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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Chapter 15Families
In Conflict and Order: Understanding Society, 11th edition
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Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
The Mythical Family in the United States
• The family is idealized and mythologized.– The myth of a stable and harmonious family of
the past– The myth of the family as a “haven in a
heartless world”– The myth of the monolithic family form– The myth of a unified family experience– The myth of family decline as the cause of
social problems
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Families in Contemporary U.S. Society
• Families are a product of social structure.– The have different connections with
institutions that provide resources for family support.
– Class and race are important determinants of family life.
– The new economy has generated several difficulties for families.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Families in Contemporary U.S. Society
• The Changing Composition of Households and Families– The U.S. Census Bureau defines a household
as all persons who occupy a housing unit.– A family is two or more persons related by birth
marriage or adoption who reside together.– All families comprise households, but not all
households are families under the Census Bureau’s definition.
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Changes in Marriage and Family Roles
• Marriage is still very much the norm, with about 90% of the population eventually marrying.– However, the marriage rate has declined in recent
decades.• Married people have better physical and mental
health, enhanced sex lives, and more economic resources.
• Some marriages are abusive.• Marriage matters but the degree to which it
matters is affected by social class, race and gender.
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Figure 15.2 – Households by Type: 1970 to 2003 (Percent Distribution)
Source: Jason Fields, 2004, “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2003.” Current Population Reports, Series P20-553 (November). Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census, p. 5.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Source: Jason Fields, 2004. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2003.” Current Population Reports, Series P20-553 (November). Washington, DC U.S. Bureau of the Census, p. 13.
Figure 15.3 – Median Age at First Marriage for the Population 15 Years and Over by Sex 1970 to 2003
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Changes in Marriage and Family Roles
• Same-sex marriage – Supporters of same-sex marriage argue that
homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexuals.
– Opponents argue that making same sex unions legal denigrates marriage and abandons the basic building block of the family.
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Changes in Marriage and Family Roles
• Divorce and marital separation are not evenly distributed through the population and vary according to social and economic characteristics.
• The U.S. has the highest remarriage rate in the world.
• About 1/3rd of Americans will marry, divorce, and remarry.
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Changes in Marriage and Family Roles
• Work and Family Roles– Dual-worker marriages have increased.– The “work-family role system” reinforces
traditional division of labor in both work and family.
– Employed wives generally have two jobs--work and family--while employed husbands have only one.
• Arlie Hochschild calls the additional hours that working women put in doing housework “the second shift”.
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Changes in Marriage and Family Roles
• Children and Adolescents– 17% of all children in the U.S. live in poverty– Recent changes in family life have altered
childhood and adolescence.• The Aged
– Aging has produced personal and family relationships that never existed before.
– New family and household forms have emerged.
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The Modern Family from the Order and Conflict Perspectives
• Order theorists view the family as a source of stability for individuals and society. – The traditional division of labor by sex
contributes to the social order.
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The Modern Family from the Order and Conflict Perspectives
• Conflict theorists argue that the traditional family supports the economy but individuals and families pay a high price.– The family is a major source of false
consciousness and the primary agent by which the system of social stratification is perpetuated.
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Families of the Future
• Trends that are altering families– Stresses on family functions will continue to
reshape families.– Economics will continue to drive family
changes.– Divorce will continue.– Nontraditional family forms shaped by social
and economic changes will proliferate.– An aging society will redefine families.
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