Sociology Family Unit - Family Concepts and Definitions

by rachaelf25 (student)

Emma Rudd BMA

26th November

Sociology – Family Unit - Family Concepts and Definitions

What is the Family?

The majority of the world’s population experience a form of family; this can involve a wide variety of options. For example, in the Toda culture in India a woman may be simultaneously married to several men at the same time. In the Netherlands gay couples can marry, in Bali twins can marry, as it is believed that twins have already been intimate in the womb, in the Banaro culture of New Guinea the husband is forbidden to have sex with his wife until she has born a child by another man chosen specifically for this purpose.

In Western culture the nuclear family (both parents and children) is seen as the natural / desirable way to live. This is known as the dominant ideology. Even though there are diverse types of families in Western culture the nuclear family is seen as the ‘best’.

Nuclear and Extended Families

There are a number of characteristics that are associated with the nuclear family. They are as follows:

It is a small compact structure that is composed of a mother, father and usually two or three children, who are biologically related.

It is assumed that the relationship between the adults is heterosexual.

The nuclear family is reinforced by marriage; it is assumed that marriage encourages fidelity and therefore family stability.

There is a clear division in labour; it is believed that the female role within the family should be primarily concerned with the emotional and nurturing roles of motherhood and housework, and that the male function is to economically provide, to protect the family, and to act as a disciplinary role model for the children.

Although it is now more widely accepted that there may be some overlap between these roles and consequently men are doing more childcare and housework than in the past. Nevertheless, the belief that the main responsibility for parenting lies with mothers is still very powerful.

The extended family is a grouping consisting of all kin. There are two main types:

The classic extended family where several nuclear families are linked through kinship ties and live in the same home together or nearby.

The modified extended family where related nuclear families, although they may be living far apart form each other nevertheless maintain ...

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The extended family is a grouping consisting of all kin. There are two main types:

The classic extended family where several nuclear families are linked through kinship ties and live in the same home together or nearby.

The modified extended family where related nuclear families, although they may be living far apart form each other nevertheless maintain regular contact through visits, phone calls, e-mail etc.

Family Ideology

Family ideology refers to the view that a particular type of family and particular living arrangements are the ideals that people should aspire to. In the UK popular definitions of the family are dominated by the traditional view that a nuclear family is ideal, for the reasons explained above.

Households

A household is a unit of accommodation that might contain a number of different social arrangements some of which might be considered to be families other might not. Families do live in households but there are also other examples of households. For example some people live on their own so this would be a single household, another example might be students or young people who are unrelated but share a flat this is called a house share.

Lawson and Garrod (1996) said, “most families live in households, but not all households are families.”

The Cereal Packet Family

A popular image of the family in Britain in the late twentieth century has been described as the cereal packet family. The image is often promoted in advertising, with ‘family sized’ breakfast cereals, toothpaste and other consumer goods. The ‘happy family’ image gives the impression that most people live in a typical family and these images reinforce the dominant ideology of the traditional nuclear family.

Is There a Typical Family Type?

There is no longer a typical type in Britain as:

39% live in a nuclear family, although parents may be unmarried or re married.

A single parent heads 25% of families with dependent children.

3% are headed by a teenager

29% of households consist of people living alone.

Functionalists Roles of the Family – Parsons

The Functionalists sociologist Parsons sees two main functions of the family these are:

The primary socialisation of children

The stabilisation of adult personalities

Parson argues that every individual must internalise the norms and values of society. He said it is the family that moulds the child’s personality to fit the needs of society. Families are ‘personality factories’, producing children who are committed to shared norms and values and who have a strong sense of belonging to society.

A second point he made was that a second irreplaceable function of the family is the stabilisation of adult personalities. By this he means that adults need emotional security and a source of release from the stresses and strains of life in the wider society. The emotional support given by partners in marriage, as well as the opportunity for parents to indulge in childish behaviour with their children, provides this security and release. This ‘stabilisation’ is often referred to as the ‘warm bath theory’, in that the family (female and children) provide a relaxing environment for the male worker to come home to after a long day at work.

Other functions of the family;

The family is an important agent of social control. It defines what is socially acceptable behaviour with regard to sex and regulates behaviour such as dating, pre-marital sex, marital sex and extra-marital sex. The family also allow individuals to know the difference between right and wrong backed up by positive and negative sanctions.

The family also has a number to economic functions. It provides children with economic support. The family provides the economy with workers and they are also a central unit of economic consumption.

Marriage is also regarded as important, and reproduction is an essential function because the family provides new members of society to replace those that have died.

Functional Differentiation

Functional differentiation shows the difference between the roles of families before and after the industrial revolution. For example pre-industrial the role of looking after the elderly and sick belonged to the family unit, but in industrial societies the responsibility goes to the specialised agencies such as hospitals and social services.

Criticisms of the Functionalists

Functionalist’s theories tend to focus on the positive functions of the family and give little consideration to its disadvantages. I.e. Feminists emphasise the male dominated nature of the traditional family.

Functionalists assume that the family is of equal benefit to everyone. But Marxists argue that society is shaped by the needs of the capitalist economy and that the family exists to serve these needs rather than those of its members.

Functionalists fail to consider the viability of alternatives to the family

Many functionalists, particularly Parsons, do not consider the diversity of family types. Even within one society, there are variations based on class, region, ethnicity, religion etc.

Interpretive sociologists argue that functionalists concentrate too much on the importance of the family for society and ignore the meaning family life has for individuals.

BUT even those who criticise the family admit its social importance.