Functionalists View the Family as Responsible for the Reproduction of Society in What Way?

The Functionalist Perspective

Functionalists view the family unit as a construct that fulfills important functions and keeps social club running smoothly.

Learning Objectives

Explain the social functions of the family unit through the perspective of structural functionalism

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Functionalists identify a number of functions families typically perform: reproduction; socialization; intendance, protection, and emotional support; assignment of status; and regulation of sexual behavior through social norms.
• For functionalists, the family unit creates well-integrated members of society by instilling the social civilization into children.
• Radcliffe-Brown proposed that about stateless, "primitive" societies, lacking stiff centralized institutions, are based on an association of descent groups. These clans sally from family unit units.

Primal Terms

• family: A group of people related by blood, marriage, law or custom.
• Radcliffe-Brown: A British social anthropologist from the early twentieth century who contributed to the development of the theory of structural-functionalism.
• institution: An established organization, especially one dedicated to didactics, public service, culture, or the care of the destitute, poor etc.

Structural functionalism is a framework that sees social club as a complex arrangement whose parts piece of work together to promote solidarity and stability. In this way, society is like an organism and each aspect of society (institutions, social constructs, etc.) is like an organ that works together to keep the whole functioning smoothly. This approach looks at lodge through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society equally a whole. Functionalism addresses society in terms of the function of its elective elements: norms, customs, traditions and institutions. Functionalists, in general, place a number of functions families typically perform: reproduction; socialization; care, protection, and emotional support; consignment of status; and regulation of sexual behavior through the norm of legitimacy.

The Family

Radcliffe-Brown proposed that almost stateless, "primitive" societies that lack potent centralized institutions are based on an association of corporate-descent groups. Structural functionalism likewise took on the argument that the basic edifice cake of society is the nuclear family, and that the clan is an outgrowth, non vice versa. Durkheim was concerned with the question of how certain societies maintain internal stability and survive over time. Based on the metaphor in a higher place of an organism in which many parts function together to sustain the whole, Durkheim argued that complicated societies are held together past organic solidarity.

Nuclear Family: Structural functionalism also took on the argument that the bones building block of society is the nuclear family, and that the clan is an outgrowth, not vice versa.

Functions of the Family

For functionalists, the family creates well-integrated members of club and instills culture into the new members of society. It provides of import ascribed statuses such every bit social class and ethnicity to new members. Information technology is responsible for social replacement by reproducing new members, to replace its dying members. Further, the family gives individuals property rights and also affords the consignment and maintenance of kinship club. Lastly, families offer material and emotional security and provides care and back up for the individuals who need care.

Expectant Family unit: Family unit expecting an boosted family unit member.

Family in the 1970s: For functionalists, the family creates well-integrated members of social club and teaches culture to the new members of society.

The Conflict Perspective

The conflict perspective views the family every bit a vehicle to maintain patriarchy (gender inequality) and social inequality in society.

Learning Objectives

Analyze the family from the perspective of disharmonize theory

Primal Takeaways

Key Points

• The conflict perspective describes the inequalities that exist in all societies globally, and considers aspects of society equally ways for those with power and status to maintain control over scare resource.
• Co-ordinate to disharmonize theorists, the family works toward the continuance of social inequality within a society past maintaining and reinforcing the condition quo.
• Through inheritance, the wealthy families are able to keep their privileged social position for their members.
• Conflict theorists have seen the family unit as a social organisation benefiting men more than women.

Cardinal Terms

• family: A group of people related by blood, marriage, law or custom.
• inheritance: The passing of championship to an estate upon decease.
• Conflict Perspective: A perspective in the social sciences that emphasizes the social, political or material inequality of a social group; critiques the broad socio-political organization; or otherwise detracts from structural functionalism and ideological conservativism.

The Disharmonize perspective refers to the inequalities that exist in all societies globally. Conflict theory is specially interested in the various aspects of master status in social position—the principal identifying characteristic of an individual seen in terms of race or ethnicity, sex activity or gender, age, organized religion, ability or disability, and socio-economical status. According to the Conflict paradigm, every society is plagued by inequality based on social differences among the ascendant grouping and all of the other groups in society. When nosotros are analyzing whatever chemical element of society from this perspective, nosotros need to look at the structures of wealth, power and status, and the ways in which those structures maintain social, economical, political and coercive power of one group at the expense of others.

The Family unit

According to conflict theorists, the family works toward the continuance of social inequality within a society by maintaining and reinforcing the status quo. Because inheritance, educational activity and social capital are transmitted through the family structure, wealthy families are able to proceed their privileged social position for their members, while individuals from poor families are denied like status.

Conflict theorists have also seen the family equally a social system benefiting men more than women, allowing men to maintain a position of ability. The traditional family form in most cultures is patriarchal, contributing to inequality between the sexes. Males tend to have more ability and females tend to have less. Traditional male person roles and responsibilities are valued more the traditional roles washed by their wives (i.east., housekeeping, child rearing). The traditional family unit is as well an inequitable structure for women and children. For example, more than 60 percent of all mothers with children under six are in the paid workforce. Even though these women spend as much (or more) time at paid jobs every bit their husbands, they too do more of the housework and child care.

Chinese Family in Suriname: According to conflict theorists, the family unit works toward the continuance of social inequality within a society by maintaining and reinforcing the status quo.

The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Symbolic interactionists view the family as a site of social reproduction where meanings are negotiated and maintained by family members.

Learning Objectives

Analyze family rituals through the symbolic interactionalist perspective

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Symbolic interactionism is a theory that analyzes patterns of advice, interpretation, and aligning between individuals in society. The theory is a framework for understanding how individuals interact with each other and within lodge through the meanings of symbols.
• Function-taking is a key mechanism that permits an individual to capeesh another person'due south perspective and to understand what an action might mean to that person. Role-taking emerges at an early on historic period through activities such as playing house.
• Symbolic interactionists explore the irresolute meanings attached to family. Symbolic interactionists argue that shared activities help to build emotional bonds, and that wedlock and family relationships are based on negotiated meanings.
• The interactionist perspective emphasizes that families reinforce and rejuvenate bonds through symbolic rituals such every bit family meals and holidays.

Cardinal Terms

• family: A group of people related by blood, spousal relationship, police force or custom.
• ritual: Rite; a repeated fix of actions
• bonds: Ties and relationships between individuals.

Symbolic interactionism is a social theory that focuses on the analysis of patterns of communication, interpretation, and aligning between individuals in relation to the meanings of symbols. Co-ordinate to the theory, an individual's verbal and nonverbal responses are constructed in expectation of how the initial speaker will react.

This emphasis on symbols, negotiated meaning, and the construction of society as an attribute of symbolic interactionism focuses attention on the roles that people play in society. Role-taking is a primal mechanism through which an individual tin appreciate another person's perspective and better understand the significance of a particular activity to that person. Office-taking begins at an early historic period, through such activities as playing house and pretending to be different people. These activities have an improvisational quality that contrasts with, say, an actor's scripted role-playing. In social contexts, the doubt of roles places the burden of function-making on the people in a given situation.

Ethnomethodology, an offshoot of symbolic interactionism, examines how people'due south interactions tin can create the illusion of a shared social club despite a lack of mutual understanding and the presence of differing perspectives. Harold Garfinkel demonstrated this state of affairs through so-called experiments in trust, or breaching experiments, wherein students would interrupt ordinary conversations because they refused to take for granted that they knew what the other person was saying.

The Family unit

Symbolic interactionists too explore the changing meanings attached to family. They argue that shared activities help to build emotional bonds amongst family unit members, and that wedlock and family unit relationships are based on negotiated meanings. The interactionist perspective emphasizes that families reinforce and rejuvenate bonds through symbolic mechanism rituals such equally family meals and holidays.

The Family unit: Symbolic interactionists explore the irresolute meanings attached to family unit. They argue that shared activities help to build emotional bonds and that spousal relationship and family relationships are based on negotiated meanings.

The Feminist Perspective

Feminists view the family unit equally a historical institution that has maintained and perpetuated sexual inequalities.

Learning Objectives

Describe the goals of get-go and 2d-moving ridge feminism

Cardinal Takeaways

Fundamental Points

• Feminism is a broad term that is the result of several historical social movements attempting to gain equal economic, political, and social rights for women.
• First-wave feminism focused mainly on legal equality, such as voting, education, employment, the marriage laws, and the plight of intelligent, white, centre-class women.
• 2nd-moving ridge feminism went a pace further is seeking equality in family, employment, reproductive rights, and sexuality.
• Both feminist and masculinist authors have decried predetermined gender roles every bit unjust.

Central Terms

• gender: The socio-cultural phenomenon of the division of people into various categories such as male and female, with each having associated roles, expectations, stereotypes, etc.

Feminism is a broad term that is the result of several historical social movements attempting to gain equal economic, political, and social rights for women. Kickoff-moving ridge feminism focused mainly on legal equality, such as voting, education, employment, union laws, and the plight of intelligent, white, center-class women. Second-wave feminism went a footstep further by seeking equality in family, employment, reproductive rights, and sexuality. Although there was great improvements with perceptions and representations of women that extended globally, the movement was not unified and several different forms of feminism began to emerge: blackness feminism, lesbian feminism, liberal feminism, and social feminism.

Sociology of Motherhood

In many cultures, especially in a traditional western one, a mother is usually the wife in a married couple. Her function in the family is historic on Mother'south Mean solar day. Some oft view mothers' duties every bit raising and looking after their children every minute of every day. Mothers frequently take a very of import role in raising offspring, and the title can be given to a not-biological mother that fills this role. This is common in stepmothers (female married to biological father). In most family structures, the mother is both a biological parent and a primary caregiver.

Nonetheless, this limited function has increasingly been called into question. Both feminist and masculist authors have decried such predetermined roles as unjust. In the Usa, 82.5 million women are mothers of all ages, while the national average age of first child births is 25.ane years. In 2008, 10% of births were to teenage girls, and fourteen% were to women ages 35 and older.

Women's Rights: International Women's Mean solar day rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized past the National Women Workers Trade Wedlock Centre on March 8, 2005.

cliftonhason1971.blogspot.com

Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/sociological-perspectives-on-family/

Share this post