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Public and Private Families: An Introduction
Dr. Andrew J. Cherlin, author 3rd Edition McGraw-Hill
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Chapter One
Public and Private Families
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How Do We Feel About the American Family? Attempts at same sex marriage brought
up questions Widespread disapproval of
homosexual relationships 64% said it was wrong or always wrong
Why do we care about the definition of “family” when Cohabitation is common Births outside marriage are common
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On one hand, marriage-centered family life remains the preference
On the other, there is much more toleration for family life without the boundaries of marriage and the idea to never marry is acceptable
Are We Ambivalent?
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Postpone marriage for career or education
Women in the labor market Greater acceptance of premarital
sex Decline in young men’s earning
power Able to avoid unwanted
pregnancy Willingness to cohabitate
Characteristics of Today’s Singles
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Working toward self-fulfillment Staying in school for higher degrees Developing careers Cohabiting Having children without marrying Many ambivalent about marriage
The Young Middle Class
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Not immune to cultural trends Economics plays a greater role
Job prospects for men without college degrees has greatly declined
Income has declined in terms of cost of living
Gap between rich and poor is widening
Poor or Near Poor
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Social Conservative definition - only one family is “correct” Two parent Breadwinner-Homemaker
family Economic definition - specific rules
about who qualifies to be a family member Only those that “qualify” are eligible
for benefits
Definition of Family
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Cultural definition - varies from culture to culture Western nations practice monogamy -
one husband and one wife Many African, Arabic and Asian
nations practice polygamy - more than one spouse at a time
Cultural Definition of Family
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What is a Family?
How well are families taking care of children, the frail elderly and the ill?
How well are families providing emotional satisfaction people value ? Intimacy Love Personal fulfillment
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The Public Family: Cost and Benefits Externalities = costs or benefits that
accrue to others when an individual or business produces something
Negative = costs imposed when an individual or business produces something of value to itself
Positive = benefits received by others when an individual or business produces something that is not fully compensated for to that business or individual
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The Public Family: Cost and Benefits Families “produce” children Families care for young, poor,
and elderly By performing these tasks they
are saving the public funds it would cost to do so
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Public Goods Things that might be enjoyed by
people who did not pay for or produce themselves
Children might be considered a public good
A look at Social Security as an example
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The Free-Rider Problem
Tendency for people to obtain public good by letting others produce the good and they enjoy them.
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Definition = one adult, or two adults who are related by marriage, partnership, or shared parenthood, who is/are taking care of dependents, and the dependents themselves The presence of dependents is the
key to this definition
The Public Family
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The Private Family
Provides intimacy, emotional support and love
Relationship by blood = sharing of common ancestor, including both horizontal and vertical kinship ties
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The Private Family Definition = Two or more individuals
who maintain an intimate relationship that they expect will last, and who live in the same household and pool their income and household labor
The intimacy, whether it be parent-child attachment, sexual among the partners, or sharing of inner selves is the crux of this family
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Kinship Ties From the Private Family
Created = have been constructed
Assigned = have been acquired
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Two Views, Same Family
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Sociological Perspective on the Family Looks at the family as a single unit
and a social institution Comes with a set of roles and rules
that define its importance to society Sociologists view the social world of
the family by looking at important external forces
Sociologists are uncertain of the current and future role of the family in American society
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Optimistic (political liberal view) Family is changing, but it has
always been changing Changes in women’s lives in work
and family roles has given them broader opportunities
Americans value increased independence
Contrasting Views of the Family
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Contrasting Views of the Family Pessimistic (political conservative
view) Marriage has weakened as an
institution With fewer children and more women
working Dire warnings of families failing
health, but not fatally wounded
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Steering a Middle Course Changes in families have
benefits and costs Great changes have occurred
since mid-1900s self-fulfillment is highly valued more women working outside the
home increase in divorce rate increase in single parent rate a “thinner” culture in the home
fewer joint familial activities
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Diversity
American families are becoming more diverse Two parent and single parent families Many immigrant families from Latin
America and Asia Bring their own cultural traditions Married women more likely to work
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How Sociologists Look at the Diversity of Families Objectively collect and analyze
scientific data by using: The scientific method and forming a
hypothesis Random samples/selection Survey method Observational study
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The National Survey
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Five Views of the Family
Functionalist Perspective Conflict Perspective Exchange Perspective Symbolic Interaction Perspective Feminist Perspective
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Functionalist Perspective Focuses on stability and
cooperation Each partner performed certain
functions Husband worked outside the home Wife did housework and childcare Breadwinner-Homemaker Model
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Conflict Perspective
Conflict Theory Focuses on inequality, power, and
social change Male dominance = physical force and
control of economic resources Men cannot be as dominant in
societies where women produce valuable goods and the state regulates physical force
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Exchange Perspective Exchange theory
Women choose to exchange performance of household and childcare services in return for benefit of men’s income
Men choose to perform outside labor in exchange for household and childcare services performed by women
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Exchange Perspective
When men are sole earners, they are in a “bargaining position”
When women earn money, they are less dependent on men economically
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Symbolic Interaction Perspective Symbolic Interaction Theory
We interpret symbols of how people act Shared understandings of how people
should act creates the basis of social roles that people play
Spouse, parent, breadwinner, homemaker, child, etc.
Valuable in these times of more stepfamilies, dual career marriages, and single parent families
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Feminist Perspective
Feminist Theory Gender defines social roles and
cultural characteristics These roles have no biological reason
behind them, but are culturally dictated, therefore are socially constructed
These roles appear to be constructed to give men power
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Perspectives From Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology Women reproduced and tried to find
men who provided protection and support
Men maximized their reproductive potential by impregnating many women and controlling sexual access to women