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theestargirl
WhatIsMarriageWhatIsaFamilyIntroductiontoSociologyCourseHero.pdf
Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of
Mormonism, is said to have
practiced polygamy. (Photo
courtesy of public
domain/Wikimedia Commons)
Introduction to Sociology Marriage and Family
What Is Marriage? What Is a Family?
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
Describe society’s current understanding of family
Recognize changes in marriage and family patterns
Di=erentiate between lines of decent and residence
The modern concept of family is far more encompassing than in past decades. What do you think constitutes a
family? (Photo (a) courtesy Gareth Williams/Eickr; photo (b) courtesy Guillaume Paumier/ Wikimedia Commons)
Marriage and family are key structures in most societies. While the two institutions have historically been closely linked in U.S. culture, their
connection is becoming more complex. The relationship between marriage and family is an interesting topic of study to sociologists.
What is marriage? Di=erent people deHne it in di=erent ways. Not even sociologists are able to agree on a single meaning. For our purposes,
we’ll deHne marriage as a legally recognized social contract between two people, traditionally based on a sexual relationship and implying a
permanence of the union. In practicing cultural relativism, we should also consider variations, such as whether a legal union is required (think of
“common law” marriage and its equivalents), or whether more than two people can be involved (consider polygamy). Other variations on the
deHnition of marriage might include whether spouses are of opposite sexes or the same sex and how one of the traditional expectations of
marriage (to produce children) is understood today.
Sociologists are interested in the relationship between the institution of marriage and the institution of family because, historically, marriages are
what create a family, and families are the most basic social unit upon which society is built. Both marriage and family create status roles that are
sanctioned by society.
So what is a family? A husband, a wife, and two children—maybe even a pet—has served as the model for the traditional U.S. family for most of
the twentieth century. But what about families that deviate from this model, such as a single-parent household or a homosexual couple without
children? Should they be considered families as well?
The question of what constitutes a family is a prime area of debate in family sociology, as well as in politics and religion. Social conservatives
tend to deHne the family in terms of structure with each family member Hlling a certain role (like father, mother, or child). Sociologists, on the
other hand, tend to deHne family more in terms of the manner in which members relate to one another than on a strict conHguration of status
roles. Here, we’ll deHne family as a socially recognized group (usually joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption) that forms an
emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society. Sociologists identify di=erent types of families based on how one enters into
them. A family of orientation refers to the family into which a person is born. A family of procreation describes one that is formed through
marriage. These distinctions have cultural signiHcance related to issues of lineage.
Drawing on two sociological paradigms, the sociological understanding of what constitutes a family can be explained by symbolic interactionism
as well as functionalism. These two theories indicate that families are groups in which participants view themselves as family members and act
accordingly. In other words, families are groups in which people come together to form a strong primary group connection and maintain
emotional ties to one another over a long period of time. Such families may include groups of close friends or teammates. In addition, the
functionalist perspective views families as groups that perform vital roles for society—both internally (for the family itself) and externally (for
society as a whole). Families provide for one another’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. Parents care for and socialize children. Later in
life, adult children often care for elderly parents. While interactionism helps us understand the subjective experience of belonging to a “family,”
functionalism illuminates the many purposes of families and their roles in the maintenance of a balanced society (Parsons and Bales 1956). We
will go into more detail about how these theories apply to family in.
Challenges Families Face
People in the United States as a whole are somewhat divided when it comes to determining what does and what does not constitute a family. In
a 2010 survey conducted by professors at the University of Indiana, nearly all participants (99.8 percent) agreed that a husband, wife, and
children constitute a family. Ninety-two percent stated that a husband and a wife without children still constitute a family. The numbers drop for
less traditional structures: unmarried couples with children (83 percent), unmarried couples without children (39.6 percent), gay male couples
with children (64 percent), and gay male couples without children (33 percent) (Powell et al. 2010). This survey revealed that children tend to be
the key indicator in establishing “family” status: the percentage of individuals who agreed that unmarried couples and gay couples constitute a
family nearly doubled when children were added.
The study also revealed that 60 percent of U.S. respondents agreed that if you consider yourself a family, you are a family (a concept that
reinforces an interactionist perspective) (Powell 2010). The government, however, is not so bexible in its deHnition of “family.” The U.S. Census
Bureau deHnes a family as “a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing
together” (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). While this structured deHnition can be used as a means to consistently track family-related patterns over
several years, it excludes individuals such as cohabitating unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples. Legality aside, sociologists would
argue that the general concept of family is more diverse and less structured than in years past. Society has given more leeway to the design of a
family making room for what works for its members (Jayson 2010).
Family is, indeed, a subjective concept, but it is a fairly objective fact that family (whatever one’s concept of it may be) is very important to people
in the United States. In a 2010 survey by Pew Research Center in Washington, DC, 76 percent of adults surveyed stated that family is “the most
important” element of their life—just one percent said it was “not important” (Pew Research Center 2010). It is also very important to society.
President Ronald Regan notably stated, “The family has always been the cornerstone of American society. Our families nurture, preserve, and
pass on to each succeeding generation the values we share and cherish, values that are the foundation of our freedoms” (Lee 2009). While the
design of the family may have changed in recent years, the fundamentals of emotional closeness and support are still present. Most responders
to the Pew survey stated that their family today is at least as close (45 percent) or closer (40 percent) than the family with which they grew up
(Pew Research Center 2010).
Alongside the debate surrounding what constitutes a family is the question of what people in the United States believe constitutes a marriage.
Many religious and social conservatives believe that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, citing religious scripture and the
basics of human reproduction as support. Social liberals and progressives, on the other hand, believe that marriage can exist between two
consenting adults—be they a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman—and that it would be discriminatory to deny such a couple the civil,
social, and economic beneHts of marriage.
Marriage Patterns
With single parenting and cohabitation (when a couple shares a residence but not a marriage) becoming more acceptable in recent years,
people may be less motivated to get married. In a recent survey, 39 percent of respondents answered “yes” when asked whether marriage is
becoming obsolete (Pew Research Center 2010). The institution of marriage is likely to continue, but some previous patterns of marriage will
become outdated as new patterns emerge. In this context, cohabitation contributes to the phenomenon of people getting married for the Hrst
time at a later age than was typical in earlier generations (Glezer 1991). Furthermore, marriage will continue to be delayed as more people place
education and career ahead of “settling down.”
One Partner or Many?
People in the United States typically equate marriage with monogamy, when someone is married to only one person at a time. In many countries
and cultures around the world, however, having one spouse is not the only form of marriage. In a majority of cultures (78 percent), polygamy, or
being married to more than one person at a time, is accepted (Murdock 1967), with most polygamous societies existing in northern Africa and
east Asia (Altman and Ginat 1996). Instances of polygamy are almost exclusively in the form of polygyny. Polygyny refers to a man being married
to more than one woman at the same time. The reverse, when a woman is married to more than one man at the same time, is called polyandry. It
is far less common and only occurs in about 1 percent of the world’s cultures (Altman and Ginat 1996). The reasons for the overwhelming
prevalence of polygamous societies are varied but they often include issues of population growth, religious ideologies, and social status.
While the majority of societies accept polygyny, the majority of people do not practice it. Often fewer than 10
percent (and no more than 25–35 percent) of men in polygamous cultures have more than one wife; these
husbands are often older, wealthy, high-status men (Altman and Ginat 1996). The average plural marriage
involves no more than three wives. Negev Bedouin men in Israel, for example, typically have two wives, although
it is acceptable to have up to four (Griver 2008). As urbanization increases in these cultures, polygamy is likely to
decrease as a result of greater access to mass media, technology, and education (Altman and Ginat 1996).
In the United States, polygamy is considered by most to be socially unacceptable and it is illegal. The act of
entering into marriage while still married to another person is referred to as bigamy and is considered a felony in
most states. Polygamy in the United States is often associated with those of the Mormon faith, although in 1890
the Mormon Church oicially renounced polygamy. Fundamentalist Mormons, such as those in the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), on the other hand, still hold tightly to the
historic Mormon beliefs and practices and allow polygamy in their sect.
The prevalence of polygamy among Mormons is often overestimated due to sensational media stories such as
the Yearning for Zion ranch raid in Texas in 2008 and popular television shows such as HBO’s Big Love and
TLC’s Sister Wives. It is estimated that there are about 37,500 fundamentalist Mormons involved in polygamy in
the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but that number has shown a steady decrease in the last 100 years (Useem 2007).
U.S. Muslims, however, are an emerging group with an estimated 20,000 practicing polygamy. Again, polygamy among U.S. Muslims is
uncommon and occurs only in approximately 1 percent of the population (Useem 2007). For now polygamy among U.S. Muslims has gone fairly
unnoticed by mainstream society, but like fundamentalist Mormons whose practices were o= the public’s radar for decades, they may someday
Hnd themselves at the center of social debate.
Residency and Lines of Descent
When considering one’s lineage, most people in the United States look to both their father’s and mother’s sides. Both paternal and maternal
ancestors are considered part of one’s family. This pattern of tracing kinship is called bilateral descent. Note that kinship, or one’s traceable
ancestry, can be based on blood or marriage or adoption. Sixty percent of societies, mostly modernized nations, follow a bilateral descent
pattern. Unilateral descent (the tracing of kinship through one parent only) is practiced in the other 40 percent of the world’s societies, with
high concentration in pastoral cultures (O’Neal 2006).
There are three types of unilateral descent: patrilineal, which follows the father’s line only; matrilineal, which follows the mother’s side only; and
ambilineal, which follows either the father’s only or the mother’s side only, depending on the situation. In partrilineal societies, such as those in
rural China and India, only males carry on the family surname. This gives males the prestige of permanent family membership while females are
seen as only temporary members (Harrell 2001). U.S. society assumes some aspects of partrilineal decent. For instance, most children assume
their father’s last name even if the mother retains her birth name.
In matrilineal societies, inheritance and family ties are traced to women. Matrilineal descent is common in Native American societies, notably the
Crow and Cherokee tribes. In these societies, children are seen as belonging to the women and, therefore, one’s kinship is traced to one’s
mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and so on (Mails 1996). In ambilineal societies, which are most common in Southeast Asian countries,
parents may choose to associate their children with the kinship of either the mother or the father. This choice maybe based on the desire to
follow stronger or more prestigious kinship lines or on cultural customs such as men following their father’s side and women following their
mother’s side (Lambert 2009).
Tracing one’s line of descent to one parent rather than the other can be relevant to the issue of residence. In many cultures, newly married
couples move in with, or near to, family members. In a patrilocal residence system it is customary for the wife to live with (or near) her
husband’s blood relatives (or family or orientation). Patrilocal systems can be traced back thousands of years. In a DNA analysis of 4,600-year-
old bones found in Germany, scientists found indicators of patrilocal living arrangements (Haak et al 2008). Patrilocal residence is thought to be
disadvantageous to women because it makes them outsiders in the home and community; it also keeps them disconnected from their own blood
relatives. In China, where patrilocal and patrilineal customs are common, the written symbols for maternal grandmother (wáipá) are separately
translated to mean “outsider” and “women” (Cohen 2011).
Similarly, in matrilocal residence systems, where it is customary for the husband to live with his wife’s blood relatives (or her family of
orientation), the husband can feel disconnected and can be labeled as an outsider. The Minangkabau people, a matrilocal society that is
indigenous to the highlands of West Sumatra in Indonesia, believe that home is the place of women and they give men little power in issues
relating to the home or family (Joseph and Najmabadi 2003). Most societies that use patrilocal and patrilineal systems are patriarchal, but very
few societies that use matrilocal and matrilineal systems are matriarchal, as family life is often considered an important part of the culture for
women, regardless of their power relative to men.
Stages of Family Life
As we’ve established, the concept of family has changed greatly in recent decades. Historically, it was often thought that many families evolved
through a series of predictable stages. Developmental or “stage” theories used to play a prominent role in family sociology (Strong and DeVault
1992). Today, however, these models have been criticized for their linear and conventional assumptions as well as for their failure to capture the
diversity of family forms. While reviewing some of these once-popular theories, it is important to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
The set of predictable steps and patterns families experience over time is referred to as the family life cycle. One of the Hrst designs of the
family life cycle was developed by Paul Glick in 1955. In Glick’s original design, he asserted that most people will grow up, establish families, rear
and launch their children, experience an “empty nest” period, and come to the end of their lives. This cycle will then continue with each
subsequent generation (Glick 1989). Glick’s colleague, Evelyn Duvall, elaborated on the family life cycle by developing these classic stages of
family (Strong and DeVault 1992):
This table shows one example of how a “stage” theory might categorize the phases a family goes through.
Stage Theory
Stage Family Type Children
1 Marriage Family Childless
2 Procreation Family Children ages 0 to 2.5
3 Preschooler Family Children ages 2.5 to 6
4 School-age Family Children ages 6–13
5 Teenage Family Children ages 13–20
6 Launching Family Children begin to leave home
7 Empty Nest Family “Empty nest”; adult children have left home
The family life cycle was used to explain the di=erent processes that occur in families over time. Sociologists view each stage as having its own
structure with di=erent challenges, achievements, and accomplishments that transition the family from one stage to the next. For example, the
problems and challenges that a family experiences in Stage 1 as a married couple with no children are likely much di=erent than those
experienced in Stage 5 as a married couple with teenagers. The success of a family can be measured by how well they adapt to these
challenges and transition into each stage. While sociologists use the family life cycle to study the dynamics of family overtime, consumer and
marketing researchers have used it to determine what goods and services families need as they progress through each stage (Murphy and
Staples 1979).
As early “stage” theories have been criticized for generalizing family life and not accounting for di=erences in gender, ethnicity, culture, and
lifestyle, less rigid models of the family life cycle have been developed. One example is the family life course, which recognizes the events that
occur in the lives of families but views them as parting terms of a buid course rather than in consecutive stages (Strong and DeVault 1992). This
type of model accounts for changes in family development, such as the fact that in today’s society, childbearing does not always occur with
marriage. It also sheds light on other shifts in the way family life is practiced. Society’s modern understanding of family rejects rigid “stage”
theories and is more accepting of new, buid models.
THE EVOLUTION OF TELEVISION FAMILIES
Whether you grew up watching the Cleavers, the Waltons, the Huxtables, or the Simpsons, most of the iconic families you saw in television
sitcoms included a father, a mother, and children cavorting under the same roof while comedy ensued. The 1960s was the height of the
suburban U.S. nuclear family on television with shows such as The Donna Reed Show and Father Knows Best. While some shows of this era
portrayed single parents (My Three Sons and Bonanza, for instance), the single status almost always resulted from being widowed—not
divorced or unwed.
Although family dynamics in real U.S. homes were changing, the expectations for families portrayed on television were not. The United States’
Hrst reality show, An American Family (which aired on PBS in 1973) chronicled Bill and Pat Loud and their children as a “typical” U.S. family.
During the series, the oldest son, Lance, announced to the family that he was gay, and at the series’ conclusion, Bill and Pat decided to
divorce. Although the Loud’s union was among the 30 percent of marriages that ended in divorce in 1973, the family was featured on the
cover of the March 12 issue of Newsweek with the title “The Broken Family” (Ruo= 2002).
Less traditional family structures in sitcoms gained popularity in the 1980s with shows such as DiB’rent Strokes (a widowed man with two
adopted African American sons) and One Day at a Time (a divorced woman with two teenage daughters). Still, traditional families such as
those in Family Ties and The Cosby Show dominated the ratings. The late 1980s and the 1990s saw the introduction of the dysfunctional
family. Shows such as Roseanne, Married with Children, and The Simpsons portrayed traditional nuclear families, but in a much less battering
light than those from the 1960s did (Museum of Broadcast Communications 2011).
Over the past ten years, the nontraditional family has become somewhat of a tradition in television. While most situation comedies focus on
single men and women without children, those that do portray families often stray from the classic structure: they include unmarried and
divorced parents, adopted children, gay couples, and multigenerational households. Even those that do feature traditional family structures
may show less-traditional characters in supporting roles, such as the brothers in the highly rated shows Everybody Loves Raymond and Two
and Half Men. Even wildly popular children’s programs as Disney’s Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody feature single parents.
In 2009, ABC premiered an intensely nontraditional family with the broadcast of Modern Family. The show follows an extended family that
includes a divorced and remarried father with one stepchild, and his biological adult children—one of who is in a traditional two-parent
household, and the other who is a gay man in a committed relationship raising an adopted daughter. While this dynamic may be more
complicated than the typical “modern” family, its elements may resonate with many of today’s viewers. “The families on the shows aren't as
idealistic, but they remain relatable,” states television critic Maureen Ryan. “The most successful shows, comedies especially, have families
that you can look at and see parts of your family in them” (Respers France 2010).
SUMMARY
Sociologists view marriage and families as societal institutions that help create the basic unit of social structure. Both marriage and a family
may be deHned di=erently—and practiced di=erently—in cultures across the world. Families and marriages, like other institutions, adapt to
social change.
https://www.openassessments.org/assessments/1145
Short Answer
1. According to research, what are people's general thoughts on family in the United States? How do they view nontraditional family
structures? How do you think these views might change in twenty years?
2. Explain the di=erence between bilateral and unilateral descent. Using your own association with kinship, explain which type of
descent applies to you?
Glossary
ambilineal
a type of unilateral descent that follows either the father’s or the mother’s side exclusively
bilateral descent
the tracing of kinship through both parents’ ancestral lines
bigamy
the act of entering into marriage while still married to another person
cohabitation
the act of a couple sharing a residence while they are not married
family
socially recognized groups of individuals who may be joined by blood, marriage, or adoption and who form an emotional connection and an
economic unit of society
family life course
a sociological model of family that sees the progression of events as buid rather than as occurring in strict stages
family life cycle
a set of predictable steps and patterns families experience over time
family of orientation
the family into which one is born
family of procreation
a family that is formed through marriage
kinship
a person’s traceable ancestry (by blood, marriage, and/or adoption)
marriage
a legally recognized contract between two or more people in a sexual relationship who have an expectation of permanence about their
relationship
matrilineal descent
a type of unilateral descent that follows the mother’s side only
matrilocal residence
a system in which it is customary for a husband to live with the his wife’s family
monogamy
the act of being married to only one person at a time
patrilineal descent
a type of unilateral descent that follows the father’s line only
patrilocal residence
a system in which it is customary for the a wife to live with (or near) the her husband’s family
polyandry
a form of marriage in which one woman is married to more than one man at one time
polygamy
the state of being committed or married to more than one person at a time
polygyny
a form of marriage in which one man is married to more than one woman at one time
unilateral descent
the tracing of kinship through one parent only.
Further Research
For more information on family development and lines of descent, visit the New England Historical Genealogical Society’s web site, American
Ancestors, and Hnd out how genealogies have been established and recorded since 1845.
http://openstaxcollege.org/l/American_Ancestors
References
Altman, Irwin, and Joseph Ginat. 1996. Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cohen, Philip. 2011. “Chinese: Maternal Grandmothers, Outside Women.” FamilyInequality.com, Retrieved February 13, 2012
(http://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/chinese-maternal-grandmothers-outside-women/).
Glezer, Helen. 1991. “Cohabitation.” Family Matters 30:24–27.
Glick, Paul. 1989. “The Family Life Cycle and Social Change.” Family Relations 38(2):123–129.
Griver, Simon. 2008. “One Wife Isn’t Enough … So They Take Two or Three.” The Jewish Chronicle Online, April 24. Retrieved February 13, 2012
(http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/one-wife-isn’t-enough-so-they-take-two-or-three).
Haak, Wolfgang et al. 2008. “Ancient DNA Reveals Male Di=usion through the Neolithic Mediterranean Route.” Proceedings of the National
Association of Sciences, November 17. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (http://www.pnas.org/content/105/47/18226).
Harrell, Stevan. 2001. “Mountain Patterns: The Survival of Nuosu Culture in China.” Journal of American Folklore 114:451.
Jayson, Sharon. 2010. “What Does a ‘Family’ Look Like Nowadays?” USA Today, November 25. Retrieved February 13, 2012
(http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/sex-relationships/marriage/2010-11-18-pew18_ST_N.htm ).
Joseph, Suad, and Afsaneh Najmabadi. 2003. “Kinship and State: Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia and the PaciHc.” Pp. 351–355 in
Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Family, Law, and Politics. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.
Lambert, Bernd. 2009. “Ambilineal Descent Groups in the Northern Gilbert Islands.” American Anthropologist 68(3):641–664.
Lee, Richard. 2009. The American Patriot’s Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
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Museum of Broadcast Communications. 2010. “Family on Television.” Retrieved January 16, 2012.
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Parsons, Talcott, and Robert Bales. 1955. Family Socialization and Interaction Process. London: Routledge.
Pew Research Center. 2010. “The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families.” November 18. Retrieved February 13, 2012
(http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1802/decline-marriage-rise-new-families).
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of Family. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
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(http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/01/families.on.tv/index.html).
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U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. “Current Population Survey (CPS).” Retrieved January 16, 2012
(http://www.census.gov/population/www/cps/cpsdef.html).
Useem, Andrea. 2007. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Co-Wife.” Slate, July 24. Retrieved January 16, 2012
(http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2007/07/what_to_expect_when_youre_expecting_a_cowife.html).
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