10 - Weebly



|CHAPTER |10 |RACIAL AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY |

| |CHAPTER SUMMARY |

Sociologists distinguish between racial, ethnic, and minority groups. The term racial group is used to describe a group that is set apart from others because of obvious physical differences. Ethnic groups are set apart from others primarily because of their national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. A minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than members of a dominant group or majority group. The social construction of race refers to the process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural, and economic factors.

Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people. Sometimes prejudice results from ethnocentrism—the tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others. Racism is one important and widespread form of prejudice that fosters a belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. Discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups based on some type of arbitrary bias. The glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of qualified people in a work environment based on one’s gender, race, or ethnicity. Dominant groups enjoy privileges at the expense of others. Sociologist are becoming increasingly interested in what it means to be “White,” for White privilege is the other side of the coin of racial discrimination. Institutional discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups which results from the normal operations of society.

Functionalists observe that racial prejudice and discrimination serve positive functions for dominant groups, whereas conflict theorists see the economic structure as a central factor in the exploitation of minorities. The interactionist view stresses the manner in which everyday contact between people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds contributes to tolerance or leads to hostility. According to the contact hypothesis, in cooperative circumstances, interracial contact between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes.

There are four identifiable patterns that are used to describe typical intergroup relations. Amalgamation describes the end result of intermarriage over several generations when a majority and a minority group combine to form a new group. Assimilation is the process by which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture, as is practiced by minorities when conforming to the standards of the dominant group. Segregation refers to the physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social functions. Pluralism is based on the mutual respect between various cultural groups within a society.

Globalization has had a major impact on immigrations patterns. One consequence of global immigration is the emergence of transnationals—people or families who move across borders multiple times in search of better jobs and education.

African Americans are the largest racial minority in the United States. One out of every four Blacks in the United States is poor, compared to one out of every 12 Whites. Native Americans represent a diverse array of cultures. There are approximately 2.5 million Native Americans in the United States. Asian Americans are considered an ideal minority group because they have succeeded economically, socially, and educationally without resorting to confrontations with Whites. By some estimates, there are up to3 million Arab Americans in the United States. Most are not Muslim. Latinos and Hispanics represent the largest minority in the United States. Jewish Americans constitute almost 3 percent of the population of the United States. Like some Asian Americans, many came to this country and became white-collar professionals in spite of prejudice and discrimination.

| |LECTURE OUTLINE |

I. Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups

• A racial group is a group that is set apart from others because of physical differences

that have taken on social significance. Examples: Whites, African Americans, and

Asian Americans.

• Ethnic groups are set apart primarily because of national origin or distinctive cultural

patterns. Examples: Jewish Americans or Polish Americans.

A. Minority Groups

• A numerical minority is a group that makes up less than half of some larger

population.

• A minority in the sociological sense is a subordinate group whose members have

significantly less control or power over their own lives than members of the

dominant or majority group have over theirs.

• Sociologists have identified five basic properties of minorities groups:

(1) members of a minority group experience unequal treatment; (2) minority

group members share physical or cultural characteristics different from the

dominant group; (3) minority group membership is not voluntary (ascribed);

(4) minority members have a strong sense of group solidarity; and (5) minority

members generally marry from within the same group.

B. Race

• Social differentiation based on physical traits. Example: Black, White, and

Asian.

1. Social Construction of Race

• The social construction of race is the process by which people come to

define a group as a race based on physical characteristics, as well as

historical, cultural, and economic factors.

• About 2.6 percent of people in the United States report they are of two

or more races. Half of those classified as multiracial are under the age of

18.

• William I. Thomas suggested that personality could be molded by the

“definition of a situation.”

• Stereotypes are unreliable generalizations about all members of a group

that do not recognize individual differences within the group.

C. Ethnicity

• Ethnic groups are set apart from others based on national origin or distinctive

cultural patterns.

• Stratification along racial lines is more resistant to change than stratification

along ethnic lines.

II. Prejudice and Discrimination

A. Prejudice

• Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people.

• Prejudice tends to perpetuate false definitions of individuals and groups.

• Ethnocentrism is the tendency to assume one’s own culture and way of life are

superior to all others.

• Racism is a form of widespread prejudice that fosters a belief that one race is

supreme over all others. Example: hate crimes

• The Internet may be allowing race-hate groups to expand their traditional base.

B. Discriminatory Behavior

• Discrimination: denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and

groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. Example: hiring

practices based on race.

• Glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a

qualified individual because of gender, race, or ethnicity.

C. The Privileges of the Dominant

• Advantages of being White include not having to feel different from everyone

else; being considered financially reliable; race isn’t a negative factor in

obtaining a job or buying a home; being able to be seated without difficulty in a

restaurant; being able to express an opinion without others assuming it is the

opinion of all Whites.

D. Institutional Discrimination

• Refers to the denial of opportunities and equal rights for individuals and groups

which results from the normal operations of society.

• Affects some minorities more than others.

• Includes rules requiring that only English be spoken at a place of work;

admission practices commonly used by law and medical schools; restrictive

employment-leave policies.

• Passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (prohibiting discrimination in public

accommodations and publicly owned facilities on the basis of race, color, creed,

national origin, and gender) was an attempt to eradicate discrimination.

• Affirmative action programs are aimed at recruiting minority members for jobs,

promotions, and educational opportunities. Some argue that advancing one’s

group over another merely shifts the discrimination to another group.

III. Studying Race and Ethnicity

A. Functionalist Perspective

• Manning Nash identified three functions of racially prejudiced beliefs:

(1) provides a moral justification for maintaining inequality; (2) discourages

subordinate minorities from questioning their lowly status; and (3) an end to

discrimination would bring greater poverty to minorities and would lower the

majority’s standard of living.

• Racial prejudice may also be seen as dysfunctional for a society. Example:

Arnold Rose’s four dysfunctions.

B. Conflict Perspective

• Exploitation theory suggests racial subordination keeps minorities in low-

paying jobs, thereby supplying the capitalist ruling class with a pool of cheap

labor. By forcing minorities to accept low wages, capitalists can restrict wages of

all members of the proletariat. Example: clash over keeping Chinese immigrant

labor out of the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century.

C. Interactionist Perspective

• Contact hypothesis states that in cooperative circumstances, interracial contact

between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to

abandon previous stereotypes. The trend in U.S. society is toward increasing

contact between those from dominant and subordinate groups.

• Another possible way to eliminate or reduce stereotyping and prejudice is the

establishment of interracial coalitions that would be built on equal roles for all

members.

IV. Patterns of Intergroup Relations

• Genocide is the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation.

• Expulsion is the driving of people from their homes for the purpose of ethnic cleansing.

Example: Serbs driving Croats and Muslims from the former Yugoslavia.

A. Amalgamation

• Majority and minority group combine to form a new group. Example:

A+B+C=D.

• The term melting pot is not an adequate description of the United States.

B. Assimilation

• Process by which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become

part of a different culture. Example: A+B+C=A.

• Name changing to hide religious or ethnic heritage.

C. Segregation

• Physical separation of two or more groups in terms of residence, workplace,

and social events. Example: apartheid in South Africa.

• Residential segregation is still the norm in the United States. The average

White lives in an area that is at least 83 percent White; the average African

American in a neighborhood that is mostly Black; the average Latino in an area

that is 42 percent Hispanic.

D. Pluralism

• Pluralism is based on mutual respect among various groups. Example:

A+B+C=A+B+C.

• Pluralism is more of an ideal than a reality in the U.S.

• Switzerland exemplifies the modern pluralistic state.

V. Race and Ethnicity in the United States

A. Racial Groups

1. African Americans

• Institutional discrimination and individual prejudice against Blacks is

rooted in the history of slavery.

• Enslaved Blacks could not own property or pass on the benefits of their

labor to children.

• End of the Civil War did not bring real freedom and equality. Southern

states passed “Jim Crow” laws to enforce official segregation; upheld by

Supreme Court as constitutional in 1896.

• Informal control forced segregation through vigilante terror. Example:

Ku Klux Klan.

• Landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education

(1954), outlawed segregation of public schools students: “Separate

educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

• During the 1960s, a vast civil rights movement emerged. Examples:

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by Dr.

Martin Luther King. Jr.; National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People (NAACP).

• Black power movement rejected the goal of assimilation into White

middle-class society and defended the beauty of Black and African

cultures.

• Blacks represent 6 percent or less of all physicians, engineers, scientists,

lawyers, judges, and marketing managers.

2. Native Americans

• Today, 2.2 million Native Americans represent a diverse array of

cultures, distinguishable by language, family organization, religion, and

livelihood.

• 554 tribal groups in the United States.

• Since 1960, the count of Native Americans has tripled, suggesting Native

Americans are no longer concealing their identity.

• Introduction of gambling on Indian reservations provokes controversy.

See Box 10-2.

3. Asian Americans

• Diverse group, and one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S.

population (up 69 percent between 1990 and 2000).

• Held as a model or ideal minority group.

• Southeast Asians living in the U.S. have the highest rate of welfare

dependency of any racial or ethnic group.

• Work in the same occupations as Whites but still experience the glass

ceiling.

a. Vietnamese Americans

• Came to U.S. largely after Vietnam War and U.S. withdrawal in

1975.

• Have gravitated toward larger urban areas.

b. Chinese Americans

• Encouraged to immigrate to U.S. from about 1850 to 1880.

Thousands were lured by job opportunities created by the

discovery of gold. But as competition for jobs grew, they became

targets of bitter efforts to limit their numbers and restrict their

rights. Example: Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).

• Currently, about 2.8 million live in the U.S.

c. Japanese Americans

• About 1.3 million live in the U.S. The first generation Issei

were largely males seeking employment opportunities.

• Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 had severe repercussions.

Detention of Japanese Americans in “evacuation” camps caused

them severe financial and emotional hardship.

• In 1988, the Civil Liberties Act required reparations and

apologies from the federal government for interned Japanese

Americans.

d. Korean Americans

• Nearly 1.3 million live in the U.S.

• The initial wave of immigration occurred between 1903 and 1910

with laborers going to Hawaii. The second wave occurred

following the Korean War. Most were wives of U.S. servicemen

and war orphans. The third wave is ongoing, with immigrants

holding professional skills.

4. Arab Americans

• Immigrants and their descendents from 22 countries in North Africa and

the Middle East.

• Estimated population of up to 3 million Arab Americans.

• The Arab American population is concentrated in certain areas of the

U.S. See Figure 10-6.

• For years, especially after 9/11 Arab Americans have been subject to

profiling and surveillance by law enforcement.

• Most Arab Americans are not Muslims.

B. Ethnic Groups

1. Latinos

• Represent the largest minority in the U.S. More than 40 million in the

U.S. in 2002. See Figure 10-7.

• Rise in Latino populations is due to high birthrates and immigration.

• Language barriers contribute to educational problems and low economic

status of Hispanics.

a. Mexican Americans

• The largest of Latino populations.

• Largely Roman Catholic, which increases conflicts with White

Protestants. However, the Church does help many immigrants

develop a sense of identity and assimilate into the norms and

values of the dominant culture.

b. Puerto Ricans

• Second-largest segment of Latinos in the U.S. Have held

American citizen status since 1917.

• Many have migrated to New York and other eastern cities.

• Those living in the continental U.S. earn barely half the family

income of Whites. Reverse migration began in the 1970s, when

more Puerto Ricans left for the island than were coming to the

mainland.

• Statehood discussions have resulted in continuing commonwealth

status.

c. Cuban Americans

• Immigration began to flourish after Castro’s assumption of power

in 1959. First wave included many professionals; more recent waves

have been less likely to be skilled professionals.

• Florida has been largest center of immigrant populations.

2. Jewish Americans

• Almost 3 percent of U.S. population. Many became white-collar

professionals.

• Anti-Semitism refers to a prejudice directed toward Jews.

• A 2003 study suggested that 47 percent of Jews who married in the past

five years married non-Jews.

3. White Ethnics

• 43 million of German ancestry, 31 million of Irish ancestry, 16 million of

Italian ancestry, and 9 million of Polish ancestry.

• Many identify only sporadically with their heritage: Symbolic ethnicity

refers to an emphasis on concerns such as ethnic food or political issues

rather than on deeper ties to one’s ethnic heritage.

VI. Social Policy and Racial and Ethnic Inequality: Global Immigration

A. The Issue

• Worldwide immigration is at an all time high, raising questions for the countries

To which they immigrate.

B. The Setting

• People migrate into countries where there is perceived economic opportunity.

• Seven countries, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the

United States shelter one-third of the world’s immigrants. Many of these people

are transnationals, people who move across borders many times in search of jobs

and education.

• Entrance policies in the U.S. favor family members and skilled workers. This

results in increasing proportion of immigrants from Latin America and Asia

C. Sociological Insights

• Immigration is functional. Immigrants adapt to U.S. society and become assets

to the economy, alleviate labor shortages, remittances help the country of origin.

• Dysfunctions include short-term stress on social services in communities with

high concentrations of immigrants and loss of family members, skilled

workforce for the sending country.

• Conflict theorists note that racial and ethnic hostilities can be hidden in

economic arguments.

•Feminists note that immigrant women face economic hardship as well as the

stress of negotiating the new system on behalf of their children.

D. Policy Initiatives

• Increased public perception that the U.S. has lost control of its borders has led to increased pressure for immigration control.

• Legal consequences of hiring illegal aliens have increased, leading to protests by illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, and other citizens on both sides of the issue.

• European Union is struggling with immigration policy.

• Terrorist attacks of 2001 caused increased government scrutiny of immigrants as

they attempt to travel to many nations.

| |KEY TERMS |

Affirmative action  Positive efforts to recruit minority group members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities.

Amalgamation  The process through which a majority group and a minority group combine to form a new group.

Anti-Semitism  Anti-Jewish prejudice.

Apartheid  A former policy of the South African government, designed to maintain the separation of Blacks and other non-Whites from the dominant Whites.

Assimilation  The process through which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture.

Black power  A political philosophy promoted by many younger Blacks in the 1960s that supported the creation of Black-controlled political and economic institutions.

Color-blind racism The use of race-neutral principles to defend a racially unequal status quo.

Contact hypothesis  An interactionist perspective which states that in cooperative circumstances, interracial contact between people of equal status will reduce prejudice.

Discrimination  The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons.

Ethnic group  A group that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or cultural patterns.

Ethnocentrism  The tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others.

Exploitation theory  A Marxist theory that views racial subordination in the United States as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism.

Genocide  The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation.

Glass ceiling  An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race, or ethnicity.

Hate crime A criminal offense committed because of the offender’s bias against a race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation.

Institutional discrimination  The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society.

Minority group  A subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant or majority group have over theirs.

Model or ideal minority  A minority group that despite past prejudice and discrimination, succeeds economically, socially, and educationally without resorting to confrontations with Whites.

Nisei  Children born in the United States to the Issei.

Pluralism  Mutual respect for one another’s cultures among the various groups in a society, which allows minorities to express their own cultures without experiencing prejudice.

Prejudice  A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority.

Racial formation a sociohistorical process in which racial categories are created, inhibited, transformed, and destroyed.

Racial group  A group that is set apart from others because of obvious physical differences.

Racial profiling Any arbitrary action initiated by an authority based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on a person’s behavior.

Racism  The belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior.

Segregation  The physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social events; often imposed on a minority group by a dominant group.

Stereotype  An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group.

Symbolic ethnicity An ethnic identity that emphasizes such concerns as ethnic food and political issues rather than deeper ties to one’s ethnic heritage.

|CHAPTER |12 |THE FAMILY AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS |

| |CHAPTER SUMMARY |

A family can be defined as a set of people related by blood, marriage, or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society. In the United States, family has traditionally been viewed in a very narrow set of terms: as a married couple and their unmarried children living together. The traditional family arrangement is referred to as a nuclear family. By contrast, an extended family is a family in which relatives (e.g., grandparents, aunts, or uncles) live in the same home as parents and their children. Family types are relevant to various forms of marriage, which include: monogamy, serial monogamy, and polygamy (which includes polygyny and polyandry).

The state of being related to others is called kinship. The United States follows the pattern of bilateral descent, which means that both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equally important. Patrilineal descent indicates that only the father’s relatives are important in determining property, inheritance, and emotional ties. Conversely, in societies that favor matrilineal descent, only the mother’s relatives are significant. Authority patterns within families are often related to kinship descent. If a society expects males to dominate in all the family decision making, it is termed a patriarchy. By contrast, in a matriarchy, women have greater authority than men. Within the egalitarian family, spouses are regarded as equals; however, wives may hold authority in some spheres and husbands in others.

The various sociological perspectives hold varying views on family. Functionalists focus on the ways in which family gratifies the needs of its members and contributes to the stability of society in providing reproduction, protection, socialization, regulation of sexual behavior, affection and companionship, and social status. Conflict theorists view family as a reflection of the inequality in wealth and power found within the larger society. Both feminist and conflict theorists contend that family has traditionally legitimized and perpetuated male dominance. In essence, the family is viewed as an economic unit that contributes to societal injustice. Interactionists focus on the micro level of family and other intimate relationships. Interactionists are interested in how individuals, whether cohabitating or married, interact with one another. Feminist theorists stress the need to rethink the notion that families in which no adult male is present are automatically a cause for concern, or even dysfunctional.

Mate selection is influenced by distinctive cultural norms and values. Endogamy specifies that people are expected to marry within their own racial, ethnic, or religious group. Conversely, exogamy requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually one’s own family or certain kinfolk. The incest taboo prohibits sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relatives. In the United States, love is important in the courtship process and is considered a rationale for marriage. Arranged marriages often take precedent over love relationships in many parts of the world.

Within the United States, social class, race, and ethnicity create variations in family life. The subordinate status of racial and ethnic minorities profoundly affects family life in the United States. The African American family suffers from many negative and inaccurate stereotypes. Mexican Americans have traditionally placed proximity to their extended families above other needs and desires.

Caring for children is a universal function of the family, yet the ways in which this care is assigned to family members vary significantly. Parenthood is one of the most important social roles in the United States. A recent extension of parenthood involves adult children continuing to live at home or returning home after college or divorce. This phenomenon is sometimes called the “boomerang generation” or the “full-nest syndrome” in the popular press. In 2002, 8 percent of all children in the U.S. lived in a home with a grandparent. The expectation that a family consists of a wage-earning husband with a wife who stays at home has largely given way to the dual-income household. The rise of the dual income model is partly contingent on economic need, the increasing desire on the part of both men and women to pursue careers, and increasing acceptance of egalitarian marriage. The diminishing of the “unwed mother” stigma has contributed to more single-parent families. In 2004, a single parent headed about 20 percent of White families with children under 18, 29 percent of Hispanic families, and 59 percent of African-American families. Approximately 63 percent of all divorcees in the United States have remarried. The rising rates of divorce and remarriage have led to a noticeable increase in stepfamily relationships. Perhaps the most important factor in the increase in divorce over the last hundred years has been the greater social acceptance of divorce.

One of the most dramatic trends in recent years has been the tremendous increase in male-female couples who choose to live together without marrying. This practice of cohabitation rose sixfold in the 1960s and increased another 72 percent between 1990 and 2000. More and more people are postponing entry into marriage. However, fewer than 4 percent of women and men in the United States are likely to remain single throughout their lives. There has been a modest increase in childlessness in the United States. About 16 to 17 percent of women will now complete their childbearing years without having borne any children, compared to 10 percent in 1980. The lifestyles of gay and lesbian couples can be varied. The issue of gay marriage is highly controversial.

| |LECTURE OUTLINE |

Introduction

• A family is defined as a set of people related by blood, marriage, or some other agreed upon

relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for

members of society.

I. Global View of the Family

A. Composition: What Is the Family?

• The nuclear family consists of a married couple and their unmarried children

living together. Nuclear families have steadily decreased over the last 30 years.

By 2000, only about a third of U.S. family households fit this model.

• An extended family is a family in which relatives—such as grandparents, aunts,

or uncles—live in the same home as parents and their children.

• Extended families provide greater emotional and financial support.

• Monogamy refers to one woman and one man married only to each other.

• Serial monogamy refers to a person who may have several spouses in his or her

lifetime, but only one at a time.

• There are two types of polygamy: polygyny refers to the marriage of a man to

more than one woman at the same time, and polyandry refers to a woman with

more than one husband at the same time.

B. Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We Related?

• The state of being related to others is called kinship.

• Kinship is culturally learned and follows a system of descent.

• In bilateral descent, both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equal.

• In patrilineal descent, only the father’s relatives are important in terms of

property, inheritance, and emotional ties.

• In matrilineal descent, only the mother’s relatives are significant.

C. Authority Patterns: Who Rules?

• In a patriarchy males are expected to dominate all family decision making.

• Men typically find divorce easier than women in a patriarchy.

• Women have greater authority than men in matriarchies, which are very rare.

• In an egalitarian family, authority is shared between spouses. Egalitarian

families are becoming more common in the United States.

II. Sociological Perspectives On The Family

• Friedrich Engels (1884) described family as the ultimate source of social inequality.

A. Functionalist View

• Family gratifies the needs of its members and contributes to the stability of

society.

• Six paramount functions of family outlined by William F. Ogburn:

(1) reproduction, (2) protection, (3) socialization, (4) regulation of sexual

behavior, (5) affection and companionship, and (6) providing social status.

• Some functions have been shifted to outside groups. Example: education

and recreation.

B. Conflict View

• Family is a reflection of inequality in wealth and power, perpetuated by male

dominance.

• Family is viewed as an economic unit that contributes to social injustice.

• Children inherit the class status of their parents.

C. Interactionist View

• Micro-level analysis interested in how individuals interact. Examples:

father/children interaction as it relates to behavioral problems; studies related to

behavior of stepfamilies.

D. Feminist View

• Research on gender roles in child care and household chores has been extensive.

Example: Arlie Hochschild.

• Feminist theorists have urged others to rethink notion that families with no adult

male are automatically cause for concern.

• Other areas of research: single women, single-parent households, and lesbian

couples. Feminists stress need to investigate neglected topics in family studies.

Example: families in which wife earns more than the husband.

III. Marriage and Family

• Over 95 percent of all men and women in the U.S. will marry at least once.

A. Courtship and Mate Selection

• Influenced by the norms and values of the larger society.

• Internet romance via matchmaking services. Examples: eHarmony and

.

• The process is taking longer than in the past. Most people are well into their 20s

before they marry.

1. Aspects of Mate Selection

• Endogamy specifies that people are expected to marry within their

own racial, ethnic, or religious group. Intended to reinforce group

cohesiveness.

• Exogamy requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually

one’s own family or certain kinfolk.

• Incest taboos prohibit sexual relationships between culturally specified

relatives. In the U.S. this means we must marry outside the nuclear

family.

• Until the 1960s, interracial marriage was outlawed in some states.

• Marriage between African Americans and Whites has increased more

than sevenfold in recent decades. Twenty-seven percent of all married

Hispanics have a non-Hispanic spouse; 25 percent of married Asian

American women and 12 percent of married Asian American men are

married to someone of non-Asian descent.

• Endogamy is still the social norm in the United States.

• Homogamy is the conscious or unconscious tendency to choose a mate

with similar personalities and cultural interests. Example: “Like marries

like” rule. However others observe the rule that “Opposites attract.” So

mate selection is unpredictable.

2. The Love Relationship

• In the U.S., love is important in courtship as a rationale for marriage.

• Love is not universal for marriage in all cultures.

• Arranged marriages are the basis for mate selection in many cultures and

in some subcultures within the U.S. See Box 12-2

B. Variations in Family Life and Intimate Relationships

1. Social Class Differences

• Upper-class families emphasize lineage of family position.

• Lower-class families struggle to pay bills and survive.

• Middle-class families are more permissive than lower-class families,

which have tended to be more authoritative; however, these differences

have recently narrowed.

• Women play a significant economic role in poor families. Example: In

2006, 28 percent of all families headed by women with no husband

present were below the poverty line. The rate for married couples was

only 4.9 percent.

2. Racial and Ethnic Differences

• The subordinate status of racial and ethnic minorities affects family life.

• Female kin ease financial strains among Black families headed by single

mothers.

• Emphasis on deep religious commitment and aspirations for

achievement.

• Mexican Americans are more familistic in that extended family ties

are strong. Mexican-American men exhibit machismo.

C. Child-Rearing Patterns

1. Parenthood and Grandparenthood

• Parenthood is one of the most important social roles in the U.S.

• Alice Rossi identified four factors regarding socialization into

parenthood: (1) little anticipatory socialization for the care-giving role;

(2) limited learning occurs during the pregnancy period; (3) transition to

parenthood is abrupt; and (4) society lacks clear guidelines for successful

parenthood.

• Extension of parenthood. Example: children living at home longer, and

divorced children returning home to live with parents. In 2006, 53

percent of men and 43 percent of women 18 to 24 lived with their

parents. Studies of the boomerang generation, or the full-nest syndrome,

suggest that neither parents nor adult children are happy about living

together. Some feel resentful and isolated.

• In 2004, 6.5 million children in the U.S. lived with grandparents.

2. Adoption

• Process that allows the transfer of legal rights, responsibilities, and

privileges of parenthood to a new legal parent or parents.

• Functionalists suggest that government encourages adoption for stability.

• Conflict perspective suggests affluent couples buy children of the poor.

• In 1995, New York (after Vermont and Massachusetts) held that couples

do not have to be married to adopt. Under this ruling, unmarried

heterosexual couples, lesbian couples, and gay male couples can all

legally adopt children in New York.

3. Dual-Income Families

• Majority of married people are dual-wage earners out of economic need.

• The increase in the proportion of men and women who desire to pursue

careers contributes to the increase in dual income families. Increased

participation of women in the labor force is associated with both the rise

in the number of married couples who live apart for reasons other than

marital discord and in the increased acceptance of the egalitarian family

type.

4. Single-Parent Families

• Stigma attached to “unwed” mothers has significantly declined.

• In the U.S. in 2004, a single parent headed about 20 percent of White

families with children under 18, 29 percent of Hispanic families, and 59

percent of African American families.

• The majority of babies born to unwed teenage mothers are born to White

adolescents.

• In 2007, 88% of single-parent households in the U.S. were headed by

mothers; however, households headed by single fathers more than

quadrupled between 1980 and 2000.

• Single fathers tend to be more isolated than single mothers.

5. Stepfamilies

• Rising rates of divorce and remarriage have increased stepfamily

relationships.

• Children of stepfamilies may not be better off than children of divorced,

single-parent households.

• Compared to children raised by biological parents, children raised in

stepfamilies are likely to have less healthcare, education, and money for

food.

V. Divorce

A. Statistical Trends in Divorce

• Divorce began to increase in the late 1960s, and has declined since the late

1980s.

• About 63 percent of divorced people remarry.

• Some regard the remarriage rate as an endorsement of the institution of

marriage.

B. Factors Associated with Divorce

• Greater social acceptance.

• Relaxing of negative attitudes by religious denominations.

• Growing worldwide acceptance. Example: increasing divorce rate in South

Korea

• States have adopted more liberal divorce laws (no fault).

• Divorce more practical option since families today tend to have fewer children.

• The general increase in family income and the availability of free legal aid to

some poor make divorce more affordable.

• Women are less dependent on their husbands, both economically and

emotionally, and feel more able to leave a bad marriage.

C. Impact of Divorce on Children

• Some suggest divorce is a welcome end for children witnessing family

dysfunction.

• In about 70 percent of all divorces, the stress and conflict of the divorce

are harder for the children than living with marital unhappiness.

VI. Diverse Lifestyles

• Marriage rate has declined since 1960 because people are postponing marriage,

and because more couples, including same-sex couples, are forming partnerships

without marriage.

A. Cohabitation

• Male-female couples who choose to live together without marrying.

• Number of unmarried-couple households rose sixfold in the 1960s and

another 72 percent between 1990 and 2000.

• Cohabitation is also extremely common in Europe.

• Working couples are almost twice as likely to cohabit as college students.

• In 2003, 45 percent of unmarried couples had one or more children in the

household.

• About half of all people who cohabit have previously been married.

B. Remaining Single

• Fewer than 4 percent of women and men in the U.S. are likely to remain

single throughout their lives.

• Postponing marriage is related to growing economic independence of young

people.

• Single persons may choose not to limit their sexual intimacy and not to become

dependent on another person.

• Singles may form support groups to combat inaccurate stereotyping.

C. Marriage without Children

• There has been a modest increase in childlessness in the U.S.

• About 16 to 17 percent of women will complete their childbearing years

without having borne any children, compared to 10 percent in 1980.

• Economic considerations have contributed to this attitude. Example: In 2004,

the average middle-class family will spend $184,320 to feed, clothe, and shelter

a child from birth to age 18. If the child attends college, the amount could double.

D. Lesbian and Gay Relationships

• Lifestyles of gays and lesbians vary greatly.

• Two to 5 percent of the adult population identify themselves as either gay or

lesbian.

VII. Social Policy and the Family: Gay Marriage

A. The Issue

• Same-sex marriage

B. The Setting

• In 2004, George W. Bush raised the possibility of a constitutional amendment

banning same-sex marriages.

• In 1999, the state of Vermont began to give same-sex couples in civil unions the

same legal benefits as married couples.

• In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gay couples had the

right to marry.

C. Sociological Insights

• Functionalists emphasize the link between marriage and reproduction.

• Conflict theorists see the lack of marriage rights among gays as a way of

continuing to subordinate them.

• Interactionists are interested in the household dynamics of same-sex households.

D. Policy Initiatives

• A number of European countries recognize same-sex partnerships.

• In the U.S., many local jurisdictions allow gay couples to register as domestic

partnerships, through which they can receive some of the benefits of marriage.

• Some states have moved to ban same-sex marriage, though they still prohibit

discrimination against gays and lesbians.

| |KEY TERMS |

Adoption  In a legal sense, a process that allows for the transfer of the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood to a new legal parent or parents.

Bilateral descent  A kinship system in which both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equally important.

Cohabitation  The practice of living together as a male–female couple without marrying.

Domestic partnership  Two unrelated adults who have chosen to share a mutually caring relationship, reside together, and agree to be jointly responsible for their dependents, basic living expenses, and other common necessities.

Egalitarian family  An authority pattern in which spouses are regarded as equals.

Endogamy  The restriction of mate selection to people within the same group.

Exogamy  The requirement that people select mates outside certain groups.

Extended family  A family in which relatives—such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles—live in the same home as parents and their children.

Familism  Pride in the extended family, expressed through the maintenance of close ties and strong obligations to kinfolk outside the immediate family.

Family  A set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society.

Homogamy The conscious or unconscious tendency to select a mate with personal characteristics similar to one’s own.

Incest taboo  The prohibition of sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relatives.

Kinship  The state of being related to others.

Machismo  A sense of virility, personal worth, and pride in one’s maleness.

Matriarchy  A society in which women dominate in family decision making.

Matrilineal descent  A kinship system in which only the relatives of the mother are significant.

Monogamy  A form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other.

Nuclear family  A married couple and their unmarried children living together.

Patriarchy  A society in which men dominate in family decision making.

Patrilineal descent  A kinship system in which only the relatives of the father are significant.

Polyandry  A form of polygamy in which a woman may have more than one husband at the same time.

Polygamy  A form of marriage in which an individual can have several husbands or wives simultaneously.

Polygyny  A form of polygamy in which a man may have more than one wife at the same time.

Serial monogamy  A form of marriage in which a person may have several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time.

Single-parent family  A family in which only one parent is present to care for the children.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download