1. Family Chapter 7 Lecture PowerPoint © W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

2. Social Institutions  Permanent features of society  Embedded in culture and structure  Carry out necessary functions  Maintain and reproduce social arrangements  Family is the most basic institution (others: Religion, Economy, Political System, Education, Health Care)

3. Family Structures – changes over time  The Preindustrial Family Functioned like a miniature economy. Everyone worked to produce items needed to survive work took place in or near home. Children were economic assets Depended heavily on kinship networks Based in agricultural system – land ownership and inheritance Kinship weakened as families became more mobile.

4. Family Structures – changes over time  The Industrial Revolution Removed work from home. Men participated in public wage-earning work. Women remained in private world of household Devaluation of women’s work (unpaid) Meritocracy raised aspirations for standard of living Children became economic liabilities Family size declined

5. Family Structures – changes over time  Post Industrial Families Transition to service economy by 1970’s Increased demand for labor, opportunity for women Married women entered labor force Changed balance of power in marriage Changed family roles from obligatory to optional

6. Family structure Mode of production Institutional marriage, extended family Agricultural production Companionship marriage, nuclear family Industrial production Individual marriage, diversity of forms Service based economy

7. Contemporary Family Forms – Individual Choice You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 7  2 parent biological or adoptive family  Childless couple  2 parent stepfamily or step-adoptive family  1 parent family, usually Divorced woman Never married woman  Cohabiting male and female  Same sex couple, with or without children  Single person

8. Figure 7.1 | Changing Structure of American Families

9. Family and Work: A Not-So-Subtle Revolution You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 9  changes in the organization of work and family life since the 1970s Increased participation of women in work force Decreasing marriage and birth rate Changes in balance of power in marriage Increasing divorce rate (leveled off in 80’s) Changes in childrearing practices

10. Figure 7.2 | Women in the Labor Force, 1970-2004

11. Marital Power and Work  Women’s employment may change household gender roles  Three ideologies about wives’ employment (Arlie Hochschild) Traditional – wife still responsible for home and family, work takes 2 nd priority Egalitarian – 50-50 sharing of work and home Transitional – husband more traditional, wife more egalitarian (most common, led to conflicts)

12. Employed Wives Do More Housework Than Their Husbands: Self-reported housework Male (%)Female (%) All or almost all10.453.6 About half52.638.1 Some30.86.4 Little or none6.21.8 Total100.0 Source: 2006 General Social Survey (N = 467 married persons, employed full time).

13. Why don’t men do equal housework?  Comparison – doing more than their fathers  Needs reduction – wife seems to be handling it  Different standards – “what mess?”  Wives don’t ask May still hold traditional views Avoid conflict Enjoy having power over household issues

14. Women’s strategies for coping  “Supermom” – do it all Difficult to maintain Can lead to resentment  Re-order priorities, cut back on job, family, self, or housework  Get help (assign chores or pay someone)  Ask husbands to share sometimes succeeded, generally improved marriage

15. Ethnicity and American Families You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 15  African American Families women have taken leading role in providing for families Less emphasis on formal marriage, but 2 parent families were common during era of slavery Strong kinship ties, reliance on informal networks 20 th century: 2 main trends  Rise of middle class – increasing gap between middle and bottom  Decline in marriage – fewer “eligible” young black men

16. Swimming and Sinking: Inequality and American Families You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 16  W. E. B. DuBois argued that the high rate of female- headed families in the African American community was a result of racial oppression and poverty, not a cause of it.  William Julius Wilson argued an outright shortage of employed, un-incarcerated black men with whom black women could hope to form a stable family unit, thus leaving them with little choice in terms of taking responsibility for their families.

17. Latino Families You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 17  Not a unified group - different countries and cultures  some characteristics can be identified as common Strong family and community ties Adherence to traditional gender roles Devout Catholicism High marriage rates (not always formal marriage) Low divorce rates

18. Native American Families  Based on tribe or lineage  Relationships may not be all blood  High respect for elders  Strong value of children – community responsibility  Strong sense of tradition, stories  May still be marginalized due to culture

19. Female headed families  Disadvantaged financially  May face stigma – assumption that raising child alone is selfish choice  Often criticized for using welfare and services  Face many obstacles to finding good jobs Lack of child care, limited work hours Lower education, lack of support for school Often employed in “care work” or domestic work – low status, low income

20. Children and childrearing  Two approaches have been dominant Traditional– raising a competent adult  Focus on discipline, obedience conformity  Closer to working class culture  Fits institutional marriage and family  People have children because it is expected Developmental – developing child’s potential  Focus on creativity, self-direction  Closer to middle class values  Fits individual marriage and family  People have children to enhance their lives

21. Is “Childhood” a recent concept?  Traditional view: childhood as separate stage came with industrialization Education separated children from outside world Industrialization created homemaker/mother role Children expected to choose own path in life  Contemporary view: childhood was always unique stage separate children’s cultures have always existed “coddling” view of children seems to occur in cycles

22. Divorce  Currently just under 1 divorce per 2 marriages  Rate doubled in 1970’s – great concern Women’s employment provided alternatives “No Fault” system made divorce easier (but may have been in response to demand)  Rate has leveled off  Biggest concern is for well-being of children

23. Figure 7.4 | Divorce Rate over the Past Century

24. Divorce and children – chain of negative events (Cherlin and Furstenburg)  Loss of noncustodial parent  Loss of financial support, standard of living  Possible loss of home, neighborhood, school  Loss of custodial parent due to emotional trauma, more work hours – “diminished parenting”  Loss of childhood, problems in later relationships  Most of these could be prevented by well managed divorce

25. Future of families, children  Often pessimistic predictions, stereotypes  Many children’s lives are better than ever Standard of living Education Health  Worse prospects for: Children of young single mothers Minority children Children of working poor