Unit 1: Introduction to Diversity and Canadian Families: Historical Developments, Current Trends, and Theoretical Perspectives

Question 1

what are the 4 ongoing key debates in family sociology?

Answer 1

1. The demise of the extended family and the rise of the nuclear family
2. The decline of marriage as an economic contract and the rise of companionate relationships
3. The emergence of child-centredness as the role and status of children alters
4. The decline of the nuclear family and the rise of fluid family practice

Question 2

“Family decline” argument stems from:

Answer 2

structural demise of the two-parent, straight, white middle class family

Question 3

Anxiety around perceptions of family fragility reflect 2 trends:

Answer 3

1. the untidiness of family relations
2. new stresses placed on family members who believed in outdated units that aren’t flexible enough to adjust to modern day demands

Question 4

what is “familialism”?

Answer 4

• provides cultural and social def’n of what families are and should be
• Similar to traditionalism
• Ideologically we tend to have a set of beliefs about how families should behave and what members can expect to receive from intimate relationships

Question 5

what is “monogamy”?

Answer 5

• idea that one man should be married to one woman
• Doesn’t exist in many cultures and is often violated
• Love as a basis for marriage is relatively recent idea

Question 6

what is “determinism”?

Answer 6

• aka post ww2 period/modernist
• ideas about materialism and political economy
• see individual behaviour as a result of social structures, including social institutions, laws, and norms

Question 7

what did the determinist view see family structures as?

Answer 7

• seen as determining individual behaviour within families
• If something’s wrong w/ an individuals’ actions, the family structure is to blame and the economy is the culprit
• families are places where members define and contextualize their assigned roles as providers, consumers, and managers of emotional and material resources

Question 8

what do materialists argue about families?

Answer 8

• the closer a family approximates a middle-class, economically secure place, the more opportunity members of their unit have to live the ideal life
• Class produces expectations about student accomplishment
• ex. Studies consistently demonstrate the ways in which homes of higher social class breed efficacy in children (belief that they can overcome obstacles and know how to)

Question 9

what is “intersectionality”?

Answer 9

claims that u can’t understand family ideology w/o understanding how these structures shape family performances

Question 10

what were feminist ideas of families?

Answer 10

• 1960s and 1970s, 1990s
• began w/ idea that all families are social and ideological constructions
• Feminists exposed women’s private life as a site for production and reproduction of oppressive and subordinate relationships
• socialist/materialist feminists saw women’s inequality in the family as a reflection of their inequality in society
• Maternal roles pushed them away from economic independence and guaranteed the need for male wages

Question 11

what is “postmodernism”?

Answer 11

• aka modernity
• Changes in biomedical and reproductive technologies and genetics transformed nature of kinship from biological to social def’ns
• inheritance and relatedness aren’t biological based (ex. In vitro fertilization, sperm donation)
• Who is related to who and how? What role does biology play in forming family relationships?

Question 12

how have the critiques of modernity have greatly influenced family studies?

Answer 12

• Individuals focus their attention now on their own agency, freedom of expression
• Women and men praise for individual accomplishments achieved through work, leisure, in relationships but not praised for subordinating their desires to others in their families

Question 13

what does functionalism explain?

Answer 13

explains family behaviour operates on the complementary and reciprocal social roles of men and women within families

Question 14

what is “racialization”?

Answer 14

processes by which individuals and groups of people are viewed through racial lens and through culturally invented racial framework

Question 15

what is a “child launch”?

Answer 15

when young people are unable to leave home due to inability to find stable, long-term, decent-paying work, large debt loads

Question 16

what is a “nuclear family”?

Answer 16

when a couple and their children share the same household, can also be one parent and their child(ren)

Question 17

what is a “bi-nuclear family”?

Answer 17

when children of divored parents move and live across households

Question 18

what is “extended family”?

Answer 18

• where several generations or sets of kin (ex. grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) share a household
• aka multigenerational household

Question 19

Two major demographic trends occurred at the start of the 20th century that changed the structure of Canadian families were:

Answer 19

1. public health improvements = increased longevity

2. family size decreased, no longer necessary to have many children to ensure that some survived into adulthood

Question 20

what is a “census family”?

Answer 20

a married couple and the children, if any, of either and/or both spouses; a couple living common law and children, if any; a lone parent of any marital status with at least 1 kid living in same house

Question 21

what are antiracist and queer theories?

Answer 21

• 1970s
• emerged as a critique to what was perceived as mainstream, heterosexual, white feminism
• highlighted that there are many forms of oppression, and gender may not even be the primary axis of oppression experienced by many women

Question 22

what is a “family wage”?

Answer 22

• provided to “real men”, enough pay for them and their families
• said to contribute to why women have lower wages in labour force

Question 23

what are “separate spheres”?

Answer 23

men and women had different spheres of activities

Question 24

what is “economic globalization”?

Answer 24

• the mass movement of ppls around the world in search of work
• Forces individuals to put aside their personal desires and contribute to collective enterprise of building families and earning a living

Question 25

what is "common-law/cohabitation"?

Answer 25

- living w/ an individual w/o formally being married - 3 reasons for the prevalence of marriage following cohabitation: marriage signifies commitment, moral values, belief that children should have married parents

Question 26

what is "marxism"?

Answer 26

- argues that a number of distinct phases in human hustory shape, later and constrain human relations - the way we organize economic life affects the way we organize social life and experience family relations - social goal is to abolish private property, re-establish communism, equitable relations btwn sexes - gender diffs in power and status and domination of men over women in and outside families is a proudct of reorganization of economic life - implies social change is normal and desirable part of social life

Question 27

what is "feminism"?

Answer 27

- theories challenge gender-neutral assumption of family life and roles that mask/ignore inequalities and result in -ve outcomes for women - believe that gender relations in the home an in other institutions are historical and sociocultural products subject to reconstruction

Question 28

what is "antiracist feminism"?

Answer 28

- emerged in 1970s, as a critique to what was perceived as mainstream, heterosexual, white feminism - asserts all families are social and ideological constructions - highlighted that there are many forms of oppression, and gender may not even be the primary axis of oppression experienced by many women

Question 29

what is the "social ecological model"?

Answer 29

- extension of the family systems perspective - recognizing that an individual’s development is influenced by their immediate environment and the larger social environment within which an individual is embedded

Question 30

what is a "family systems perspective"?

Answer 30

- views family as a relatively closed system of social interaction, with all family members interacting and influencing the behaviour of one another - an individual’s problems and behaviours need to be considered within the context of the entire family system

Question 31

4 levels of the social ecological model? explain

Answer 31

1. individual level - identifies biological (e.g., temperament, personality) and personal history factors (e.g., history of maltreatment, childhood experiences) that affect development 2. relationship level - examines how close personal relationships (e.g., peers, partners, family members) influence an individual’s behaviour and contribute to their range of experiences 3. community level - explores the settings (e.g., schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods) in which social relationships occur and seeks to identify how these characteristics affect trajectories of development 4. societal level - examines broad societal factors that help to create the climate in which families exist and function, including overarching social and cultural norms and values - ex. health, economic, educational, social policies