FAD 4265 - Exam 1 Notes PDF

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FAD 4265: Exam 1 Notes

Lecture 1/06/2021

Basic Definitions of the Family are Diverse Which of these did Americans say are a “family”?   

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Husband, wife, and kids? (SNAF) 99.8% Husband and wife without kids? 92% Unmarried couple living together without kids? 39.6% With kids? 83% o What if that couple is same-sex and without kids? 33% o What if that same sex couple has kids? 64% If you consider yourself in a family, you are a family (self-description as key)? 60%

Census Definition: Family v. Household  

A family consists of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit A household consists of all people who occupy a housing unit regardless of a relationship. A household may consist of a person living alone or multiple unrelated individuals or families living together

Goode suggests a “familistic package” 

A kind of relationship (vs. a type of group) o Continuity from expectation it will last o Sharing over time (things, money, love, help, etc.) o Familiarity with each other (likes, dislikes, needs, etc.) o Mutual aid in times of trouble o Division of labor o Emotional bonds o Norms and values used to guide

Lecture 1/08/2021

Images and Ideals: What do they indicate about Family Diversity? Prevailing Images of the Family  

What is an image (of the family)? A likeness, representation or expression; a vivid description (metaphor); mental picture (memory or imagination) Images symbolize (represent something else that is meaningful): a quality such as closeness, family values, expectations, almost any idea

o Examples: what does wedding symbolize about family? What does home ownership symbolize? What does a baby symbolize? What symbolizes your own culture or family you are interested in? o Family also symbolizes other groups such as teams or classes, usually in a positive sense: “FSU is like a family.” Three Images Represent the Family in Modern Society 

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Family as haven – emerged as the country was becoming industrialized and breadwinners moved into factory jobs; refuge or escape to a loving, trusting, protecting space and love of the family after work Family as fulfillment – as we focused more on the individual, the family became a place for individuals to gain meaningful experiences of self-discovery, independent choice, self-actualization, intense relationship between partners and parents/children Family as encumbrance – the one image that doesn’t portray family in a positive sense; family or children are seen as detrimental to fulfillment, and fulfillment is gained in other areas such as career

Other images? 

There are also more specific images that represent cultural trends in family living – sometimes becoming commonly used and/or debated images: o Super mom o Soccer mom o Free range parent o Tiger mom o Deadbeat dad o Helicopter parent

Images: Ideals or Realities? 

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The text authors seem to imply that idealistic images (haven, fulfillment, etc.) are “wrong” because they do not represent reality for many. In one way, we can’t live up to all ideals. Reality o Divorce o Violence o Coldness o Job loss Ideal o Happy family o Helping family o Working together o Supporting in hard times However, as an ideal or symbol of a “good life” or “positive relationship,” an image also might be powerful to motivate, inspire

Lecture 1/13/2021 Myths of the Family What is a family myth, and why should we care?  

Myth: uncritically examined beliefs; simplistic images can contribute to myths 6 myths about families currently persist 1. Families of the past were stable and harmonious a. Maybe more stable in terms of less divorce, but more stayed in unhappy marriages; more women died in childbirth; there were economic upheavals; there have always been wayward children; some groups have faced more hurdles 2. Families provide a separate world from work and outer forces a. Actuality: work and family are not separated but entangled; global forces create change and strains for families; families must prepare children for outside world; families are tied to social services, schools, and other institutions 3. Unified family experience a. Do all members experience the family in the same way? No, there is his and her marriage (different viewpoints by gender); parents differ in experience from children; age differences, etc. 4. There is a monolithic family form (SNAF) of the nuclear family: mother at home, father breadwinner, and children a. This is only about 7%. Actuality: multiple forms such as single parent, grandparent raising grandchild, multigenerational, etc. 5. Family consensus a. Do family members all agree in their choices and actions? Everyone in a family does not agree; it is not easy to make decisions that everyone likes; families are an “area of struggle,” rivalries, negotiation, conflict, inequality – even in an atmosphere of love 6. Do changes in family patterns equal “family decline,” or are changes in family patterns the result of adaptation to shifting societal and global changes? a. Very often the statistics of divorce, single parenthood, etc. are interpreted as resulting from individual choices that have caused a decline of the family in society b. Another view is these changes are the result of adaptation to different social and global structures, not “bad” or “less than” the SNAF but different

Lecture 1/15/2021 Five Themes of Structural Diversity

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Families are embedded in varied social locations (gender, race, class, age, religious, schools, legal system, health systems, etc.) Families are socially constructed and changing Social structures in society produce family diversity o Positive: good schools, good economy, where there is equality of opportunities via race, class, gender, etc. o Negative: bad schools, recession, where there is inequality in opportunities via race, class, gender, etc. Human agency/actions in the family produce family diversity o Positive: working to obtain education or training for work, advocacy for causes, etc. o Negative: child abuse, giving up, etc. Understanding means probing idealistic images and myths to ascertain realities The text has a diversity focus. Do families have any commonalities? What? Is this important? Why?

Modern Family Life: Many Complexities   

Society influences individuals and families; individuals and families influence and societal trends Human agency, external structures, individual actions, “family Darwinism,” “social locations,” “structural diversity” Each can have negative and positive aspects: Examples?

Lecture 1/20/2021 Dramatic Changes in Families “Triple Revolution” (Skolnick & Skolnick, 2014) Service and Information Economic Revolution 

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Need both wife and husband working o Now takes longer time to get education and job as well as reach financial stability (rid of student debt) and have resources/stability to buy a house Resulting in: o Delayed adulthood: emerging (slowed) v. “adultolescence” (arrested development) and thus delayed marriage and family formation o Women able to leave unhappy marriages o Fewer children

Life Course Revolution 

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Basic facts of birth and death: declining mortality rate and longer lives o Now women and men live much longer, and spend a great portion of their lives without children o Resulting in:

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Views of marriage as personal relationship (v. union raising a group of children) Views of children also changed to relationship (indulgence) Long time in marriages leading to rise in divorces

Psychological Revolution 

People have time and resources to create quality of life o Resulting in:  Focus on self-expression  Introspection  Seeking of warm relationships including marriage  Leisure, travel, education, access to information

Lecture 1/22/2021 Socially Structured Diversity: Social Narratives & Images Intersectionality Intersectionality   

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Advantages in education, work situations, housing, etc. Racism, sexism, etc. Pre-judging and power o Implicit (subtle, covert, not always noticed) o Explicit (obvious, overt) o Individual v. systemic o Examples? Intersectionality: multiple systemic factors producing unequal outcomes

Lecture 1/25/2021 Gender Terms       

Gender v. biological sex Masculinity/femininity Gender identity Gender expression Gender role Transgender Gender normative/cisgender

Gendered social organization Women and men differently rewarded at many different levels of social organization:   

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Language Interpersonal behavior Mass communication media

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Legal system Work and economic disparities

Lecture 1/27/2021 Race & Ethnicity 

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Race: a socially constructed category based on physical characteristics such as the color of one’s skin o No significant defining biological or genetic factors linked to race o These social constructions arise from being a member of a majority v. minority group o Social definition, locations, and boundaries account for many differences (health – COVID, economics, etc. and effects) o Social definitions can change over time, due to effort of human agency Ethnicity: identity that a group of people share because of their distinct similarity in one or more cultural backgrounds, national origin, religion, traditions, practices, language, beliefs, foods, music and art, child rearing, etc.

Race, Ethnicity, and Families  

Family experiences differ by the way that race is defined socially o Social categories that differ by time and by country Ethnicity – social category that includes a broad range of affiliations. Based on national origin, language, religion, and culture o Racial-ethnic groups – remain culturally distinct within U.S. society (Haitian American, Mexican American, Chinese American, Irish American, etc.)

Class    

Combination of income, education, wealth, and occupation Partially influences destiny Some more likely to fall into poverty; global factors affect possibility Is a widening gap between the children of the rich and the children of the poor

Lecture 2/1/2021 Contemporary Relationship Formation and Marriage Before Marriage: Trends in Dating and Cohabitation  

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2017: 51% high school seniors reported dating 2001: 78% o Less dating? o Different terminology? o Internet factor – by 2017, 39% adult couples met online Cohabiting couples: few rights but strong social support

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33-40% women have cohabitated (2013) Reasons: financial and/or prelude to marriage If marry, within 3 years 1/3-1/2 of those cohabitating end within 5 years Serial cohabitation trending more common

Change in Factors Once Associated with Marriage 

Marriage rate declining o In 1960, 72% of American adults were married. By 2008, 52% were married. o Age at first marriage has increased o Marriage is becoming disconnected as a prerequisite for parenthood in our society. Over the past 50 years, the share of children born to unmarried mothers has risen dramatically – increasing eightfold from 5% in 1960 to 41% in 2008

Class & Marriage Patterns 

In a reversal of long-standing marital patterns, college-educated young adults are more likely than young adults lacking a bachelor’s degree to have married by the age of 30 o Norm for adults with college education & good income o Markedly less prevalent among lower SES  Less advantaged want to marry, but they place a higher premium on economic security as a condition for marriage which is less likely for those with lower SES

Education and Marriage 

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Education is a key factor in marriage rates for adults of all races. Those with a BA or higher were both more likely to be married, less likely to cohabit, and their marriages lasted longer Public hasn’t entirely discarded the traditional male breadwinner template for marriage o 67% say that in order to be ready for marriage, it’s very important for a man to be able to support his family financially; just 33% say the same about a woman

Interracial Marriage Increasing  

A record 14.6% of all new marriages in the United States in 2008 were between spouses of a different race or ethnicity from one another Among all newlyweds in 2008, 9% of Caucasians, 16% of Blacks, 26% of Hispanics and 31% of Asians married someone whose race or ethnicity was different from their own

Marriage is statistically good for both adults and children…   

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Wealthier Healthier Children

o Higher school achievement o Fewer problems with drug use, early pregnancy, delinquency o This doesn’t mean single parents cannot also reach wealth, health, good child outcomes Video Notes Intersectionality 101 

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“Intersectionality” is a term that came up in the 1980s by legal scholar Kimberly Crenshaw o Experiences of black women are different from black men and white women o Black women endure both racial and gender discrimination Intersectionality goes into other factors beyond the surface

Change in Marriage Trend  

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50-60 years ago, the only way to live a successful adult life o 95% of couples were married and if you were not, people thought you were mentally ill Now, marriage is something you don’t do until you have a good economic basis Americans put a more symbolic significance on marriage in comparison to Britain and France...