Sex, Marriage & Family

Family & Household Family – consists of people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage or adoption. –Patrilineal Vs. Matrilineal Household - basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out. – i.e., Family members that live in the same house.

Functions of the Family Socialization of children Care of the sick and aged Recreation Sexual control Reproduction Economic productivity The family fulfills basic needs or functions within the society. Functions:

Marriage and Mating All animals, including humans, mate—some for life and some not, some with a single individual and some with several. Mates are secured and held solely through personal effort and mutual consent. Marriage is a culturally recognized right and is backed by social, political, and ideological factors that regulate sexual relations and reproductive rights and obligations. Siamang ( Hylobates syndactylus ) male & female pair-bond. Traditional Greek Wedding m/watch?v=k3cD1Nd3 02k

Sexual Relations Among primates, the human female is unusual in her ability to engage in sexual activity whether she is fertile (in estrus) or not. Every society has rules that govern sexual access.

Social Functions of Marriage 1. Establish the legal father of a woman’s children & vise versa. 2. Allow a monopoly on sexual access to each other. 3. Establish rights to each others labor. 4. Establish rights over property. 5. Establish inheritance. 6. Establish a “relationship of affinity” between spouses & their relatives. Functions of Marriage (Edmund Leach (1955)

Endogamy and Exogamy Endogamy –Marriage within a particular group or category of individuals. Exogamy –Marriage outside the group. A Filipina bride and Nigerian groom. Cleopatra married her brother (Ptolemy XIII). Many royal families have entered into endoganous marriages to keep the line “pure”.

Question ____________ are relatives by birth, or so- called "blood kin.“ A.Affinal kin B.In laws C.Conjugal kin D.Kith and kin E.Consanguineal kin

Question Consanguineal kin are relatives by birth, or so-called "blood kin."

Forms of Marriage Monogamy Polygyny Polyandry Bigamy Group marriage Fictive (Ghost) marriage

Monogamy Monogamy is the most common form of marriage, primarily for economic reasons. In most of the world, marriage is not based on romantic love, but on economic considerations. Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward – Married over 50 years.

Serial Monogamy A form of marriage in which a man or woman marries a series of partners. Increasingly common among middle-class North Americans as individuals divorce and remarry. Larry King & 6 th wife Shawn Southwick

Polygamy Vs. Polygyny (plural marriage) Polygamy: One individual having multiple spouses at the same time (Poly=many; gamous=marriage) Polygyny: Marriage of a man to two or more women at the same time; a form of polygamy. Warren Jeffs, leader of a polygamist seck known as the Fundamentalist church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. – Arrested 2006, for rape Sentenced, 2007 to 10yrs. Colorado City, AZ & Hilsdale, UT. feature=related

Polyandry Polyandry: Marriage of a woman to two or more men at one time; a form of polygamy. In Tibet, where inheritance is in the male line and arable land is limited, the marriage of brothers to a single woman (fraternal polyandry) keeps the land together by preventing it from being repeatedly subdivided among sons from one generation to the next. Also provides male labor for the Tibetan mixed economy of farming, herding, and trading. e0&feature=fvw

Bigamy Bigamy: Two simultaneous monogamous marriages.

Group (Co-) Marriage Marriage in which several men and women have sexual access to one another. Ex: Among members of an Eskimo hunting crew a headman could lend his wife to a crew member who could then borrow his wife in turn. The families enter into a partnership relationship that can be as strong as kinship where the children are raised with retained recognition of the relationship.

Fictive (Ghost) Marriage Marriage by proxy to the symbols of someone not physically present to establish the social status of a spouse and heirs. –Ex: In the Nuer culture (who are cattle herders) of southern Sudan a woman can marry a man who has died without any heirs. The deceased man’s brother may stand-in on his behalf & if they have offspring the children will be considered the dead mans legitimate heirs. A woman of wealth can marry a deceased man in order to keep her power and wealth. Sororate: Widower marries sister of his deceased wife. Levirate: Widow marries brother of her deceased husband. om/watch?v=0ggBG mKndLw&feature=re lated

Marriage Exchanges Bridewealth (also called: bride price or progeny price) –Payment of money from the groom’s to the bride’s kin (opposite of a dowry). It’s a way of showing respect for the bride and her parents, compensates the family for the loss of her economic input, and gives father rights to offspring. Bride price is most common among polygynous, small- scale, patrilineal societies--especially in sub-Saharan Africa and among Native Americans. Dowry –Payment of a woman’s inheritance at the time of marriage to her or her husband. –Can be very serious in parts of India if not paid (“women die from “kitchen accidents”.) Bride service –The groom is expected to work for a period of time for the bride’s family. –Often moves in with them to help hunt, etc..

Incest Taboo The prohibition of sexual relations between specified individuals, usually parent-child and sibling relations at a minimum. Natural Aversion Theory: there is a natural aversion to sexual intercourse among those who have grown up together. Inbreeding Theory: mating between close kin produces a higher incidence of genetic defects. Family disruption Theory: mating between family members would create intense jealousies creating disfunction. Theory of Expanding Social Alliances: marry outside the immediate family creates a wider network of inter-family- alliances.

Cousin Marriage in the USA –19 states allow first cousin marriages in US. –31 states do not allow it. In some societies, the preferred spouse for a man is his father’s brother’s daughter, known as patrilateral parallel-cousin marriage. (Arabs, ancient Israelites & Greeks). – a parallel cousin is the child of a father’s brother or a mother’s sister. Some societies favor matrilateral cross-cousin marriage—marriage of a man to his mother’s brother’s daughter, or a woman to her father’s sister’s son. –A cross cousin is the child of a mother’s brother or a father’s sister.

Four Basic Residence Patterns  Patrilocal  Matrilocal  Ambilocal  Neolocal

Residence Patterns Patrilocal residence –A residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the locality associated with the husband’s father’s relatives. Important in polygynous cultures where warfare is prominent. Often found in cultures where animal husbandry and/or intensive agriculture is customary. Matrilocal residence –A residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the locality associated with the wife’s relatives. Often found in horticultural societies, where political organization is uncentralized & cooperation among women is important. Example: Hopi Indians.

Residence Patterns Ambilocal residence –A pattern in which a married couple may choose either matrilocal or patrilocal residence. Common among food-foraging peoples where economic cooperation of more people than are available in the nuclear family is needed but where resources are limited in some way. Neolocal residence –A pattern in which a married couple may establish their household in a location apart from either the husband’s or the wife’s relatives. Common where independence of the nuclear family is emphasized, such as industrial societies like the U.S.

Divorce: Factors contributing to divorce Many marriages are based on ideals of romantic love or the idealization of youth. Establishing an intimate bond in a society in which people are taught to seek individual gratification is difficult. Between 1970 and 2005, the number of divorced Americans rose from 4.3 million to 22 million. The rate of growth of single-parent families has outstripped population growth.