1. Summary
A family is usually defined as a domestic group of people or
a number of domestic groups linked through common ancestors, marriage, adoption
or other forms of committed relationships. This encompasses people who do not
have blood (genetic) relations but still consider each other a part of the
family. The traditional view of a family, comprised of a man, woman and their
children, is called a nuclear family and is a social invention, thus it may not
reflect the reality of family for everyone.
A family’s form and function can have various cultural
variations, where some may even have multiple spouses or relationships
(polygamy or polyamory). Another variation is having relationships within a
social group, known as Endogamy. This form of family functions to encourage
greater group solidarity and control over resources, used mainly by displaced
cultures attempting to make new roots in new countries.
All in all, a family functions to procreate (as parents),
and orientate the children into society. This type of family is known more
accurately as procreative families. The other form of family is
non-procreative, which are built to facilitate social, economic, emotional and interpersonal
support networks.
The life cycle of a family begins with courtship, where
people involved in the relationship get to know each other better. Progression
of courtship leads to engagement and then marriage. Marriage is a
governmentally, socially or religiously recognized interpersonal relationship,
usually in the form of a contract. After marriage, the relationship usually
leads to procreation of children. If the marriage is unsuccessful, then divorce
occurs where the relationship breaks down.
Inequality within a family may come in the form of gender
inequality. Heterosexual marriages do increase the socioeconomic status of
women, but men seem to reap more benefits from the arrangement. When the women
manage the household, the men usually retain control over the money. This leads
to women being on the losing end in a divorce. However, marriage is shifting
towards being more egalitarian due to education.
New developments of families that differ from the usual
heterosexual relationship (nuclear family) come in the form of a change in the
type of relationship between the partners. There are one-parent households, cohabitation
(intimate relationship in a common living place without contract) and same-sex
unions. Some married couples also decide not to have children, either willingly
or out of infertility.
With the progression of a relationship, there is also
progression of age. As people go through the biological process of growing
older, they are subject to different interpretations of the social world around
them. The human age spans are divided into Infancy, Toddler, Childhood,
Adolescence, Young Adult, Prime Adulthood, Middle Age, and finally Old Age.
Ageism is prejudice based on one’s age. The two most
targeted groups are the young and the elderly. Young people usually have
limitations put on them by their parents or the government regarding their
involvement in the society. This can be in the form of curfews, voting rights,
alcohol or cigarette consumption just to name a few. The main reason for this
limitation is the idea that young people lack the maturity needed to make such
important decisions. Elderly people on the other hand are subjected to
behavioral restrictions or even physical abuse. These elderly people
unfortunately suffer from a higher risk of premature death. Generally, elderly
people are also stereotyped as being inflexible and conservative, which has
been proven false as they actually seem to get more adept, open-minded and
tolerant with age.
Gender also plays a part in the aging process. Men usually
have shorter lifespans than women, of which many think is due to the riskier
lives of men. However, this gap in lifespan is shrinking as gender equality
increases, with women seeking more jobs and men being more willing to seek
proper healthcare.
A global trend in age is increasing life expectancy, except
for a few outliers with decreasing expediencies, usually due to AIDS.
2. Something of interest to me
I think that families that are defined as procreative or
non-procreative may still change as the people involved age, and their view of
the world or even their goals in life change along with them. A non-procreative
family may think that children do not play an important role at a certain point
in time, but those thoughts could change and the family becomes procreative.
This could also happen in the opposite way, however unfortunate that might be.
Do parents with children that become independent change from being in a
procreative relationship to a non-procreative one?
3. Discussion point
Prevalent gender inequalities in society play a role in how
the family fits into society. In the traditional nuclear family, there is
usually one breadwinner and one partner taking care of the family. In the case
of a same-sex marriage on the other hand, the presence of two men usually mean
two sources of income. The impact of their marriage on society will be
different from that of a traditional family. How might other forms of marriage
(polygamy, endogamy, etc.) affect the society they are part of differently?
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