Lecture 4

Five Function of the Family

- Regulation of sexual activity
- Procreation and socialization
- Economic security
- Emotional support
- Social class placement
Regulation of Sexual Activity
- The family provides norms for sexual activity including incest taboo
- The incest taboo forbids people who are too closely related by blood from sexual activity
and producing children – children from these unions have an increased risk of birth
defects
- Families also prevent doubts about the intimacy of children and property rights in some
cultures
Endogamy and Exogamy
- Endogamy requires people to marry or have sexual relations within a certain group
o These might include racial or ethnic groups or clans or tribes
- Exogamy permits marriage outside of one’s own group.
- Ex: in the US in 24 states there are law prohibiting marriage between first cousins
o Even when there are no “laws” regarding who we can marry, societal norms and
traditions often guide who we can marry
Procreation and Socialization
- Procreation is an essential function of the family because it ensures that society will
continue
- Through socialization, children learn the rules and customs of their culture and certainly
the first place they are socialized is in the family
Economic Security
- The family is an important economics unit that provides financial security and stability
- Families provide for their own physical survival
- There are several family forms where one or both parents work outside the home, but
more and more in our society it is becoming impetrative that bother parents work full
time jobs to support their families
Emotional Security
- Emotional support is probably one of the most important aspects of family
- Our families provide emotional support throughout our lives
Social Class Placement
- A social class is a category of people who have similar standing or rank in society
- We are all born into a specific social class based on things like our parent’s income,
education, job, attitudes, and values
- Social class affects many aspects of family life
Racial and Ethnic Diversity
- Ethnic families are booming, Americas multicultural umbrella includes about 150 distinct
or racial group. By 2025 only 58% of the population will be white
- Because of huge waves of immigrations, 1 in 5 people are either foreign born or first
generation US citizens
- Ethnic families = multilingual
Why are Families Changing?
- Micro level influences on the family
o Decisions family members make affect everyone in the family unit, however, we
must not blame all change on personal choice
o There are many Marco level influences over which the family or the individual
has no control
Macro Level Influences
- Economic forces- manufactures moved their factories overseas to save money thus
unemployment rates went up especially for low skilled jobs
- Technological innovations – medical technology allows us to live long, but poverty
becomes an issue for many elderly
- The mass media – internet, social media, tv, video games
- Popular culture which includes tv, internet, pop music, magazines, radio, ads, sports,
hobbies, fas, fashion, etc