In Sociology we define a family as a group of people who define themselves as being related to each other, either by marriage, blood, or adoption. Within a family there are other factors such as socialization and reproduction of a culture. Socialization is very important within a family because these interactions define who a person is within a culture.
There are various types of families legitimized in America, for instance the nuclear family became very popular in the 1950’s. This family consists of parents and their biological children, whereas the extend family includes several generations living in one house.
Sociologist find marriage to be a culturally legitimized relationship, usually between two people, with economic cooperation, and intimacy. There are many different type of marriages, such as an endogamous marriage where individuals are from the same social group. There are laws prohibiting marriages crossing social groups, like the anti-miscegenation laws which restrict interracial marriage. Different countries recognize various types of marriages depending on the opinions of each country. In India polygamy, or the marriage between many partners is legal, where in the United States it is not.
Within society marriage has a different lense depending on your gender, this theory is called “his and her marriages,”. This states that to a man marriage is a burden, and a lost of indepence, but to a women it is seen as life fulfillment
Talcott Parsons’ theory on sex roles suggests that family is a “factory of personalities,” and the women have expressive roles, and men have instrumental roles in society. Parsons believes that men and women have complementary roles and that this benefits function. One downfall the worries Parsons was there social change could cause negative consequences in America.
In the 1970’s women’s movement, sociologist found that there was a sexual division of labor, where in the “women reproduce and the men produce,”. Women are confined to the private activities within the home and the men are subject to the public in work.This theory finds that this division gives males privilege in money, status, and opportunity.
Over the centuries there have been countless changes to the family within the American culture. In agricultural time period families were merely socioeconomic groups, with children necessary of food production and enduring marriages. During Industrialization this evolved as large families became more difficult to take care of and the family size shrunk. As mentioned before, the nuclear family with homemaker mother and breadwinner father became very popular in the 19th century. Now we see more fathers and mothers choosing to stay and watch their children compared to previous years.
Families are the basic unit within a culture and an important part in the passing down of traditions and values. Each society defines family and marriage in many ways and accepts different forms of relationships. Many sociologist have looked into what factors impact a families dynamic and cultural outcomes. These theories are able to give us a clearer idea of how families have developed over time in the United States.
...(download the rest of the essay above)