, “The Sociology of Families and Households”, examines families from a sociological perspective, as it discusses the ways in which the meaning of family has changed throughout history. To better understand how families have changed throughout several decades, the film discusses how structural functionalism, Marxist theory and feminist theory have played a role in defining what a family is, or was at that time in history. The film also examines a few key challenges facing families, such as divorce, single parent households, finding a balance between work and the family and the formation of stepfamilies. Conclusively, the film discusses how the changes in society affect how families function
According to Garris L. Christian (2006) he describes the six characters of families, which are based on their own unique beliefs, cultural context, and family tradition. Three of the six characteristics that strongly resonate to me are role, rule, and hierarchy. Role family can be described as never good enough, peacemaker, everyone feels responsible within the family, a lot of activities, over worked, helpful at home, and/or outside. Each role has certain behavioral expectations. Those characteristics of the families’ role are very positive behavior, but there can also be negative consequences. The rule families follow the tradition of the oldest person in the family setting the standards and loyalty to the parents, brothers or sisters. The term of hierarchy family structure in male and older family members occupy a higher status. This would include the children obeying their parents strict family rules and carrying out a higher status attitude.
I believe this was surprising for me because I have never encountered families like these. I have never met anyone who had more than one spouse. I attribute this mostly to my religion. I am Catholic and in the Catholic Church we believe that is one man and one woman form a marriage. Another factor that I believe contributes to my astonishment of these types of communities is my culture. My culture and religion are linked and therefore both suggest that a man should not have more than one wife and that a marriage is made of only two people not multiple people.
We were raised as a nuclear family. This wasn’t typical in my culture. Due to the belief of not using contraceptives because of religious reasons, families tend to have more than two children. It is our belief that we are blessed with as many children as our Lord will allow us to have. The oldest child is looked upon to help the parents with the little children. As soon as they’re old enough,
THOSE OF US WHO grew up in the 1950s got an image of the American family that was not, shall we say, accurate. We were told, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and Ozzie and Harriet were not just the way things were supposed to be—but the way things were
Society seems to have many different opinions when it comes to relationships and families and what is ideal. The ideal family may not exist anymore. We now have in our society families that are complete that do not necessarily contain the traditional material. The traditional family, as society would see it; usually consist of a married, mother and father and usually children. Moms are supposed to stay at home while dads work the forty-hour a week job. However, in our 2003 world, families exist in a lot of non-traditional ways. A lot of families now consist of single parent families, or same sex parents and their children, or even couples that are unmarried but live together. And even now, if a family contains what society sees as traditional as far as having a mom, dad, and kids, other aspects are not traditional anymore. Women now have more opportunity in the workplace than they have ever had, therefore, many moms are career moms and dads are sometimes staying at home. Years ago, these types of families were given labels for being dysfunctional or abnormal, however, this label is not holding up as well as it did years ago. There are many non-traditional families that are raising children in a loving, nurturing home with a substantial amount of quality love. Quality is the key in any relationship between anyone. Society is finding out that it is not the traditional image that makes a loving family, but the quality of a relationship that people give to each other is what really makes a family. In the essay "The Myth of the "Normal" Family", written by Lousie B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach, they make references to the cultural idea of what a "normal" family should be and what i...
This paper will examine sociological theories and how they relate to the social institution of the family. We typically view society as a group of people, but in sociology, society is not a group of people but a social organization. People are molded by society to fit within the accepted societal bounds. Society must be understood using “the meanings that people put on their values and beliefs” (Bartle, 2010). Within sociology there are three major perspectives. These are the Functionalist, Conflict and Interactionist Perspectives. Each perspective views society in different manners, with each being correct and relevant since social institutions are too complex to be defined by any one theory. Each perspective will be used to explain the perspectives’ relevance to the family.
In the ancient time, people believed that have a large family was a rich of fortunate. Elderly people likely to persuade their daughter in law or daughter to have many children in order to help with house’s chord and in the fields, especially sons who could hunt and strong enough to help father in the field. In some case, the family didn’t have any son to carry the family’s name, so father or the son of the family had to married a second to get birth of a son and sometime, he has to marry more than one in order to get birth to a boy. Other believe that one of my grandma always told us that if a woman wanted to be a man in the next life than she had to get birth to all her children until she did not had any more egg or couldn’t pregnant no more. If not than that woman will born to be a woman again and again until her egg is done, so she could be born to a man. Anyway, the more people with different culture have different believe. However, in the modern life, having a large family is too much responsibility for just two people in this
Family, a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Although family is a concretely defined term, the idea of family varies from person to person. But, what makes a family? For those who are surrounded by loving blood relatives, for those who have never known the one to grant them life, for those who have left their blood behind for a more loving and nurturing environment, what can commonly define a family? Family is something defined by the individual. Family includes those who you have come to love, whether platonically or romantically, those you have suffered with, those you have come to respect, and most importantly those you have cared for and in turn have cared for you. To one that could mean people who
The television sitcom Modern Family produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd shows the many different types of a modern American family. According to Andrew Hampp, “The show is among the most-viewed scripted programs in prime time in its second season, averaging 11 million viewers during original airings and often ranked as the most DVRed program most weeks” (2). The television show is a frequently watched show and is liked by many viewers. Modern Family's storyline helps the families of viewers by being an influential and relatable show to different types of families. The show is about the lives of three different families that are all related. In the show there are Jay and Gloria, an intergenerational couple with two sons-- Manny (from Gloria’s previous relationship) and Joe, their new baby. Jay’s adult son Cameron is married to his gay partner Mitchell, and they adopted Lily from Vietnam. Finally, Jay’s daughter Claire is married to her heterosexual partner named Phil and they have three children. The show is influential to our culture today because it shows these different types of families and addresses controversial themes such as gay adoption, the different family connections and communications, intergenerational coupling, and acceptance of diversity within an extended family. The family is easy to relate to while watching because it is based off of real family situations.
When the word “family” is discussed most people think of mothers, fathers, and other siblings. Some people think of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins and more on the pedigree tree. Without family in people 's lives they would not be the same people that they grew up to be today and in the future. When people hear the word family they think about, the ones who will help them in any way they can whether it 's money, support, advice, or anything to help them succeed in life. Family will forever be the backbone of support. They are the ones who support their children during those life decisions. Family is not always blood related. Finally family is forever, family will never go away.
The word “family” is unique, special, and controversial among different cultures and ethnicities. As defined by Random House Western Dictionary, a family is “any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins” (Dictionary.com). Although the definition from Random House follows the infamous proverb of, “blood is thicker than water,” my definition of family does not. Family is not defined or restricted by blood relations. In my mind, a family is simply a group of people, who loves, supports, and helps each other unconditionally, and endlessly. Regardless of one’s sexual orientation or preference, all families embody these common principles. Thus, a family unites its members through the strong bonds and kinships formed when people come together. (Great intro.)
In modern day society it is common to have 2 or 3 children, and to
In order for society to meet the basic social needs of its members, social institutions, which are not buildings, or an organization or even people, but a system whose of social norms, mores and folkways that help make people feel important. Social institutions, according to our textbook, is defined as a fundamental component of this organization in which individuals, occupying defined statues, are “regulated by social norms, public opinion, law and religion” (Amato 2004, p.961). Social institutions are meant to meet people’s basic needs and enable the society to survive. Because social institutions prescribe socially accepted beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors, they exert considerable social control over individuals.
The social institution I have chosen to address is that of family. An individual’s family life, both past and present, can have such a big impact on a person’s life in both a positive and negative manner. It is how we as individuals chose to handle life changing situations that will shape our lives and those around us. Family is such a fascinating social institution to study because every individual comes from a different family background or has a different experience than that of a sibling. You can learn so many things about a person by looking into their family background, origin and what type of up brining they had.