Defining the Family: What its so difficult to do

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• Defining the Family What its so difficult to do
• Family Structure Key Concepts
• Functional vs. Conflict Perspectives on the
  Family
• Changing Family Structures Putting this in
  historical and sociological contextUS vs. Japan
• Whats changed? Is the family in decline?
• The Reproduction Rate Issue

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Why is the family so difficult to define?
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• The problem of universality
• The problem of different meanings in different
  contexts
• Contested definitions

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Family Structure Basic Concepts Monogamy,
polygamy, polygyny, polyandry Endogamous vs.
exogamous marriage Patriarchal, matriarchal,
egalitarian Patrilineal, matrilineal, bilateral
descent Nuclear and extended families Families
vs. households Domestic partnerships and civil
unions Patrilocal, matrilocal, neolocal
residence See Ferrante p. 333
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Functional vs. Conflict Analyses of the Family

• Functional analyses of the familycontributions
  to society
• Conflict perspectives on the family
• the family as a site of conflict and inequality
• the family as a site in the social reproduction
  of broader inequalities in society
• continuing devaluation of reproductive work.
  The double shift

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U.S. and Japanese Families
Discuss How do Japan and the United States
compare on the health of the family? Note
Noriko Ikarashis testimony (pp. 431-433)
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Changing Family Structures in Historical and
Sociological Context
Discussion Why was the breadwinner system so
historically unique, limited, and short-lived?
What do these pictures tell us about the
breadwinner family?
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• Social Trends Changing Family Structures and
  Family Life
• Declines in total fertility
• Increased life expectancy
• Missing in Ferrantes discussion the decline
  of the family wage
• Increased divorce rate
• Increased employment opportunities for women
• decline in parental authority
• altered economic status of children
• the issue of care-giving

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An estimated 50 of marriages currently
contracted will end in divorce
Question Is the family in decline?
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• The Reproduction Rate Issue
• (The total fertility rate is a complex measure
  that basically indicates the number of children
  born over a womans lifetime)
• In the United States the rate has fallen from
  3.7 in 1960 to 2.0 today. Population growth in
  the U.S. is largely driven by immigration and
  higher fertility rates of immigrants (e.g. 2.9
  for Mexican immigrants)
• In Japan, the rate fell from 3.7 in 1950 to 1.2
  today (far below the population replacement rate
  of 2.1)
• Many European countries have below-replacement
  rates as well.

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Does declining population size matter? Is it
good or bad? Why do most countries worry about
it?
Note the concerns are real, but beware of
fear-mongering, e.g. with Social Security
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A fascinating study of variation in population
replacement rates among industrialized
societies Russell Shorto, No Babies? New York
Times Magazine, June 29, 2008.http//www.nytimes.
com/2008/06/29/magazine/29Birth-t.html?_r1sqpop
ulation20reproduction20rate20magazinestnytor
efsloginscp1pagewantedall
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• A Paradox
• The countries with very low population
  replacements are mainly in southern Europe
  (Spain, Italy, Greece) and developed Asian
  countries like Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
  These are all family-friendly countries with
  strong traditional families and low divorce, and
  high proportions of women who remain at home.
  Traditional gender roles prevail. But women in
  these countries bear very few children.
• The countries where women have high fertility
  rates are mainly in northern Europe (Scandinavia,
  France, Netherlands, etc.) These societies have
  higher divorce rates and much higher proportions
  of women in the labor force. Greater equality in
  gender roles prevails. These societies also have
  extensive and subsidized childcare, generous
  maternity and paternity leave policies, etc.
• So what is going on here?

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Some societies have reconciled the transformation
of the role of women with an ability to combine
work and child-rearing, while other societies
have not. Successful societies combine relative
gender equality with extensive government
family-friendly policies. That produces more
divorce, but also more children. Note this is
fundamentally contrary to the view of many
conservatives in the US, who want to maintain the
traditional family structure and keep women in
the home. Thats a recipe for low fertility in
most countries.
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As with changes in the family before, preaching
to people not to be selfish or social
parasites (Japan) doesnt work unless the
structural bases for greater gender equality and
the ability to combine work with having children
exists. Note Shorto argues that the U.S.
manages to have high fertility rates with very
limited government support for families because
of a more open labor market, which makes it
possible for women to reenter the world of work
if they choose to stay home during early
childhood.