The Argument of Family Being Beneficial to Society

2286 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The influence of families

Families are crucially important to society without doubt. Most

British people are born into families and then raised by a family.

Most of these very same people grow up to form families of their own

and take the responsibility of being a parent. Many people see the

family as the normal way of life and watch television programs which

revolve around family life. For many the nuclear family has always

been viewed as the proper way to bring up children and to live life.

However, the subject of families is much deeper than many think. But

is the family beneficial to society?

Different groups have different views on how beneficial the family is

to society. Functionalists, who traditionally dominated the sociology

of the family, feel that the family is necessary for the running and

continuation of an integrated society. It is assumed by functionalists

that if there is the existence of a social institution, then it must

have a purpose or a function. Functionalists therefore see the family

as beneficial for society.

To functionalists, society is an 'organism' that contains different

segments which come together to keep society running smoothly. They

argue that the family interrelates to other social institutions. An

example of this would be the family's preparation of children to

become supportive of themselves and take on economic roles. This shows

that there is a link between the family and the economic system.

Functionalists argue that the family has four specific functions that

benefit society. These are sexual, reproductive, economic and

educational. Each one is important to society in the eyes of

functionalists.

Talcott...

... middle of paper ...

...men who are at a disadvantage behind males. Then

there are the more extreme views from feminists who strongly believe

that women are oppressed in society and the only people who benefit

are men.

Critical theories argue that the family has harming effects on

individual development. The family lifestyle is seen as damaging to a

child's up bringing and can cause problems for the child in later

life. These theories explain how individuals find it hard to develop

themselves as a person in the family because other family members

influence them and family relationships can lead to unnecessary

emotions coming out.

Certain sociologists agree on the subject of the family being

beneficial to society, others do not, and the contrasting views lead

to fascinating arguments over the true meaning of family life in

society.

Show More
Related

  • Sociological Concepts Of The Family

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sociologists view the family as a universal institution that is central to social life (Powell and Branden 2007). The family is defined as a group of people related by descent, marriage, or adoption (pg 365). Marriage plays a pivotal role in families, marriage is the socially acknowledged and approved and often legal union of two people, allowing them to live together and to have children by birth or adoption (pg 365). The key to understanding the family are the concepts of endogamy and exogamy; endogamy is marriage to someone with similar characteristics in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, education level, social class,

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Gender Inequity In Society

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    A family is usually seen as a support system so one would assume that a family unit would encourage equality and fairness, as well as encourage both men and women to be high achievers with great aspirations. Families are actually a big part of how society implements the separation

    Read More

  • Family vs. Society

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    As children, our parents instill in us beliefs that we carry with us throughout our lives. Many beliefs we are taught have been passed on through generations. One such belief is racism. Racism was widespread in the past, but is strongly discouraged in today's society. Perhaps it is our families, or perhaps it is society that teaches us racism. If we were to look at our families and the mixtures of cultures in our towns, maybe then we would get some sort of understanding as to why racism is so prevalent even today in the year two thousand.

    Read More

  • Society Must Redefine the Meaning of Family

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Friday Night Lights: Structure Functional Theory

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Family Values

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    I interviewed Rita Wright from Northwest Georgia Housing Authority. She is in charge of resident services. She is an African American with a predominately African American clientele; therefore I knew I would be able to obtain much information from her viewpoint. When I asked Ms. Wright to talk about her key values and characteristics common in her culture she talked extensively about family. Family is a major part of her life. She stated that she is like most African Americans in which family values are extremely important. There are several people in her life who have earned the title of aunt, sister or cousin who are not blood related. These are individuals who have always been there for her and her family, so they too are considered just like family. Most African American families are embedded in complex kinship networks of blood and nonrelated individuals (Diller, 2011). To Ms. Wright there is nothing more precious than family. If family wrongs you, you forgive and forget. If family needs help, you must be there for them. In the end family is all we have.

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Inequality

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    By the 1980s, Marxism, the economics forces define the political and cultural realities in society, mixed with feminism claimed “that gender is not class but a driving force of history.” This created the notion that “when women are subordinate men benefit” and that women had a disadvantage to men in the workforce (Conley 2013). Marxist feminist would called this gender conflict. The nuclear family has gender roles which are “set of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as a male or female.Gender roles is more general term,but Parson’s sex roles is more of an ambiguous term. Sex roles theory states that men are work oriented, while women are domestic oriented to form the ideal nuclear family. “Sex roles created by society was formed for structuralism functionalism, which is the theoretical tradition claiming that every society has certain structures that exist in order to fulfill some set of necessary functions(2013). Even though functionalist supported this theory in the 1960s, it was flawed. Sex role theory only provided one way of how a family could function. Essentialist would describe Parson’s theory as the social phenomena of the nuclear family based on the biological factor of sex. R.W. Connell described the condition in which men are dominant and privileged and that it is invisible, which is Hegemonic masculinity. Even though hegemonic masculinity is what some theorist impose, it clarifies

    Read More

  • The Myth Of The Family

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Of Womanist Motherhood And Traditional Gender Roles

    2132 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gender roles has always played an essential part of an individual 's life, and it can affect what we think the meaning of family is. As a child, I was taught that men and women had different roles in the household. It is unacceptable for the opposite genders to participate in activities that were not meant for them. For example, a man should not cook and a woman should not work on the yard. I want to note that gender is not black and white. Gender and sex are very different but when discussing gender roles, I am focusing on men and women.

    Read More

  • The Family As A Social Institution

    3202 Words  | 7 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Sociological Meaning Of Family Essay

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    A more sociological meaning of family is; "a connection gathering which accommodate the raising of youngsters and for certain other human needs."

    Read More

  • The Function of the Nuclear Family

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    Functionalists emphasise the harmonious nature of the nuclear family, believing it provides a more stable environment for the family and its individual members but also for society as a whole. It draws attention to the positive aspects of family life, fitting in with many people’s experience and expectation of the family as somewhere they are safe and cared for. Functionalists see the father taking an instrumental role, supporting the family by earning a wage with the mother taking the expressive role, caring, nurturing and taking main responsibility for the home and childcare. New Right agrees segregated conjugal roles are human nature and are reinforced by society’s norms and values.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Institution Of Family

    2254 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Family as an Agent of Socialization

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Women and Families

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most interesting concepts in the opening chapter The Nuclear Family is the insistence of society to continue to hold the traditional family structure in highest regard. It’s like the saying ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. Even though most families are non- traditional we haven’t accepted it. It was a good point by Coontz(1997) to say that “holding on to these nostalgic ideas creates problems for contemporary families.” By hanging on to this notion that families aren’t good enough with a mommy and a daddy and three kids, I think really does delay the development of solid, clear, moral foundations for modern families. If these families are considered secondary and not as good in the first place then there’s going to be hesitance to even bother improving them. The children of these families would benefit most from the relinquishment of the traditional ideal. They need to be secure in the fact that their family is as good as anyone else’s.

    Read More

More about The Argument of Family Being Beneficial to Society

Open Document