A nuclear family is a common type of family that consists of two parent living with their biological children (immediate family), this type of family is considered the norm. An example of a nuclear family is ‘The Simpsons’. Leach calls this the ‘cereal packet’ family which is shown as the perfect family, there’s a lot of respect, care and value for each other. Although this is seen as the norm, society today is heading towards a more diverse variety of family structures.…
First, according to Macionis (2004) the term family is defined as a social institution found in all societies that unite people in cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and raising of children. Same author also discusses several theoretical approaches have been identified that identifies the family as a form of social institution and how the family unit interconnect with other social institutions within any given society. According to the Structural-Functional Analysis for example, the family serves as a unit that perform many vital tasks which include socialization, regulation of sexual activity (reproduction), social placement and emotional support. According to the Social-Conflict Analysis, the family unit contributes to the perpetuation in inequality solely based on race, class, gender, gender and ethnicity. Finally, Symbolic-Interaction Analysis focuses on the changing dynamics of any family structure and how it evolves over the life course of an individual.…
There is no single “true” form or definition of a family. Looking at the present day norm, a family can consist of a husband, wife and their children, two wives and their children, blended families with children from previous marriages, and many other variations due to the diversities that are now present in society. Back in the day, families were mostly economic units meaning that families must have worked together productively in order to survive economically. Today, the family unit has evolved to being more of a psychological unit. This essay will outline how the traditional family economic unit has transformed to a psychological unit one that is more affectionate between the family members and how the emotional relationship is more important than that of surviving the economy.…
The ‘family’ is generally regarded as a major social institution social unit created by blood, marriage or adoption giving us a sense of belonging (The Vanier Institute of the Family, 1994 pg. 6). The family is an institution that has evolved and changed over time from a social unit that was formed for mainly economic reasons to one that mainly provides for emotional needs of its members. This can be seen after observing the past and present of survival, children, and marriage of families throughout history.…
This essay will discuss family structures within modern day society and examine the lack of a “standard” family environment. It will also explore theories and perspectives concerning behaviours, experiences and life chances within specific family units. In conclusion the author will assess if these theories can be used to explain the impact they have on the family unit and the impact the family has on the young person.…
Families Comparison EssayA family is a most precious identity a person can have. An individual from a noble, average or poor family can be distinguished by the character, acts, behavior, and living style. A person spends most of his time in life with the family and thus the family contributes the most in an individuals growth, thinking and behavior. When we think of a western family, the standard nuclear family comes to mind, working father, stay-at-home mom and a flock of children. This is no longer the case, in the past 50 years the family has changed significantly and continues to change. These changes are greatly due to the equalization of women's rights and the massive expansion of available communications technology. In many families nowadays both parents work and when the children are young are put into daycare services that just were not around in the past. It is now worthwhile for both parents to work since many companies provide the aforementioned daycare for free. Women also have greatly increased earning potential since they are just as educated and will now make the same amount of money as men for doing the same job. Women are hired these days to do other jobs than to be secretaries and nurses. The families of 1950s are considered as ideal and are also known as nuclear families. It consists of a working husband, a housewife and their children mostly two in which the elder one is boy and the younger one is girl. The families of 1950s and mine have a lot of differences because of the change of culture in the society. They include the structure, role, values of education and outlook on future.…
When the story begins, we are introduced to the concept of family in a very traditional sense. A family consists of a man, a woman, and children. The father is the leader of the family, followed in rank by his wife and then the children. Soon after…
In today’s society, there are many different family structures and these structures are interpreted differently depending on the individual. There are five main ‘types’ of family structures and these can change throughout the life span of the family.…
Family; how can you define the word Family? What creates a family and who constitutes it? 'Family' is an exclusive word, with many different meanings. People’s experiences define what family is to them and what being a part of a family means to them. It differs in terms of economic, ethnic, social, and many other aspects, but what every family has in common is that people who call it a family are clarifying that families are important in some manner or aspect to the person calling them his family. In Kim Thúy’s book “Ru”, the Nguyen Family reflects the importance of the child’s life since they are the biggest influential people. Thúy focused the conflict of a refugee circumstance to a young protagonist girl name Tinh Nguyen and how her rigorous…
A half-century ago, the concept of family was entirely different than what it is modeled as today. The typical family was generally working or middle class, and it consisted of a husband who worked to support the family, and a wife who stayed home to tend to the house and children. The structure of the traditional family along with the general nature of society, have since changed however. No longer does the word “family” have a universal application in society.…
When considering family systems, one needs to look at the broad frame of a family’s dynamics while simultaneously analyzing how each member of the family plays integral part in the family dynamic. Family’s, especially in the progressed world we live in, can be comprised of a variety of make up. When one thinks of family, one could typically define one’s family by the people the person was surrounded with as a child that influenced the child in their early years and continued forward into adolescence and adulthood. When considering the complexity of a family system, it is also important to analyze the member’s attachment to the other members. According to the article by Nims and Duba (2011),…
As a factor, family plays a crucial role in the development and socialisation of an individual. It teaches them the norms and the social role that they will be expected to fulfil. Murdock (1949), a functionalist, described family as “a universal social institution found in all societies”…
This essay will discuss the “modern family Structures” within society and explore the lack of any “normal” or standard family. Using existing sociology perspectives this essay will further discuss modern behaviours, experiences and life chances within a specific family unit and how they fit the existing theories. Finaly the author will evaluate the usefulness if any of these theories and how they can be used in a coherent manner to explain the impact they have on a family unit and in turn what impact the family has on the individual.…
To exercise our sociological imagination, we had a film viewing of the indie film “Ded Na Si Lolo” by director Soxie Topacio last 8 July 2010. This film was all about a family who lost an important loved one—their father. Charing, one of the main characters, is one of the children. One morning while she and her family were preparing for a new day, a family member came to their house and told her that her father is already dead. She was shocked and she responded by fainting. She gained consciousness by smelling ammonia. After hearing the news, she brought her son and went to their family house where her sister and father lived. When she got there, she saw the house being fixed for the wake. When her sister, Mameng, arrived, they both cried and then fainted at the same time. They regained consciousness by smelling ammonia again. After the drama, they helped in preparing for the wake. After how many hours, their two other siblings, Dolores and Syano, arrived also at the family house. The three girls grieved then fainted again. After all the drama, the body of their father arrived and they started the one-week wake. Charing was offered by the barangay captain that the wake should last for two weeks so as to collect more money from the “pasugalan”. At first the others did not agree but after some time they accepted the offer. During the wake, they followed many superstitious beliefs. Also, the siblings had a conflict, particularly Dolores and Mameng. Dolores hated and envied Mameng because she was loved by her father the most. We can see that even after their father died, there was still conflict between the siblings because of envy. The siblings also discovered that their father had another family and that they were not the legitimate family. Only the eldest brother knew this and eventually the sisters accepted it. After two weeks, the wake was done and they transferred the dead to…
Family life is the most basic of the social institutions. In one way or another each individual person has had an interaction with family and therefor has in one way affected them. The family has numerous manifest functions that will affect the individual. One of these…