Different Family Ideologies and Types
Source: The Place of Men in changing family cultures. Geoff Dench (1996).
An example of how differing ideologies support different family arrangements.
The study was an exploration of contemporary cultural variations in family roles allocated to men. It can only be considered a pilot study because only small numbers were involved. The importance of the study is the light it sheds on the impact that ideology can have on how family life is lived and experienced.
The fundamental ideological division was between: conventional regulation (marriage) and individual choice.
Two main family types identified
Conventional families
Family is understood as a network of
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Restore a positive valuation of some sexual division of labour and identify some important roles for men. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Encourage marriage through financial and legal benefits. -----------------------------------------------------------
In the UK, the debate around conjugal rights and responsibilities is bogged down in the pursuit of fully symmetrical roles.
The individualist philosophy that has resulted in alternative lifestyles has denied men any responsibility for creating and maintaining family ties and responsibilities.
When the 'male breadwinner role' started to deteriorate, so did many men’s felt obligation to work and support their family. This has had a particularly disastrous effect on young African Caribbean males.
It seems that men who pursue alternative lifestyles are:
More likely to live alone.
More likely to be unemployed.
Have less contact with relatives.
Generally, such men are less likely to be needed and this can mean that men are left out of the family picture - either because they
...Many Kinds of Family Structures in Our Communities." . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. .
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.
These days, marriage contracts fortunately treat both men and women the same, and look at it as more of a partnership rather than a legal contract with economical advantages. (Bernstein, 2011) Today, women have more goals than getting married and having children, most want to go to college and having a successful career. It is normal for a woman to be completely successful all on her own without a husband. These days, a woman can be the bread winner of her family while her husband is a stay at home father. There are also several single working mothers and single working
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.
The American family can be defined in as many ways as there are families. For a single person, he or she may define his or her family as his or her pet. Others may define family as his or her friends, but for most people, family is traditionally defined as including his or her biological parents, siblings and immediate blood relations. The traditional American family, despite being depicted in television shows, such as Leave It To Beaver or buzzwords for marked political agendas, is a falsehood that truly never existed for the vast majority of Americans. The birth of the women’s liberation movement of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s is often held responsible for the breakdown of the “traditional” family consisting of the working father, stay-at-home
Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, two of the leading figures in sociology, may be considered the founding fathers for the ideas of the “modern family” and the “male-breadwinner family.” Collectively, their work has influenced how Americans analyze families and has sparked new ideas regarding the American family from sociologists such as Stephanie Coontz and Arlie Hochschild. However, when studying the American family, Parsons and Bales fail to understand that the “ideal” family may not be so ideal for everyone. They neglect to consider societal influences and economic changes when discussing patriarchal social norms as the most optimal family structure. Their description of the male-breadwinner family consists of the father being the “instrumental leader” within the home, providing economically for his family based on his occupational earnings. Meanwhile, the mother is considered the manager of the household, providing for her husband and children physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Everyone in the world belongs to a subculture. Each subculture has its own sets of traditions, relics, and artifacts. Relics and artifacts are symbolic, material possessions important to one's subculture. Relics are from the past; artifacts are from the present. These traditions, relics, and artifacts help shape the personalities of individuals and how they relate with others. Individuals know about these items through storytelling in the subculture. Families are good examples of subcultures. My family, a middle-class suburban Detroit family of Eastern European heritage, has helped shape who I am through story telling about traditions, artifacts, and relics.
An adage goes by “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are” but in family system theory, it more like show me/tell me about a family member, and I will tell and interpret the family as a whole. Family system theory work hand in hand with the definition of family because, based on how the family defines itself, you can tell more about the family in terms of their communication and coexistence in general.
Fraser, makes the point that in order for the different types of families to have a healthy relationship among each other, as well as, in society, then people need to understand what family really means. “If the family is to be a healthy component in society, in order for society to survive, then we all need to understand what family is and what it is becoming,” (Fraser, 1989). Generally speaking, family has been expected to provide each member financially, emotionally, and with physical support. The traditional definition of an American family used to be defined as a mother, a father, and/or children. The father was the “breadwinner” of the family, meaning he was the one who work to provide financially for his wife and children, as the mother would stay home and take care of the house and the children. Families have changed since then, fathers are becoming stay-at-home dads while the mothers are working. This change has also changed the norm of society by changing the pattern of rights and the changing of expectations of marriages (Fraser,
Collins, Jordan & Coleman (2012) stated that dysfunctional intergenerational boundaries are commonly present in divorced and in conflict families where one or more children go against one parent. Due to the existence of multiple subsystems in this family, it is evident that the boundaries between the family members are rigid and that the family is disengaged. An example of the specific behavior that demonstrated the existence of disengaged boundary with grandma E, was the relinquishment of her caretaking role as a mother to her first born child to her parents so she could pursue her interests in finding a husband.
Social institutions are composed of many levels of building blocks just like a Lego house, from the smallest to biggest piece it's meant to fit its very purpose, from the micro to the macro. These building blocks come together to form the social structure. Social structure refers to the social patterns through which a society is organized. There are pieces to social structure that represent the social connections and the social and physical characteristics of where individuals are set on communities and social status due to the many blocks connected to what could be referred as social position, following these blocks to guide social position and status can cause social inequality, society classifies people or group in a hierarchy.
Marriage and cohabitation play a central role in how family life is carried out. The way in which society views marriage and cohabitation is changing as individualism becomes an increasingly mainstream ideal. Marriage rates have decreased significantly on average over the past 60 years, but different groups show different rates of change. While certain sects each have their views, the general trends are showing decreasing marriage rates in lower income individuals, and increasing marriage rates in higher income educated individuals. These rates are directly connected to racial-ethnic groups, leading to larger gaps in socioeconomic status.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is "a group of two or more people who reside together and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.” (Eutk). In the beginning, family was considered to be all of the individuals who contributed to the household as far as bringing in money; including servants and non-parental adults, who are also considered part of the family if they play a large role in the upbringing or care-taking of children other than their own. But in fact, over the last few centuries until present day, the institution of the family has completely changed. In the late-18th Century, marriage was considered just a union based on love, but as time passed, there were other financial, social, and political shifts in the United States and in other countries. Throughout our course readings in Gender Studies, we see the ideas of continuity and change in regards to the American family unit. There were multiple factors that influenced the institution of the family unit, including the argument that marriage was seen as a contract of survival, the privatization of marriage, as well as the idea that traditional families never existed.
Gender roles are extremely important to the functioning of families. The family is one of the most important institutions. It can be nurturing, empowering, and strong. Some families are still very traditional. The woman or mother of the family stays at home to take care of the children and household duties. The man or father figure goes to work so that he can provide for his family. Many people believe that this is the way that things should be. Gender determines the expectations for the family. This review will explain those expectations and how it affects the family.
Everyone is born into some form of family, with the family taking the responsibility of nurturing, teaching the norms or accepted behaviors within the family structure and within society. There are many types of families, which can be described as a set of relationships including parents and children and can include anyone related by blood or adoption. Family is the most important, “for it is within the family that the child is first socialized to serve the needs of the society and not only its own needs” (Goode, 1982).