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| According to ] and ], the primary function of the family is to reproduce society, both (or either) biologically and (or) socially. Thus, one's experience of one's family shifts over time. From the perspective of children, the family is a '''family of orientation''': the family serves to locate children socially, and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the family is a '''family of procreation''' the goal of which is to produce and enculturate and socialize children. However, reproducing children is not the only function of the family. In societies with a sexual division of labor, ], and the resulting relationship between a husband and wife, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household. In modern societies marriage entails particular rights and privilege that encourage the formation of new families even when their is no intention of having children. | |||
| In ] and common useage, a '''family''' is a group of people, affiliated by blood (i.e. biologically related) or by legal ties such as marriage or adoption. While the most common form of such legal ties has been the marriage of a man and a woman, historians and sociologists have recorded countless variations of the family. | |||
| The structure of families traditionally hinges on relations between parents and children, between spouses, or both. Consequently, there are three major types of family: matrifocal, consanguinal, and conjugal. | |||
| A '''nuclear family''', in common useage, consists of a married couple and their offspring. | |||
| A '''matrifocal''' family consists of a mother and her children. Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children is a practice in nearly every society. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women. | |||
| An '''extended family''' adds other close relatives. In America, before the term ''nuclear family'' gained currency, the term ''family'' generally had the meaning of the more modern term ''extended family''. | |||
| A '''consanguinal''' family consists of a mother and her children, and other people -- usually the family of the mother. This kind of family is common where mothers do not have the resources to rear their children on their own, and especially where property is inherited. When important property is owned by men, consanguinal families commonly consist of a husband and wife, their children, and other members of the husband's family. | |||
| In ], the following categories are sometimes used: | |||
| A '''conjugal''' family, also called a '''nuclear''' family, consists of one or more mothers and their children, and/or one or more spouses (usually husbands). This kind of family is common where men desire to assert control over children, or where there is a sexual division of labor requiring the participation of both men and women, and where families are relatively mobile. | |||
| * bourgeois family: family structure arising out of 16th and 17th century European households, in which the center of the family is a marriage between a man and woman, with strictly defined gender roles. The man typically is responsible for income and support, the woman for home and family matters. | |||
| * conjugal family: like nuclear family, consists of adult partners and their children, with ties outside this group being on a voluntary rather than socially enforced basis | |||
| Non-scholars, especially in the United States and Europe, also use the term '''extended family'''. This term has two distinct meanings. First, it is used synonymously with '''consanguinal''' family. Second, in societies dominated by the '''conjugal''' family, it is used to refer to '''kindred''' who do not belong to the conjugal family. | |||
| * consanguineal family: an extended family bound by ties of common descent (matrilinial or patrilinial), usually made up of several nuclear families | |||
| * egalitarian family: usually conjugal family where relationships are based on the equality of the adult participants | |||
| These types refer to normative structures found in particular socieites. In any society there is some variation in the actual composition and conception of families. Much ], ], and ] research is dedicated to understanding this variation, and changes over time in the family form. Thus, some speak of the '''bourgeois family''', a family structure arising out of 16th and 17th century European households, in which the center of the family is a marriage between a man and woman, with strictly defined gender roles. The man typically is responsible for income and support, the woman for home and family matters. In contemporary Europe and the United States, people in both the academy, politics, and civil society have called attention to single-father-headed households, and families headed by same-sex couples, although academics point out that these forms exist in other societies. | |||
| * nuclear family: consists of adult partners and their children, but may include strong links to extended (especially consanguineal) family | |||
| * single-parent or lone-parent family: consists of a single adult and dependents | |||
| ''See also:'' ], ] | ''See also:'' ], ] | ||
Revision as of 11:09, 16 April 2002
According to sociology and anthropology, the primary function of the family is to reproduce society, both (or either) biologically and (or) socially. Thus, one's experience of one's family shifts over time. From the perspective of children, the family is a family of orientation: the family serves to locate children socially, and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the family is a family of procreation the goal of which is to produce and enculturate and socialize children. However, reproducing children is not the only function of the family. In societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between a husband and wife, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household. In modern societies marriage entails particular rights and privilege that encourage the formation of new families even when their is no intention of having children.
The structure of families traditionally hinges on relations between parents and children, between spouses, or both. Consequently, there are three major types of family: matrifocal, consanguinal, and conjugal.
A matrifocal family consists of a mother and her children. Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children is a practice in nearly every society. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women.
A consanguinal family consists of a mother and her children, and other people -- usually the family of the mother. This kind of family is common where mothers do not have the resources to rear their children on their own, and especially where property is inherited. When important property is owned by men, consanguinal families commonly consist of a husband and wife, their children, and other members of the husband's family.
A conjugal family, also called a nuclear family, consists of one or more mothers and their children, and/or one or more spouses (usually husbands). This kind of family is common where men desire to assert control over children, or where there is a sexual division of labor requiring the participation of both men and women, and where families are relatively mobile.
Non-scholars, especially in the United States and Europe, also use the term extended family. This term has two distinct meanings. First, it is used synonymously with consanguinal family. Second, in societies dominated by the conjugal family, it is used to refer to kindred who do not belong to the conjugal family.
These types refer to normative structures found in particular socieites. In any society there is some variation in the actual composition and conception of families. Much sociological, historical, and anthropological research is dedicated to understanding this variation, and changes over time in the family form. Thus, some speak of the bourgeois family, a family structure arising out of 16th and 17th century European households, in which the center of the family is a marriage between a man and woman, with strictly defined gender roles. The man typically is responsible for income and support, the woman for home and family matters. In contemporary Europe and the United States, people in both the academy, politics, and civil society have called attention to single-father-headed households, and families headed by same-sex couples, although academics point out that these forms exist in other societies.
References and external links: http://bitbucket.icaap.org/cgi-bin/glossary/SocialDict
Family is one of the levels of taxanomic classification of organisms. It lies between the less-specific order and the more-specific genus; ie, an order will contain one or more families, and a family will contain one or more genuses. Humans, for instance, are of family Hominidae.