Functionalism: The Sociological Definition Of Marriage

In the midst of my research, I came to the conclusion that marriage is valued and sought after differently depending on the person and culture they grew up in.

“Marriage is defined as a socially approved union between two or more people in what is considered as a steady, lasting relationship based in part on some form of sexual bond. It is an institution that is regarded permanent and involves mutual rights and obligations” (What is the sociological definition of marriage?,n.d.). This definition does not define marriage as between a man and a woman. It suggests that it can be between anyone who wants to be united with someone who they care for whether a man and woman, man and man, or woman and woman get married. The tradition of getting married

Marriage is a goal and achievement in today’s society because it is a sign of stability economically and emotionally. The functionalist perspective observes and tests what makes marriage work between two people, and how it affects society as a whole. It is the social norm for a person to get married between a certain age to create a bond for emotional stability. “Functionalist study how marriage fulfills the six basic functions to survive a society: economic production, socialization of children, care of the sick and aged, recreation, sexual control, and reproduction” (Marriage in Theoretical Perspective, n.d.). “These six basic functions are the consequences for the operation of society as a whole” (Moffitt, n.d.), and they help functionalist study marriage in a broad perspective to show how people become productive members of society as a whole. Throughout my research I found that functionalist aren’t worried about gender in marriage, but how married couples divide the labor now that they are a unit. Interactionist focus their research on the interaction and bond between couples and

“Symbolic interactionism tends to focus on the language and symbols that help us give meaning to the experiences in our life. They notice that as we interact with the world, we change the way we behave based on the meaning we give social interactions. We spend time thinking about what we will do next and adjust our approach depending on how we believe others perceive us” (Scarince, n.d.).

Interactionist aren’t worried about the dominant gender, but how the two genders interact on a day to day basis. They are interested in body language and objects as symbols of expression towards an individual. In this case, a wedding dress, rings and vows symbolize a long lasting relationship to another individual. Interactionist have come to the conclusion that symbols vary from relationship to relationship because families and individuals value different objects and traditions. The tradition that the man or dominant figure goes to work and the female or subjective figure does house work is dependent on the tradition of the family and their values. It becomes a conflict when the two newlyweds hold differents values towards