Family and Household
Family and Household
The word family comes from the Latin word familia which means household. This seems to be fitting since they both seem synonymous. In the dictionary the definition of family is a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head or a group of persons of common ancestry. The definition of household is those who dwell under the same roof and compose a family or a social unit comprised of those living together in the same dwelling. Even the definitions are very similar, yet they have come to mean two very different things in our modern day world. As time evolves so does the clarity of what makes up a family and the function of family and household are. "Families are affected by, and in turn affect, the values and structure of the society, in which they are embedded" (Haviland 2002: 245). This statement says so much about what families are and why they differ so much from one culture to the next. They fill the needs of each particular group. In America the "family" has changed dramatically over the past few decades as the country, itself, has changed. In the 1950 's and sixties the roles of each member of the family were more distinct and defined. The mother and the father were a married couple who stayed together. The mother did not work outside of the home, except in extreme circumstances or cases. She took care of the children and the home. The father was the "bread winner" and did very little work inside the home. Today most families either have both parents working or they are single parent families, or families divided by divorce. The changes to what comprises our families have also evolved to included families with gay parents; having either two mothers or two fathers or combined families from re-marriages with step-parents and siblings. In these families their function is one of raising independent children who will grow up to become better than the generation before them. And in many cases they
The word family comes from the Latin word familia which means household. This seems to be fitting since they both seem synonymous. In the dictionary the definition of family is a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head or a group of persons of common ancestry. The definition of household is those who dwell under the same roof and compose a family or a social unit comprised of those living together in the same dwelling. Even the definitions are very similar, yet they have come to mean two very different things in our modern day world. As time evolves so does the clarity of what makes up a family and the function of family and household are. "Families are affected by, and in turn affect, the values and structure of the society, in which they are embedded" (Haviland 2002: 245). This statement says so much about what families are and why they differ so much from one culture to the next. They fill the needs of each particular group. In America the "family" has changed dramatically over the past few decades as the country, itself, has changed. In the 1950 's and sixties the roles of each member of the family were more distinct and defined. The mother and the father were a married couple who stayed together. The mother did not work outside of the home, except in extreme circumstances or cases. She took care of the children and the home. The father was the "bread winner" and did very little work inside the home. Today most families either have both parents working or they are single parent families, or families divided by divorce. The changes to what comprises our families have also evolved to included families with gay parents; having either two mothers or two fathers or combined families from re-marriages with step-parents and siblings. In these families their function is one of raising independent children who will grow up to become better than the generation before them. And in many cases they
Cited: Abrams, I.R., & Bishop, J. (Producers). (1994). "Family and Household," Faces of Culture [videotape]. Fountain Valley: Coast Community College District. Haviland, William A. (2002) Cultural Anthropology. Forth Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.