Chapter 1: The Changing Family

Summary

Chapter 1, The Changing Family, is about past and current definitions of, and changes in the family. The “traditional” definition of family is basically a group of people (at least two or more) who live together and are related by marriage, birth, or adoption, and who bear or raise children. A current definition of family has three parts to its definition: 1. group of two or more people who live together in a committed relationship, 2. a group of two or more people who care for each other and any children, 3. a group of two or more people who share activities and close emotional ties. Some ways that families are similar across societies are as follows: incest taboos, marriage (both ceremonial and common-law). Endogamy, the requirement of marriage within similar groups, and Exogamy, the requirement of marriage outside of the group, are ways that families are the same in society. Families differ in the makeup of the family itself. Western culture tends to live with a unit made up of married parents and biological/adopted kids, or a nuclear family. Other cultures’ families are usually made up of the whole extended family. Residence is a huge differing factor within societies. Patrilocal, matrilocal, and neolocal are the three different residential patterns – the most common being patrilocal. Monogamy and Polygamy – the amount of marriages one has – are also factors that differentiate families across societies. Chapter one also touches upon common myths, both functional and dysfunctional, about the family (for ex. the family isn’t always a bastion of love and support). Following myths, chapter one discusses three perspectives on the changing family. One is the family is deteriorating, the second is that the family is only changing – not deteriorating, and the third is that the family is growing stronger than ever. Last in the chapter is a demographics chart on the ethnic diversity in every county of the USA, excluding whites.

What I Learned

I learned that many of the preconceived notions about the family are myths. Growing up I always found thought it was normal for a person to go ahead and get married and have children, but as I’ve grown older I’ve realized that that type of linear thinking isn’t correct. There are so many reasons for people not to get married, and I’m just scratching the surface on understanding those reasons. The biggest statistic that I found amazing was the fact that Caucasians only make up 65% of the demographics in the USA.

Question/Concern

I actually don’t quite understand how from 1970-2007 the percent of unmarried Americans who are divorced has risen 17%, and yet the divorce rates have decreased since 2000. Speaking from personal opinion, so many of my friends’ parents got divorced since 2000 that I actually find that fact hard to believe – especially since the chapter claims that one out of every two first marriages is expected to end in divorce.

Extra

I found this article dated June 2, 2010. It discusses how Facebook has been driving the divorce rate up. Even if the statistic is false, it's an example of false facts distributed to the community by a major company - FOX.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/02/survey-shows-facebook-driving-divorce-rate/

- Steve (Stephen) Boser