MOD 1, 2 & 3 combined!!! (combined with quiz 1-3)
Which of the following factors did NOT contribute to the demise of traditional courtship patterns in the United States, as presented in lecture?
Growth in passionate love as a basis for marriage
Asian American
a person living in the United States who comes from or is descended from people who came from an Asian country
Hispanic
a person living in the United States who traces his or her ancestry to Latin America
mestizo
a person whose ancestors include both Spanish settlers and Native Americans
self-identity
a person's sense of who he or she is and of where he or she fits in the social structure
Changing Sexual scripts
"Traditional" (heterosexual) sexual script Proceeded in a linear fashion, with oral sex reserved for most committed and initiate relationships kissing-groping-naked groping-intercourse-oral sex Modern sexual script The order of activities is not fixed and may be done in any order. Importantly, oral sex is no longer most intimate activity, which is why we see more partners but less intercourse among young adults today kissing-groping-oral sex-naked groping-intercourse With changes in sexual script the key shift is that Sexual Behavior ≠ Emotional Intimacy
What does it imply when we say that there are two sexes or genders?
- That they are opposite and inversely related • This is what we see : think of it as two separate spheres. When actually, for any characteristic (e.g., height, testosterone, vocabulary) there is considerable overlap between females and males [sex] and between women and men [gender]. - Intersex persons and transgender persons challenge this dichotomy - Sex and Gender are really continuums, where one end is extreme femaleness or femininity and the other end extreme maleness or masculinity.
Children's books show more male characters doing exciting things.
1970s study showed male people written about 11x more often (for animals, it was 95x). 1990s follow-up study showed disparity reduced, but male characters still appear 2x as often. Male characters trend to be shown in active and independent roles, while females shown as passive, often second to males ("sidekicks"). Even where female characters are protagonists, tend to be shown in ways consistent with emphasized femininity
teenage pregnancy
2015: total of 229, 715 births to women aged 15- 19 for a live birth rate of 22.3 per 1000 women in this age group 8% decrease from 2014 Record low (every year since 2009 had been lower) Remember: issue is that today teen births are to unmarried women, in the past many married teens gave birth and this was not considered a problem Decrease is consistent with trends toward delayed birth among women of all ages There are racial/ethnic disparities in teen birth rate and trends over time
Rules of Courtship Progression - Step 6: Engagement and Couple Activities (Private)
After a period of keeping company, a couple would likely get engaged This permitted the couple to be together for long periods of time unsupervised and, naturally, greater intimate contact occurred--including sexual intercourse This was not viewed as a problem since the couple would soon be wed (and church records indicate that many couples gave birth < 9 months after being married!) If, at any stage, the process fell apart (e.g., callers were deemed unworthy or engagement ended) you went back to Step 1.
Rules of Courtship Progression - Step 2: One-on-One Group Activities (in Public)
After repeated interactions at these public group activities (over several months), young adults might begin to spend more time with a handful of potential suitors Drift toward "Walking & Talking" one-on-one Such as around the picnic grounds or the dance floor Still visible to supervising community members Chance to get to know the "most promising" matches more If these interactions went well, move to next step
Rules of Courtship Progression - Step 3: Asking to "Call on" a Young Woman
After some time a young man would ask if he could "call on" a young women, meaning visit her at her parents' home in the early evening. If she was interested (and had her parents' permission to do so) she would agree to this. A young women would only have 2 or 3 "callers" During the Victorian era giving and receiving cards for all sorts of occasions was fashionable and so many young adults used "calling cards" to signal interest and move the courtship process along some of these cards were, for the times, risqué- as you'll see on the next slide
Many states do not offer legal protection from hiring or housing discrimination based on sexual identity or gender identity
Again always think about how people's experiences with other social institutions would affect them/their families Healthcare issues—particularly for trans individuals Lack of social support for relationships Suicide Violence and hate crimes If interested in learning more about discrimination faced by trans and non-binary individuals, read more about results from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey here
Children view more than 25 hours of television each week, on average.
Again, male characters shown more often and doing things that reflect gender expectations o Male characters shown more often engaged in aggressive behavior o Female characters shown needing to be rescued. Even where female characters are protagonists, shown in ways that reinforce femininity—see Powerpuff Girls
There are several sources of variation in how parents' engage in gender socialization, though.
As already mentioned, having only daughters is associated with less gendered parenting. Children whose mother's work for pay are less stereotyped in their behaviors and attitudes. May be role modeling effect. Middle class parents are thought to be more liberal in these attitudes and allow more cross-gender activities. o Both middle lass men and women say in surveys say that they would allow children to play with toys for the "opposite sex" (Working class parents say they would not). o But in observational studies only middle class mothers let their children do so. o Middle class fathers try to steer sons away from playing with dolls or try to get sons to use doll as a "football." o Fathers are gate keepers of gender norms in a patriarchal society.`
Household Chores
As children age, parents assign household chores in gendered ways. o Daughters are more often given domestic tasks, "helping" mom. These are often daily chores. o Sons are more often given outside tasks, "helping" dad. These chores don't usually need to be done daily. Exception? If there are only children of one sex. o All daughters? Do both inside and outside chores. o All sons? Still only have outside chores.
Changes in Union Formations
As described in your textbook, marriage in the U.S. (and all Western countries) has undergone two profound shifts: Institutional MarriageCompanionate Marriage Companionate MarriageIndividualistic Marriage These have been accompanied by changes in mate selection (courtship, dating) and increasing diversity of unions (cohabitation).
mate selection w/ shift to companionate marriage
As expressive individual began to take hold a new model of marriage began to emerge. The Companionate Marriage Emphasis on affection, friendship, and sexual gratification Strict adherence to set roles for spouses remained This was a gradual change, economic basis of marriage remained MOST important Shift in thinking meant mate selection increasingly allowed input of young persons
Parents treat daughters as "delicate," sons as "sturdy"
Both fathers and mothers engage in more rough and tumble play with boys, more subdues interactions with girls.
Adult interventions
Both mothers and fathers are more likely to offer unsolicited help to their daughters. This teaches dependency. Mother and fathers are less likely to intervene in the play or learning of sons. They let sons figure things out on their own, permitting them to make mistakes. This teaches sons self-reliance and reinforces success (two elements of masculinity)
Parents choice of clothing also structures children's play
Boys are dressed in ways that promote rough play and exploration Girls are dressed in ways that do not promote this and are more harshly reprimanded for getting dirty
sexual counterrevolution
By the 1970's, conservatives called for return to traditional "family values" Did not succeed in turning back the clock
Rules of Courtship Progression - Step 1: Group Activities (in Public)
Church socials, picnics, dances, etc. Interaction supervised by community members Goal was to interact with as many potential suitors as possible Elaborate group dances and other conventions were used to ensure that young people mixed and didn't spend too much time with one person (at first).
GLBT Youth
Coming out at younger ages Higher risk of suicide High risk of dropping out and running away Face higher rates of physical and verbal harassment Next few slides will present figures on this
Loss of community & parental supervision
Courtship stages required supervision, but young people began moving away from parents Rural-to-urban migration with industrialization Increasing immigration (and immigrants tend to be single) Growth in size of the "marriage market" Increasing population density Large youth population in cities Courtship rules ill-suited to many suitors
cohabitation common
Cross-sectional estimates About 1.1% of all couples were cohabiting in the 1960s Today, 10% of all couples are cohabiting 28% of couples in prime childbearing years, 19-44 Longitudinal estimates In 1970, ≈11% of people reported cohabiting before marriage Today, > 70% of people report cohabiting with any partner before marriage (about 2⁄3 with spouse)
Several forces were undermining parental control, even before the American revolution
Declining Importance of Land Arable land became scarce along the East coast, limiting fathers' prime method of control (plenty of land on the frontier, though). As industrial revolution took hold, wages provided increasing independence Beginnings of cultural shift toward expressive individualism Irony of the American Revolution was that in over throwing a King for autonomy, it doesn't take much to see how one should be able to act autonomously from one's parents
Cohabitation
Definition: "Two adults in a consensual sexual relationship that reside in the same household, share resources, and are not related by law" Excludes roommates, couples with separate households
Sex is biological
Definition: "the biological characteristics that differentiate males and females" • Chromosomes • Reproductive organs • Hormone levels • Physical stature
Gender expression is sociocultural
Definition: "the social and cultural characteristics that distinguish women and men in a society" • Clothing and appearance • Attitudes and values • Behaviors and expectations for interaction • Differ across time and cultures Often magnify biological sex differences, exaggerations Gendered patterns of behavior associated with being women and men Increasing evidence that gender expression involves complex interactions between genetics and the social environment.
Sociologist examine sexual orientation along three planes:
Desire - physical attraction Behavior - the act itself Identity - how they identify themselves
How did parents exert control over children who might not like the match or want a different one?
Disinheritance would limit ability to provide Sons needed land to provide for family, clearing land in colonial period was difficult. Fathers could refuse land. No transfer of goods to set up household. Remember, during this period families had to produce everything they needed- so not receiving help in form of furniture, linens, cookware would make difficult for newly married could to survive.Aside from disinheritance, there were also potential social sanctions if one married without permission. The power of the Church in colonial America. Disobeying parents would have resulted in expulsion. And brought shame to family because would indicate lack of proper religious teaching (which was responsibility of father). Needed good standing in community for survival- help with homesteading, crops, in times of crisis. A couple could not survive without help from others.
Conceptualization of Sexuality
Essentialist -Sexuality is expression of biological drives are innate -Belief that there is some feature that all heterosexuals or all homosexuals share -Focus on fundamental differences Social Constructionist - Stresses how conceptualization of sexual orientation and sexual preferences are historically and culturally variable. - Not really saying it is a choice, just that we construct categories and what they mean. IntegrativePerspective - Determined by both social and genetic/biological factors - Belief that biology provides predisposition that may or may not be triggered by cultural factors - Twin studies
Changes in mate selection
For 60 years, family and grade school have been steadily declining in their influence over the dating market The Internet increasingly allows Americans to meet and form relationships with perfect strangers (people with whom they had no previous social tie) Individuals who face a "thin" market for potential partners, such as gays, lesbians, and older heterosexuals, are especially likely to meet partners online Partnership rate has increased during the Internet era (consistent with Internet efficiency of search) for same-sex couples, but the heterosexual partnership rate has been flat
Consequences of teen pregnancy
For the mother (teen fathers have not been studied as much) Greater medical complications, premature birth More likely to drop out of high school Low socioeconomic status in adulthood For the infant Low birth weight But much of this is a Selection Effect. See your textbook Cognitive and developmental delays (due to lower prenatal care) Greater risk of child neglect & abuse For Society $7 billion annually due to public assistance, child health care, foster care, lost tax revenue, etc.
Modern Romance (1990s-present)
Further delays in marriage Emerging adulthood: expectation of exploration, little commitment Rising educational attainment part of story Broader cultural shift toward "individualistic" relationships (search for "soul mate") Prior to this point, as emotional expectation so relationships increased, the number of partners decreased (and there was greater expectation of exclusivity). Now, something very different had occurred.
Dating was clearly linked to marriage (1900-1970)
Goal was to find a marital partner "Going Steady" increased odds of marrying Shotgun weddings Near the end of this period, though, dating was becoming increasingly separated from marriage for several reasons Delay in marriage with rising educational attainment Loss of "dating bargain"- delaying sexual intercourse until marriage (or at least engagement). Start of shift in meaning of marriage to more of an individual accomplishment The next slide shows the historical rise in marriage Increase in sexual behavior Sexuality a normal part of identity & development (that one should explore) Occurred before widespread availability of oral contraceptives Contraceptives for married persons were not legal nationwide until 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court Decision Not until 1972 was this right extended to unmarred (Eistenstad v. Baird)
Heternormativity
Heterosexuality is the norm Structures our interactions "Doing Heterosexuality" example---ongoing practice through which men avoid being stigmatized as gay or feminine, by portraying themselves as 'real men'. 'Real men': those who are able to compete successfully with other males in sport, work, and sexual relations with women. Avoid stigma - link to privilege Doing heterosexuality is especially important for men The article by Cera, Ford, and England (2017) speaks to this issue. Assumed, expected, ordinary Not just about sexuality, but life in general Some heterosexualities more privileged than others Married, monogamous, procreative
Rules of Courtship Progression - Step 5: "Keeping Company" (Semi-Private)
If the visits went well, the other callers would be dismissed and the chosen one and the young woman were said to be "keeping company" This brought with it greater privacy—e.g., sitting on the front porch—with parents now only indirectly supervising Some intimate contact was permitted (hand holding, kissing)
the fall of Dating (1900-1970)
Increase in non-family living and further growth of individualism Economic prosperity allowed single-person households Now no longer needed marriage for access to sex or to live apart from parents. Turns out the more time you spend living in a non-family household(e.g., alone, with roommates) the less likely you are to think that marriage is necessary By 1970 a new type of "Dating" was taking shape
Those at risk for teen pregnancy
Individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged families Parents with less than high school education, low income, unemployed Do not have either biological parent in household, in foster care Individuals who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods High income inequality, unemployment, poor quality housing Individuals who live in rural areas, the U.S. South and Southwest
rise of legal marriage
Informal unions were the dominant form for most of the Common Era Individuals co-resided and shared resources, recognized by larger social group as a couple Among the elite, ritual ceremonies marked the joining of the families ( These feasts evolved into "weddings" Legal regulation of marriage did not happen until 1563 at the Council of Trent (Catholic) Church required a priest to perform union of elites in exchange for a donation Provided Church with way to raise funds given that Church was acting as de facto government in much of Europe at time Informal unions remain among the Serfs and Peasantry Shift in attitude about unions occurred where legality = legitimacy, so most people eventually entered into formal unions
Reasons for Parental Influence over marriage
Interest in social status maintenance of the family Economic basis meant marriage brought land and wealth transfers (from husband-to-be's family) Marrying a daughter into a higher ranked family would increase own social standing Survival of the Family Good match meant daughters would be provided for and son would have heirs Needed to be sure that adult children would be in a position to care for when reached old age (remember widows couldn't own property)
Studying the size of GLB populations is challenging.
Issues of measurement What if people don't want to be measures? The reading by Ghaziani (2017) examines some of these challenges. Bottom Line: Attraction ≠ Behavior ≠ Identity
Sexual attitudes in the US
Landmarks in the nation's changing view of sexuality include: Kinsey Study - Institute for Sex Research (1942) - Interviewed 11,000 men and women Feminist Movement -Challenged porn, rape, abortion laws and fought for reproductive rights Sexual Revolution (1960s) - Birth control Gay Rights Movement
cohabitation linked to future divorce
Liberal attitudes before cohabiting (Selection Effect) Egalitarian ideologies which promote independence More accepting of divorce Cohabiting further liberalizes attitudes Adjustment problems making shift to marriage Roles of Wife and Husband—we have more ideas about what a spouse *should* do than an live-in partner. Can cause conflict. Men often become more "traditional"—with more gendered expectations of wives that women find troubling because these tended not to be evident when cohabiting Belief that relationship problems will be resolved once married (e.g., drinking, gambling, infidelity). These problems usually remain. Recent studies suggest that higher risk of divorce is really due to younger age at union formation (Kuperberg 2014) and limited to those who cohabited with someone other than a spouse (Manning and Cohen 2012).
Wanted to love partner before marriage by mid-1800s
Love defined in terms of sympathy, openness & understanding Passion was viewed as too unstable Couples, especially young women, and their parents desired for "satisfaction through stability" Practical and economic considerations still more important until the end of this period. The importance of practicality and stability is exemplified in the diary of Maude Rittenhouse
2nd Phase of Modern Romance: Long-Term Partner Search Ready to "settle down," beginning in late 20s
Many report difficulty moving from "hanging-out"/ "hooking-up" to more serious, emotionally connected relationships Pressure to find "soul mate" Tyranny of too many choices Where do you meet people? How we meet partners has changed dramatically over time
Age-differentiated partnership strategies in Modern Romance
Mate selection now occurs in two distinct phases, as we'll discuss on the next few slides These phases have very different goals But both reflect the qualities of the individualistic marriage Emphasis on self-development and personal gratification Desire for open communication and flexible roles Relationships are for personal gain/emotional support
3 different motivations for cohabitation: (1) A Testing Ground for Marriage
More common among highly-educated Women in strong economic position use as a check on mate But <50% have definite plans to marry Less likely to have non-marital birth Increased risk of divorce (1.3-2x higher) Unless definite plans to marry prior to cohabiting Unless have never cohabitated with anyone else
3 different motivations for cohabitation: (3) An Alternative to Marriage
More common among least educated (serial cohabitation) Most want to marry, but want to be sure it will "work" (Again, see Edin and Kefalas (2005) reading). Many identify as "engaged" (no definite plans though) "Fiancé" signals greater commitment than "boyfriend" Just 1⁄4 marry within 5 years More common among previously married These are longer duration unions High rates of non-marital birth, children from prior relationships (multiple partner fertility)
3 different motivations for cohabitation: (2) Another Way of Being Single (aka "co-residential dating")
More common among students, moderately-educated Consider themselves to be single, not "engaged" Practical & emotional rewards of co-residence key Don't really decide to move in together, just happens (e.g., because someone's lease is up). Low rates of non-marital birth If marry, may have higher risk of divorce due to earlier age at union formation.
Sexual Scripts
Norms and rules regarding sexual activity Who should do it? What should be done? How it should be done? Where it should be done? When it should be done? Why it should be done? Sexual activity includes kissing, "groping," naked groping, intercourse (of all types), and oral sex
Control over Dating represented a big shift from courtship
Now Men-centered Economic basis favored men Men initiated and terminated dates that took place in those anonymous settings away from home Now Peer-Centered Youth subcultures developed with school and emergence of adolescence Peers determined who was popular to date and what activities one should do
The Baby Beth/Baby Adam study has been replicated several times.
Overall, studies have shown that parents give more positive non- verbal responses to their children for picking toys that are sex "appropriate" and more negative responses for picking toys associated with the "opposite" sex
Parents structure play
Parents structure the play of children in ways that introduce gender norms and reinforce their compliance. This occurs through toys, clothing, and supervision. The sex of the child directs what is appropriate- and this is how they learn gender expectations.
As the internet has become an increasingly common way to meet a partner, how has this changed mate searches and the resulting relationships?
People report that it is difficult to make a "connection" when interacting online, only through text. A visual or face-to- face interaction is more likely to be successful Men tend to send more generic messages at high volume (which means less successful). Mate search no longer geographically bound, but Apps like Grindr and Tinder use location to find matches nearby (and remember, face-to-face interaction is key). Old "dating" rules still seems to apply Expectations of men as initiator Men try to make connections to much more attractive partners Younger adults looking for signs of "success" Assortative mating (except: religion)- Read more about this in Pepin (2016) Bottom line? Interaction has to be meaningful There is no difference in relationship quality or dissolution between people who meet online and those who meet in other ways The exception? People who meet in Church or elementary/high school report higher marital quality and are less likely to dissolve than those who met online. Can you think of some reasons why that might be?
Parents (specifically Fathers) directly influenced children's marriages in two ways
Pre-arranged marriages (only among the elite) Sought potential matches for adult children Had to give daughters' permission to marry Would wait to divide land among sons until felt ready to marry and match was good
Rise and Fall of Dating (1900-1970)
Private Behavior Loss of adult supervision altogether Anonymous settings apart from home Cafes, theaters, amusement parks "Public" places, but anonymous ones Restricted number of partners (not the slow funneling of courtship)—somewhat paradoxical since the # of potential mates was expanding Longer duration of each meeting ( or date) "Going steady"
American Courtship System (1776-1900)
Publicly visible process, with rules and restrictions, through which young men and women found a partner to marry Entailed both community and parental supervision Permitted both adults and youth to select the potential mate, although the balance was not equal. Adults had much more power who children married, especially the beginning of time period.
Characteristics of cohabitation relationships
Relatively Short Duration 50% separate by 11⁄2 years (median length 1 year), 90% by 5 years Only about half end because they get married Depends on the people involved. Longer cohabitation length among the formerly married, the poor, and African Americans 40 % have children in the household 1⁄3 among never-married and 1⁄2 among previously married 1⁄6 have children born in that union suggesting that childbearing increasingly acceptable, but... very few expect to have children in next 2 years, unlike married 2⁄3 of White cohabiters marry before 1st birth Poor, Hispanic, and African American couples more likely to remain cohabiting Edin and Kefalas (2005) reading discusses how poor unmarried mothers value marriage in a different way than they think about childbirth, want to avoid making a "mistake" and ending up divorced. Employment & Educational Attainment More common among those with less than HS education Cohabiters are more likely to be in school (Marriage and spousal role still viewed as less compatible with school) Women in cohabitations are more likely to be either in school or working than are married women Financial Resources & Independence Lower homeownership rates than married More likely to be financially dependent on parents, especially if in school Employed women more likely to earn more than men than is the case among heterosexual marriages
Previous research has focused on the created kinship among mostly white, upper- to middle-class GLBT individuals
Research indicated that some of these individuals choose to sever ties with their families of origin and instead create families of choice Formed through voluntary ties among individuals who are not biologically related But if we utilize an intersectional framework, we would want to consider how experiences differ for sexual minorities across other social statuses For example: Recent research examining the importance of family support for sexual minorities of color People of color may be less likely to want to or be able to sever ties with their families of origin Family support is still influential to Black and Latina/o sexual minorities health and well-being
How do we measure sexuality?
Self-identification? Saying one is a Gay, is Lesbian, is Bisexual Sexual attraction? Who one is attracted to or is aroused by Sexual behavior? Who one has engaged in sexual contact/activity with How we measure sexuality provides different results about the size of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) populations. It also matters how we ask—in person, over the telephone, or anonymously.
Serial Dating (1970 - mid-1990s)
Separate from, but emulating marriage A series of sexually exclusive relationships, "dating" only one person at a time Marriage not (initial) goal, although the longer the relationships lasted—and especially if started cohabiting—this increase the chances of marriage Largely followed "rules" of old dating system Men- and peer-centered Paradox : Greater choice due to expanding marriage market + Increasing need for emotional investment in relationships = fewer partners at a time This was truly a transitional period between the end of the companionate style of marriage and the new individualistic style we have today
declining legitamacy of marriage in late 20th century
Several factors that we've already mentioned lead to marriage losing some its allure Delays in marriage with increasing education means more time spent single Increasing acceptance of non-marital sexual behavior Increase in economic independence mean didn't need marriage to move out of parents' house Consequence is that informal unions are no longer limited to just the poor, and cohabitation has become a part of the adult life cycle
Emphasis on Passion and Companionate Love (1900-1970)
Sexual Behavior Normative Lack of supervision and increasing age at marriage Women were viewed as responsible for activity level Legacy of the Cult of True Womanhood Oft quoted phrase was "A man is only as bad as the woman he is with" Ideaofsexualbehaviorasagame Think about lyrics of Meatloaf's (1977) "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights"
1st Phase: "Hanging out" & "Hooking-up" (modern romance)
Sexual exploration in teens and 20s, before "settling down," to learn about personal desires Partially reflects increased educational enrollment, where relationships are scene as unacceptably competing with school This period of exploration true even among those not in school. A greater number of sexual partners But less likely to have sexual intercourse than in the past What explains this contradiction of more sexual partners but less likely to have sexual intercourse with each partner? The Sexual Script has changed (see next slide) The Sexual Script refers to the types of activities that one should engage in with a sexual partner and the order in which you should engage in them.
Sex Education
So what can society do to reduce unwanted teen pregnancy? One strategy looks to schools. Sex education programs teach young people how their bodies grow and change, present the biology of reproduction, and explain how to avoid pregnancy by using birth control or abstaining from sex. Controversial: Critics point to what they see as a troubling pattern: over the past two decades as more schools have adopted sex education programs, the level of sexual activity among teenagers has gone up. Researchers tell us that, by age 18 55% of teens have had sex. Of course, this does not show that sex education is what is causing this change. Supporters of sex education say that the biggest cause of teenage pregnancy is ignorance. It makes sense, they say, to teach young people—many of whom are sexually active anyway— about birth control methods and the risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. From this point of view, sex education is the main reason for the recent decline in unwanted teenage pregnancy. So you see the two sides here, those who think sex education promotes sex and the side that says people are going to have sex anyway so you better inform them of how to control their reproductive systems.
Sex: A cultural issue
Sociologists point out that sexual activity is guided by human culture How we view and think about sex and issues surrounding sex Who can have sex with whom? age marital status sex of partners types of sexual activity what is sexy
What do people want out of hook-ups?
Survey data indicates that young adults say they want three things: Empowerment, Pleasure, Meaningfulness But most report falling short of these goals Especially women, "normalization of sexual pressure from men" (Recall the reading by Cera, Ford, and England [2017], though) Both men and women report lack of meaningfulness. Ideal is to have "Friends with Benefits"- a steady, but not committed sex partner (maybe those people who report having previously hook- up with someone 10+ times have achieved that) IMPORTANT to remember not everyone is Hooking-up Current estimates are that 25-33% of college students never will have a hook-up Traditional "dating" and "serial dating" are still happening Indeed, variating in mate selection strategies is fully consistent with the individuated marriage. This doesn't mean were not all affected by the hook-up culture, as the Wade (2016) reading makes clear.
As children enter school teachers and peers become increasingly important as socializing agents
Teachers offer differential praise/reprimands and guidance o Boys are rewarded for working independently, whereas girls are more often offered unsolicited help by teachers reinforcing dependency. o Girls more likely to be reprimanded for being outspoken and adventurous, while "boys will be boys" o Teachers are more likely to encourage boys to explore science and math in high school (even though they have lower grades on average than girls) Peers become most important for interests and activities (e.g., sports vs. band) and attitudes/behavior toward romantic partners
By the turn of the 20th Century expressive individualism had taken hold
The new form of Companionate Marriage was in place (at least for the Middle classes) This is when the "Private" family began to dominate Courtship simply didn't work for this new way of thinking (along with the impracticality) in the expanding cities "Dating" emerged in its place
All societies proscribe different social roles to men and women, that is every culture has a set of gendered roles
These norms cover appearance, clothing. attitudes, behaviors, values, etc. -Many of them overlap between societies but there is some differentiation -Here we will focus only on gender norms in the U.S.
Aggressive Element—
To be a man is to take risks and fight for what you want - Acceptable to use force to deal with problems: Doesn't have to be physical force —can be a forceful tone or a manner of speech. Also translated as being adventuresome - Viewed as "natural" due to higher levels of testosterone. Males do have higher testosterone, but difference from females is grossly exaggerated (recall the overlapping bell curves from earlier).
What caused decline in teen birth rate?
U.S. Teens are increasingly likely to use contraception Part of this is due to the delay in age at first sex Part of this is due to increased use of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives [LARCs] (e.g., Norplant, IUDs) The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka "Obamacare") required insurance plans to provide contraceptive coverage and included funds for Family Planning services States that expanded Medicaid received more funds and saw largest declines in teen pregnancy. Colorado is a good example. Teen pregnancy rate declines by 29% (and this also reduced costs for Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children [WIC]).
Mate selection under Institutional marriage
Under Institutional Marriage the economic basis of union formation was key Economic union between families Needed for survival of family members Spouses expected to perform strict roles, provide and rear children Focus on male authority Accordingly mate selection viewed in purely economic terms—and to benefit of family
The clothing that we think of as "typical" for young boys and girls is actually a relatively recent development
Until the 1920s, children under age 6 were all dressed in the same way. Do you know who this 3 1⁄2 year old is? o It's President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) o This was considered gender neutral clothing! o It wasn't until age 7 that boys would get a short hair cut and would begin to wear (short) pants. The iconic pink= girls and blue=boys color coding of clothing is a very recent convention.
Social Construction of Sexuality
Varies from culture to culture Varies over time Varies among groups within a society Changes over the course of one's lifetime Sexuality is not static
Courtship process reflected growing importance of Romantic love for union formation
Wanted to love partner before marriage by mid-1800s Love defined in terms of sympathy, openness & understanding Passion was viewed as too unstable Couples, especially young women, and their parents desired for "satisfaction through stability" Practical and economic considerations still more important until the end of this period. The importance of practicality and stability is exemplified in the diary of Maude Rittenhouse
Changing attitudes about non-marital sex
We are increasingly accepting of premarital sex (% "always wrong" ↓) But increasingly disapprove of extramarital sex (% "always wrong" ↑) Extra marital sex is less common today than in past Reflects changing view of marriage from economic alliance to emotional bond
Clothing is a visible reminder that parents feel gender is important.
Why are infant girls dressed differently from infant boys? o Facially and behaviorally it is very difficult to tell infant boys from infant girls o The clothes the child is wearing tell others the child's gender. o Think about what happens when you encounter an infant that is dressed in a neutral way- what do you do? Ask "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Further increase in the standard of living
Young adults acquired spending money with employment New activities in growing towns made visiting in the home less interesting Rise of "adolescence" Late teens come to be seen as a period of personality development, where freedom from adult responsibilities (like getting married) was necessary Increase in education separated teens from adults, first in high schools and then universities
Premarital sex
Young adults today are surrounded by messages about sexuality, contributing to perceived norms that encourage "hooking up." Bogle argues "hooking up" has become part of the social script of dating on college campuses We'll discuss "Hooking up" more in the next lecture.
The distinctions between men and women are essential to the study of families because of the division of labor within families and the primacy of our attachment to the family institution..
but have to understand the difference between sex and gender
Motherhood—women's primary role is expected to be a mother and motherhood is her most salient and meaningful source of identity
o Assumed to want to bear and nurture children o Must devote time and energy to raining children to be seen as a "good" mother. Children must come first. o Employers still report that they think women will want to leave jobs to have children. o There is no parallel "fatherhood" mandate for men • We don't assume that a man who doesn't have children is less masculine • We rarely ask if men "can have it all?" meaning both a job and a family
Parents tend to supervise the activities of girls more closely that they do boys.
o Boys are given further latitude to roam their neighborhoods and walk to friends houses alone (and at younger ages) o Girls are more often required to play close to home and are escorted places. o Girls are more often picked up from school or instructed to come straight home than boys.
Emphasized Femininity (Connell 1987)--an exaggerated form of femininity where the central idea is that woman must conform to the needs and desires of men.
o Clothing and appearance o Speech patterns with inflected sentences (more similar to a question) o Displays of emotion signal caring/feeling (ties back to motherhood ideal) o Submissiveness, lack of authority ("men are leaders, women are bossy") o Women's appearance, speech, etc. are different when in groups of only women- presence of men is key.
Socialization
o Definition: • Simple: "the process by which we learn the ways of a given society or social group so we can function within it." (Cherlin) • Expanded: "the process by which we learn the behaviors, appearance, values and attitudes that are expected of us through interactions with other individuals in our social group, and their positive or negative response to our behaviors, appearance, values and attitudes." o Socialization is conscious social learning with rewards for compliance and sanctions for deviance o Socializing agents are the people/institutions that show us these expectations and offer rewards & sanctions.
Marriage—second only to motherhood, and particularly in this culture they are assumed to go hand in hand. We assume women want to marry.
o Rite-of-passage--a significant turning point in the social status of women. • "Maid to matron" transition. Marriage brings a new social status in that women are addressed differently, now MRS rather than "Miss" • Historically, men stopped being called "Master" and start being called "Mister" at a certain age (13), irrespective of marital status o Loss of parental authority--traditionally, father's spoke for daughter's until they married and then husband did. We still retain this idea in traditional wedding vows ("Who gives this woman to be wed....") o Domesticity- the ideas of the cult of true womanhood still exist • Think about gifts at a traditional wedding shower (items to set up a home)
Will et al (1976) presented a male aged 6 months to adults who were then observed while playing with the infant.
o The child was presented in sex-typed clothes: half the subjects met "Adam" dressed in blue and the other half met "Beth" dressed in pink. o Three toys were available: train, doll and fish. o Adults most often handed the doll to "Beth" and the train to "Adam." o 'Beth" also received more smiles and "she" was held more. But "Beth" and "Adam" were the same (male) baby! Adults were using their knowledge of gender norms to decide how to structure the play of the child.
Parents
o The most important socializing agent in childhood, why the family is so important to our identification with feminine and masculine ideals o There are a number of ways that parents socialize us to gender norms: • Interactions with children • Structure of play • Willingness to Intervene • Assignment of chores
Sexual Identity
refers to an individual's romantic, emotional, and sexual attraction to another person Constructed terms Heterosexual Homosexual Bisexual Asexual Pansexual
5 elements of masculinity
success, aggressive, sexual, self-reliant, anti-femine
Connell (1987) discusses hegemonic masculinity,
the fact that most societies encourage men to embody a dominant version (and very narrow) of masculinity`
Anti-feminine Element
the first and foremost expectation or men is that they never act in ways defined as feminine o "Don't be such a girl" is a common schoolyard taunt designed to sanction boys for acting in ways seen as non-masculine o Clothing -women can generally take men's clothing items and adapt them (e.g., trousers) but men cannot do the reverse (e.g., skirts).
Self-Reliant Element
—men are always supposed to be in complete control, always rational, not influenced by emotion o o o "Calm, Cool, and Collected" Not supposed to have strong emotional reactions—must tough it out When a strong emotional reaction is needed, anger is one of the few socially acceptable outlets (fits the aggressive element)
Success Element
—men are expected to be number one, masculinity= success o Competition is rampant (e.g., sports, work, gambling) o Admiration-bigger is better and having the biggest means that others admire you (e.g., car, paycheck, muscles) Failure is thus seen as an affront to masculinity. For example, when men lose their jobs this is very difficulty for them to cope with psychologically; this often leads to conflict and violence in the family
Sexual Element
—men are expected to seek out sexual fulfillment, virility is tied to masculinity and dominance - Expected to seek out sexual fulfillment, be the initiator Having more sexual partners (conquest) is viewed as being more masculine. • Sexuality is integral part of self- concept for both men and women, but behaviors are viewed differently (e.g., "Studs" vs. "Sluts", the sexual double standard) • Erectile dysfunction drugs are a $2 billion / year business Conquest/initiator norms are very powerful and very tough to live up to. Have serious consequences- for example, male rape victims—if they report the assault at all—overwhelmingly describe it in terms of emasculation
Textile historian Jo B. Paoletti (2012) traced the gendering of children's play clothes across the 20th century.
• Examined catalogues from the Sears & Robuck Co. o Play clothes used to be marketed in a wide range of colors (and in near identical styles for both boys and girls. • Special occasion clothes were more gendered o It wasn't until the 1980s that Pink (and pastels) for girls and Blue (and bold) color dictate was established o Manufacturers started marketing distinct play clothing for boys and girls just as U.S. families were getting smaller. o So... even things we think of as "natural" are new social conventions.
In a 1974 study, Rubin et al (1974) looked at how new parents perceive 1 day old infants
• Sons described as firmer, having larger features, better coordinated, more alter, stronger and hardier • Daughters described as softer, fine features -a feminine ideal, awkward, more inattentive, weaker, more delicate. • There were no significant sex differences in birth weight, length or reflexes that could explain different descriptions o Parents view children through gendered "lens," in ways consistent with normative expectations.
Cult of True Womanhood
"Cult of True Womanhood" (Welter 1966) developed among middle and upper classes as idealized version of Separate Spheres Involved four virtues on the part of women: (1)Piety and spiritual guardianship (2)Purity before and during marriage (3)Submissiveness to husband (4)Domesticity as a calling During this time, many of our family rituals developed—celebrating birthdays, vacations, holiday celebrations (as separate from religious observance).
Overlap between psychology and sociology
"We all play the cards we're dealt." • A pro-personal-responsibility turn of phrase • If we all play the cards we are dealt, then sociology asks, 'is the dealer crooked?' • In poker the deal is random, but are life chances dealt randomly? Is there a pattern? Are some players favored by the house with great hands time and again while others are constantly 'down on their luck'? Personal responsibility is important, to be sure, but it can only tell us how you played your cards. Sociologists want to know more about the dealer and the casino the game is played in. • There is a great deal of overlap between sociology and psychology. However, if sociology focuses on the trends at the casino and in the dealing of the cards, then psychology delves into how the player understands and plays their hand.
Behavior, according to the theorists, was rule-directed in the earlier era, meaning that
(1) rules such as social norms, laws, and customs strongly influenced personal life, and (2) the actions of individuals did not change those rules.
Cera, Ford, and England (2017) report on a study showing that men sometimes engage in unwanted sex in an effort to appear masculine. Which of the following terms best describes these men's attitudes and behaviors?
(NOT Social Constructionism) Doing Heterosexuality??
According to estimates presented in lecture, about % of college students will never hook-up.
25%
observational study (also known as field research)
2nd widely used research method; a study in which the researcher spends time directly observing each participant
Which of the following would be excluded from Cherlin's definition of the private family?
A couple that does not live together.
theories
A general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work Theories are used to inform and guide sociological research Help predict and explain social life Provide a way of thinking about complexity Various theories allow researchers to approach a phenomenon from different standpoints Theories are never proven, just supported
Ethnicity
A group of people who share a distinctive cultural heritage o common ancestors o language o religion o national origin Ethnicity can be more complicated than race o Identify with multiple ethnicities o Jewish and Italian On U.S. Census, Hispanic is an ethnicity and can be of any race o E.g., Cuban Americans are "White Hispanic," while Dominican Americans are "Black Hispanic." In U.S. we tend to group people based on Race and Ethnicity
importance of history
A historical perspective can help place what is going on now into a larger social context. Recognizing diversity of families in the ways in which they vary over time. Focus on the family from all points of view. See how macro-level changes affect how families operated in the past.
postmodern perspective
A number of theorists of modernity claim that personal life has changed fundamentally over the last several decades. They argue that the modern era—the long period that began with the spread of industrialization in the mid-to-late nineteenth century—effectively— ended in the last half of the twentieth century. It has been replaced, they state, by what they call the late modern era (Giddens, 1991) or sometimes the postmodern era Looking back at the modern era, they emphasize that individuals moved through a series of roles (student, spouse, parent, housewife, breadwinner) in a way that seemed more or less natural.
Paradigms
A type of worldview A basic set of beliefs and assumptions about how the world is ordered that guide scientific inquiries According to Thomas Kuhn, the history of science is marked by scientific revolutions • Paradigms emerge, suffer crisis, and are replaced by competing paradigms • Commonly referred to as paradigm shift
Another revolutionary idea was spreading at about the same time: gender is a continuum rather than a two-valued (male and female) status.
According to this view, one might think of the gender spectrum as consisting of two poles with a pathway between them. Although most people reside at one of the poles, others may be somewhere on the pathway, and they may move back and forth along the pathway as they so choose. Thus, new terms such as questioning or gender nonconforming arose to describe the sexual identities of people who do not see themselves as having an unchanging male/female identity.
Dance cards born during american courtship era
Actual "Cards" were passed out at dances • A booklet listing the order of all the dances that were to be played in the evening with a space to record the name of a dance partner. • These were distributed to both young men and women at the start of the evening. • Each card has a pencil attached, women would often wear their cards on their wrists • You wanted to make sure that you found a partner for every dance- and when someone else asked you, you could say "Sorry, My Dance Card is Full."
As presented in Figure 5.1, which racial/ethnic group has the highest percentage of children under 18 living with single parents?
African American
(1948-1963) THE ANOMALY OF THE 1950s
After the end of World War II, U.S. family life experienced dramatic and radical changes In several ways family behaviors reversed historical trends Changes would prove to be temporary, though. Marriage increased Earlier marriage--70% of women married by age 24, compared to just 40% in 1940. Today about 1/3 of people still never married by age 34 Decline in percentage of people never marrying Childbearing increased—the Baby Boom Earlier age at first birth, 1/3 of women had first child before age 20 More children (total fertility rate was over 3 children) and people expressed preference for 4, 5, and 6 children—in 1940s, most folks said 2 Divorce decreased Historical pattern was a 3% increase in divorce per decade since 1860, but in 1950 it stopped increasing
Poverty and demographics
Age • Children are most likely to be poor. • 20.7% of children under 18 live in poverty • 23.8% of children under age 6 are in poverty • 34% of American children will have spent at least one year before age 18 below the poverty line • Elderly also at risk of poverty - 8.9% • By age 75, approximately 59% of Americans will have experienced at least one year in poverty Race/Ethnicity • 2⁄3 of poor people are White, 1⁄4 African American • Rate of poverty among non-White greater than share of population
Stratification
All societies are characterized by stratification • A system by which groups of people are sorted into layers based on their relative power, property, and prestige • Unequal distribution of resources • Societies can be stratified by gender, social class and economic status, race/ethnicity, religion, language, etc.
cultural lag
Another possibility is that the cultural frame of gender has changed less than one might expect given the increases in mothers working outside the home—an instance of what sociologists have called cultural lag
tracing lineage
As societies grew, it became necessary to trace descent /lineage and have orderly inheritance of property Different Types of Lineage: Patrilineal System: kinship traced through the father's line Matrilineal System: kinship traced through the mother's line Bilateral System: Kinship traced through both parents' lines
Which of the following racial/ethnic groups has the LOWEST total fertility rate (TFR)?
Asian American
2 extremes of family
At one extreme, some observers claim that families are so diverse that the concept may not even be useful anymore. At the other extreme are those who press politicians to use the singular form "family" (instead of the plural "families") to signify that there is only one proper kind of family—the married couple living with their biological children.
Asian heritage
Before the middle of the twentieth century, most Asian American families in the United States consisted of immigrants from China and Japan and their descendants. Family systems in East Asia (where China and Japan page 51are located) were sharply different from those in the United States and other Western countries, although these differences are currently diminishing (Cherlin, 2012; Goode, 1963). In the traditional East Asian family, parents had more authority over family members than is true in the West. For example, parents usually controlled who their children would marry and when. In addition, kinship was patrilineal, or traced through the father's line. In China, the ideal was that a man's sons (and eventually his grandsons) would bring their wives into his growing household. Daughters would be sent at marriage to live in their in-laws' households. When parents grew old, sons and their wives were expected to live with them and care for them. In Japan, the oldest son carried the main responsibility for the care of elderly parents. Thus, East Asian cultures placed a greater emphasis on children's loyalty to their parents than Western culture. For a son or daughter, happiness in marriage was less important than fulfilling obligations to parents and other kin.
Continuation of Post-modern modern family (1964- present)
By the mid 1960s the longstanding trends in family formation resumed apace under the forces of expressive individualism: Delayed marriage • Age at marriage > than at turn of 20th century (today average age at 1st marriage is 28-29 for men and 26-27 for women) • % never-marrying also higher than at start of 20th century. Decline in childbearing • Delay in marriage also means delay in when people begin to have children • Total fertility rate < 2 children per woman Rapid increase in divorce • Rate today about twice what it was in 1950 (~2% per year) • Over a lifetime, about 1 in 2 marriages will end in divorce • Increase in single parent households • Decline in remarriage Continued increase in women's paid work • Married (White) women • Women with young children no longer automatically leave labor force Increasing non-family living • Living along or with roommates • Cohabitation—Today > 70% of people report living with a partner before marriage (just 11% did in 1970). Premarital and non-marital sexual behavior • Sexual behavior viewed as part of individual expression • Legal changes mean sexual behavior not limited to heterosexual marriage Rise of the individualistic marriage • Emphasis on self-development, flexible roles, and open communication • Increased visibility of family diversity, most recently LGBTQ families
Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills (1959) • Seeing individuality in a social context • Question "common sense" understanding of why people do what they do • Connect history to biography • neither can be understood without the other • "the individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period" • Personal Troubles and Public Issues • People are shaped by society and also help create society "Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both" • Social forces influence the choices we make • Decisions are limited by structural circumstances Ex: 1930's great depression- The economic effects included severe hardship, poverty, and hunger for families and their children
Rules of Courtship Progression - Step 4: Family-Based Activities (Semi-Private)
Callers would visit a young women--one per evening--at her parents' home in the early evening. At the first few calls. sometimes the young man might be accompanied by friend to ease awkwardness, provide evidence of forthrightness The young people would visit in the family living space ("parlor" in Victorian parlance) with parents and siblings around
colonial parenthood
Children's education occurred primarily in the home Children were thought of as miniature adults See this in paintings from period, where children look odd to us because they are presented with adult proportions Parents not emotionally invested in their children 1⁄4 of children didn't survive to their first birthday during this period Parents had many children because expected few to live to adulthood
Change in the families
Competing Arguments Family is in decline: pessimistic view of current marriages; personal happiness has become more important than marital commitment and family obligations; the decline in lifelong marriage and increase in single-parent families have contributed to a variety of social problems ; Family is changing: Judith Stacey (1996; 2001) says this is a good thing because opens up for diversity, frees women from abusive marriages; Stephanie Coontz (2000) argues we were never really like the monolithic model (i.e., the nostalgia trap). Family is stronger than ever as more people "doing family" ; Other factors more influential in well-being of families than the diversity in family forms: poverty, unemployment, lack of basic services (child care, etc.), school funding, discrimination Think which one is most accurate as we move through the various topics in class.
functions of the family
Considered to be the most important social institution Found in some form in all societies Smallest unit families consists of is mother-child The family serves many important functions: Regulation of sexual activity Reproduction Socialization Economic Cooperation Lineage & Inheritance Emotional security How have some of these functions been taken over by other social institutions? Is this problematic?
why are children the most valuable goods that families can produce?
Currently, there are about five persons of working age for each retired person; but by 2030 there may be only three persons of working age for every retired person.2 This means that the burden of supporting the elderly will increase greatly. It's in society's interest, then, for families to have and rear children today who will pay taxes when they grow up. Children in this sense, are public goods.
White families
Declining fertility rates (TFR=1.8) High marriage rates o Though declining for low SES o Delays in marriage for higher SES o Cohabitation more likely to end in marriage Increase in unmarried childbearing, largely due to increased cohabitation Increase in single parent homes More focus on conjugal family, independence, and less involvement of extended family
The "downward extension of adultlike experience" was the phrase that Elder (1999) used to characterize the unique situation of __________ families (Chapter 2).
Depression Generation
Companionate family comes of age (1900-1929)
Development of specialized institutions • Public education, health care, retail industries • Supplanted many of the traditional roles of families • Families devoted less time to material tasks Emotional satisfaction universal with decline in struggle to survive • No longer confined only to upper classes • Increase in marriage AND divorce rates • Decline in fertility as greater emotional investment in children needed Increasing economic independence for men and women with wages • Women became less dependent on men's wages (not independent) − Greater education − Premaritalworkexperiences − Fewer children meant fewer demands on time, as evident from rise in women's organizations during this time Growing Privacy • Economic boom ("Roaring '20s") − increases in single family housing − ability to live alone or with roommates • Increased migration from rural to urban areas • Increased longevity & fewer kids means more time alone as couple after childrearing complete
Family history themes
Diversity - Broad differences in the U.S. population have made generalizations about "the family" impossible Uneven Change - Families in different social classes, races, and immigrant groups all experienced different rates of change
Mexican American Families
Early settlers tended to be land owning elites • • • • Informal marriage more common • No separate spheres, although women responsible for domesticity • Created-kin relations with elite to assist young (Compadrazgo) Wars, revolts and drought undermined family system • Emergence of Mexican American working class • Women engaged in low-paying domestic work • Erosion of male authority Until 1848, large parts of Western U.S. belonged to Mexico Ranch culture emphasized male authority Cultural value of familismo, emphasis on collective rather than individual Numerous laborers had distinct family system • White immigration lead to segregation (barrios)
Great depression- family in crisis (1929-1949)
Economic survival in question Family trends reversed • Marriage delayed (% never marrying increased too) • Divorce declined (but desertion increased) • Delayed childbearing (1 in 5 women would never have children) Value of expressive individualism didn't change, ability to afford it did Families had to go to extraordinary lengths to provide the "basics" (e.g., flour sack clothing) Increased dependence on family labor because men unemployed More wives worked for pay "Downward extension of Adulthood" (G. Elder) as children took on roles • Sons worked for pay • Daughters took over household tasks because mothers' were working Government assumed remaining public family roles FDR's New Deal Legislation • Old Age Insurance (aka "Social Security) to care for aged • Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC, aka "Welfare") to provide guaranteed minimum income to families • Civilian Conservation Corps/ Works Progress Administration to get men back to work. Loss of privacy because could no longer afford single family housing FRUGALITY: reuse, make do, don't throw away; nebraska flour sack dresses
marriage market
Education has become a more important factor in who marries whom over the past half-century or so. Sociologists call the tendency of people to marry others similar to themselves assortative marriage. In the 1930s, religion was a more important determinant of who marries whom than was education: A college-educated Protestant was more likely to marry a Protestant high school graduate than to marry a college-educated Catholic. But since the middle of the twentieth century, college graduates have become much more likely to marry each other than to marry people with the same religion but less education. Religion remains a factor, but the college educated have largely removed themselves from the page 101rest of the marriage market
Abstinence vs comprehensive sex education
Effectiveness of Comprehensive Sex Education Programs Researchers studied the National Survey of Family Growth to determine the impact of sexuality education on youth sexual risk-taking for young people ages 15-19 found that teens who received comprehensive sex education were 50 percent less likely to experience pregnancy than those who received abstinence-only education Effectiveness of Abstinence-Only Education Programs A congressionally mandated study of four popular abstinence- only programs by the Mathematica found that they were entirely ineffective. Students who participated in the programs were no more likely to abstain from sex than other students Evaluations of publicly funded abstinence-only programs in at least 13 states have shown no positive changes in sexual behaviors over time
Constrained opportunities
Emerging adults with more limited education take other, usually shorter, paths to reach the traditional markers of adulthood. Most of those who don't graduate from high school, or who graduate but don't go on to college, enter the job market well before their college-bound peers.
Asian American families
Emphasize interdependence o Co-residence with adult children o Pool economic resources across households Family behaviors reflect relatively high SES o Highest percentage of married two parent households (~85%, NHW: 76%) o Fertility lower than NHW (TFR= 1.7) o Less likely to have non-marital birth (8-20%) Intermarriage normative among U.S. born More recent immigrants (from SE Asia) lower SES and have not done as well
White as an ethnicity
Ethnicity is often applied only to minority groups, while dominant groups feel little sense of ethnicity. In early 1800s, Irish and Italian immigrants not considered White. Recent studies have focused on how "White" is being constructed and pseudo-ethnic identities. Think about how White Families are the reference against which we've compared other racial/ethnic groups.
Theories used in family research: Life Course perspective
Examines how individual lives change as they pass through the events in their lives, recognizing that many changes are socially produced and shared among a cohort of people How changes are related to historical events, time, and place How individuals' roles, positions, and rights in society are influenced by culturally shared age definitions (e.g., childhood or old age) How individual lives are influenced by those close to them Ex.: One person's successes, failures, resources (or lack of), strains, transitions, and trajectories can affect the lives of others, especially within spousal and family relationships Ex.: Work and family roles are negotiated in tandem How individuals exercise human agency within constraints Ex.: People make choices and compromises based on alternatives before them within the constraints of social circumstances and history
symbolic interaction theory
Exchange theorists tend to see the social world as a concrete reality with easily perceived costs and benefits and they view individuals as rational, calculating beings, as if we each had a personal computer in our head, taking in data, calculating costs and benefits, and deciding how to act. The adherents of symbolic interaction theory, however, see the social world as a much more fragile and unstable place, in which individuals are continually creating and sustaining meanings, often without much conscious thought to costs and benefits
College graduates have lower marriage rates than non-college graduates.
FALSE
Even though the majority of Americans have sex before marriage, most continue to report that it is wrong to do so.
FALSE
Working class parents are more likely to "cultivate" their children's talents and skills.
FALSE
colonial families
Family an extension of the community, a public endeavor Less privacy than we have today (small homes, no hallways) Men exercised all authority Family Diversity Stepfamilies • 40% of children in Massachusetts Bay Colony lived in Stepfamilies Informal Marriage • Common practice among European peasants Families served many functions Hospitals, orphanages, nursing, poorhouse, midwifery Operated as a "little Commonwealth"
What is family?
Family is universal (all cultures have it in some form), but defined and constructed differently based on time and culture • U.S. Census definition • Two or more people living together related by birth, marriage, or adoption • What family forms does this definition leave out? • More inclusive definition • "Relationships by blood, marriage or affection in which members may cooperate economically, may care for any children, and may consider their identity to be intimately connected" (Seccombe 2008). • Is this definition too inclusive? Too broad? • Two key questions about public responsibilities and private pleasures of a family 1. How well are families taking care of children, the elderly, and the ill? 2. How well are families providing emotional satisfaction that people value?
public family
Family serves important functions for society: caring for dependents Important for socialization of children and perpetuation of society Useful for answering questions such as: How adequately will our society raise the next generation? How will we care for the growing number of elderly persons?
Victorian Era Families (1830-1900s)
Family was transforming from a unit of production to a unit of consumption with Industrial Revolution People began moving to urban centers Infant mortality rate and birth rate declined Age at first marriage increased Views of childhood changed Greater emotional investment because of increased survival Children no longer viewed as miniature adults, but with unique developmental needs Adolescence emerges as new life stage Separate Spheres and the rise of Breadwinner/Homemaker Family Men's and women's roles become completely separated for first time (historically worked side-by-side). Men responsible for wage-based labor in industrializing economy, women responsible for home making. Women gain moral authority (shift from men as religious authority during colonial era). Figure on next side shows how the new Breadwinner/Homemaker family rose to prominence in the late 19th to mid 20th century.
Theories used in family research: Feminist theories
Feminism: belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; focuses on inequality Feminist theories: Gender differences and gender roles have been socially constructed These cultural differences have been constructed such that men have more power than women Work that's more likely to be done by women (care work) is valued less in our culture Several different types of feminist theories
feminist theory
Feminist theory is a perspective developed to better understand, and to transform, inequalities between women and men. It draws upon both the exchange and the symbolic interaction perspectives. The central concept in feminist theory is gender, which is usually defined as the social and cultural characteristics that distinguish women and men in a society
Gender is deeply embedded in society Resources & power are hierarchical, with men advantaged
Gender is a cultural frame (a shortcut shaping how we act), that reinforces "difference" Change has occurred (but slowed & asymmetrical) Rapid change between 1970 and 1990s with the mass movement of women into labor force But we still think of women primarily as mothers first And women's lives have changed much more than men. Gender differences are produced at all levels—biosocial, socialization, interactional, structural, but family is where we first begin to learn gender
African american families do have..
Greater contact with extended families Kinship networks are important element of social and economic support Report strong obligation to extended family This helps to strengthen families by o providing extra support o spreading burden of poverty o securing informal childcare
Cuban american families
Highest SES of Hispanic groups o Initially political migrants, 1959 Cuban Revolution o Upper and middle class elite o High-rate of business ownership o Identify as White Hispanic Created an ethnic enclave in Miami o A large, dense, single ethnic group community o Largely self-sufficient o Able to access social capital (see Cherlin text for full definition). Family behaviors reflect higher socioeconomic status o Highest rate of 2 married parent/conjugal families (80%; NHW 76%) o Low Fertility (TFR=1.6) o Low divorce rate Later immigration waves (post-Mariel (c. 1980) less prosperous o Many nonwhite (30%) o Said to be criminals by government of Cuba, but most were blue & white collar employees o Arrived during an economic recession o Not welcomed or assisted by others—didn't know earlier migrants, couldn't access social capital
Selected Plymouth Colony families also functioned as
Hospitals Some adults who supposedly had specialized knowledge took sick persons into their homes for treatment. Houses of correction Judges ordered some idle or criminal persons to live in the homes of upstanding families to learn how to change their ways. Orphanages Children whose parents had died—a far more common occurrence than today—were taken in by a relative or family friend. Nursing homes Frail elderly parents were cared for in their homes by their children. Poorhouses Families sometimes took in poor relatives who needed food and shelter. (Demos, 1970)
Thinking a bit more about Public and Private families
How people respond to questions about "is the American family in trouble?" a majority say yes But if asked "What about in your own family? Are family ties breaking down?" a majority say they are not They are thinking about the public family in the first question, but think about their own private family experiences in the second question
Sociologists problem
How to objectively and scientifically study people • We can't conduct randomized experiments on families • Example: We can't randomly assign a family a certain income or other family background characteristic
Transition of Society
Hunting and Gathering- Few social divisions / little or no division of labor (Most egalitarian)- Typically small and nomadic (25-40 people). Some gender division of labor Pastoral or Horticultural- Pastoral societies also nomadic- Steady / dependable food supply leads to larger groups- Division of labor begins to emerge- Leads to emergence of inequality (conflict theory) Agricultural Society- Surplus of food allows people to do other jobs and activities Inequality becomes fundamental feature of life- amassing goods and wealth leads to unequal resources Industrial Society- Greater surplus / greater inequality / higher division of labor- Raw materials and manufacturing Postindustrial / Informational Society- Information and services are main product
Social Institution
In this book, I will use the singular form "the family" rather than the plural form "families" when discussing the family as a social institution. This term refers to a set of roles and rules that define a social unit of importance to society. The roles give us positions such as parent, child, spouse, ex-spouse, stepfather, partner, and so forth. The rules offer us guidance about how to act in these roles.
Working class & immigrants
Inability to maintain "separate spheres" • Men's low wages insufficient to support family • Stigma against women's labor force participation (Cult of True Womanhood) Living between familial and labor market modes of production, all family members earned wages • Child labor • Wife's piece work and domestic chores (wage labor hidden in home) • Take on boarders and lodgers (single men who rented rooms from families) Instability of arrangement • Child earnings quickly eclipsed by the growing costs, such as schooling • Cultural forces emphasizing individualism & autonomy meant children would not turn over wages forever • Economic growth & technology changes decreased need for boarding rooms
African american families: increase in non-marital births
Increase in Non-Marital Births o 72% of AA children born to unmarried mothers (28% Non- Hispanic White [NHW]) o Total Fertility Rate is 1.9 children per woman (NHW: 1.9) The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is the average number of children a woman can expect to have in her lifetime Black women and NHW women have about the same TFR This might seem surprising to you given some of the public discourse- as the next slide shows there are racial/ethnic differences in fertility, just not between White and Black women.
FROM COOPERATION TO SEPARATION: WOMEN'S AND MEN'S SPHERES Another spur to family change was the transition from subsistence farming to wage labor.
Instead of growing crops and tending animals, more husbands took paying jobs. It began sometime in the 1700s and early 1800s, with the growth of commercial capitalism—an economic system that emphasizes the buying, selling, and distribution of goods such as grain, tobacco, or cotton. Commercial capitalism created jobs for merchants, clerks, shippers, dockworkers, wagon builders, and others like them, who were paid money for their labor.
The first half of the 2010s will be remembered as the time when the term transgender entered into common usage in the United States
It became public in 1952 when an army veteran, George Jorgensen, underwent sex-reassignment surgery and hormone treatments in Europe and returned in 1953 as Christine Jorgensen. She became a media star, ridiculed by many and understood by few.
Who is that median worker?
It is typically someone with a high school degree but no college degree. A generation ago, we called these workers "blue collar," after the iconic chambray shirt that workers wore to their factory jobs. Today, many of those factory jobs are gone. Advances in communications and transportation allowed managers to close plants such as Singer and import their goods from factories in developing nations in Latin America, South Asia (for example, India), Southeast Asia (for example, Indonesia or the Philippines), or East Asia (for example, China) where wages were much lower. American factory workers lost their jobs, while opportunities grew for the well-educated managers who imported and marketed goods. In other industries, computers allowed employers to replace less-skilled workers with machines
The result has been a polarization of the labor market since the 1970s:
Job opportunities have increased for the most-educated workers and for the least-educated workers, while declining for workers with moderate levels of education and skill
american indian families
Little research on contemporary AI familial patterns Demographic characteristics o Poverty rates similar to AA families o 36% of AI families are SPF o High non-marital birth rate (65%, second only to AA: 70%) o Higher rates of divorce (consistent with low SES) High rates of substance abuse and poor health
Theoretical perspectives
Macro Level Examine large scale social patterns Focus on institutions (family, religion, government, education system) Social structures influence individual interactions Micro Level Focus on small scale interactions How individuals interact with each other Individual interactions create social structures Macro - Micro Connection We are all both social products and social forces Reality and the social world are constantly being constructed and reconstructed
Theories used in family research: Functionalism
Macro Theory Views society as a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that work together Society is synonymous to a living organism Everything in society has a function Emphasis on maintaining equilibrium or balance Social problems arise when institutions fail to function properly or when there is disorder in society Critique: Functional for whom?
Theories used in family research: Conflict Theory
Macro perspective Structure of society generates conflict and change Groups compete for scarce resources Groups compete for power and authority Authorities try to enforce conformity, which leads to resistance and resentment Key question: Who benefits? Struggle between the haves and have nots In what ways does American society produce conflict? Unequal access to resources Feminist Theories are forms of Conflict Theory
colonial marriage practices
Marriages occurred at a young age (late teens or early twenties) Men were several years older because had to be able to economically support family Parental permission required to marry Marriage based on economics, duty, mutual help, and procreation Family had to produce everything consumed ("familial mode of production"), needed labor of two adults. "Love" as we know it did not exist. After being married awhile "mutual affection" might develop Marriages lasted until death Nearly 1⁄2 of all marriages ended in death of a partner before the 7th anniversary (Gardner, 2007) Remarriage was necessary for economic survival (growing crops, raising livestock, rearing children) Stepfamilies formed with remarriage
Conjugal Centered Kinship among the Non-Poor
Married couple accumulates and spends resources on children o Wheel of Obligation (Rossi & Rossi, 1990) (see figure next slide) - Study of middle class whites in Boston (mid1980s) - Most obligation is to parents and children (vertical kinship) - Less obligation to help extended family
Theories used in family research: Exchange theory
Micro theory Humans are rational beings They weigh the costs and benefits of each decision Make exchanges knowing what we will get in return Family structure or dynamic results from rational decisions Rational decisions based on social, economic, and emotional costs and benefits Fails to consider structural constraints when making choices
social class & Family
On the economic side, two developments stand out: the movement of married women into the workforce and the declining employment prospects of men without college educations. On the cultural side are the rise in expressive individualism and people's higher aspirations for material goods.
Definition of Race
One way race has been defined is: A large category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics or are said to share a common bloodline. US Census classifications of race o White o Black or African American o Asian o American Indian and Alaskan Native o Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander o Two - or more races o Hispanic or non-Hispanic (Ethnicitynot race) These definitions and categories change across time!
These images from lecture to illustrate which of the following about how parents structure play for children? (picture of boy on left with parent, and girl on right with parent)
Parents are more likely to intervene in the play of daughters than of sons.
Stratification Produces Social Classes
People with similar access to economic resources and opportunities, who share a common lifestyle Related Concepts: Life Chances & Status Group • Life chances—the resources and opportunities that people have to provide themselves with material goods and favorable living conditions • Status group—a group of people who share a common style of life and often identify with each other Class groupings are well-known to members of society
Individual autonomy: Kennedy implies that autonomy is a basic right under the constitution.
Personal choice: autonomous individuals must be able to choose whether or not to marry, regardless of sexual orientation. As he writes elsewhere in the decision, "the decision whether and whom to marry is among life's momentous acts of self definition."
Goals of Sociology
Provide the tools to critically examine the taken for granted elements of the social world • Learn how individuals are shaped and affected by the social world • Provide an explanation for why things are the way they are • Understand and dismantle the mechanisms that create and perpetuate inequalities
Private family
Provides members with emotional satisfaction, security, intimacy, and love
puerto rican families
Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory U.S. Citizens (so not immigrants) About half live on mainland Historically, lowest SES of Hispanic groups (now Mexican Americans) Total Fertility Rate=2.2 children per woman, similar to NHW o but high non-marital fertility (60%) Nonmarital fertility partial reflects unique union types Consensual unions are a unique type of union o Distinct from cohabitation (low commitment) and formal marriage (high commitment) o Operate as informal marriage, socially recognized by community • Partners are considered to be "off the market" • Expected to act similar to formally married o Parenthood often shifts cohabitation to consensual union o Differ from formal marriage, Example: • Men in formal marriages more likely to pool $$ with wives' $$. • Finances kept separate in consensual unions.
Race/Ethnicity is a powerful force that sorts us and affects life chances
Racism and discrimination are still common o Individual discrimination o Institutional discrimination Has an effect on numerous outcomes o Health o Education o Financial Stability / Success o Family patterns
Why do african american families have lower marriage rates, increase in non- marital births and increase in single or no parent families?
Research points to reduced availability of marriageable men (i.e., men with good jobs) o Declining economic prospects of African American men • Economic restructuring eliminated manufacturing jobs • Seeing similar change among NHW men now o High incarceration rates o Higher mortality rates of black men o Higher rates of substance abuse No real difference in attitudes about value or marriage So, the earlier decline of marriage among African Americans is largely the result of the eroding economic position of Black men.
peer groups
Researchers also suspect that much of the development of gender-specific behavior occurs from an early age in children's peer groups—similar-age children who play or perform other activities together. Between the ages of two and three, children begin to sort themselves into same-sex peer groups
THE ANOMALY OF THE 1950s contd
Resurgence of Breadwinner-Homemaker family Family form reached it's peak during this period (see Figure on slide 16). Made possible by high wages offered men • Small Depression birth cohorts & war losses meant limited supply of workers • "Family wage" was income sufficient to support spouse and children Privacy increased Increase in single family home ownership (high wages, GI benefits) Expansion into suburbia—larger homes, spaced further apart; Overall, there was a greater cultural emphasis on family—and the larger breadwinner/homemaker family in particular—as a source of personal fulfillment. BUT.... Seeds of discontent A large number of people reported that they were "unhappy" or only "somewhat happy" in their marriages. Child and spouse abuse increased. Women were increasingly dissatisfied with their relegation to home an separate spheres, they missed work sought return to it. • Many women didn't leave labor force at end of war. • The government tried to encourage women to "do the patriotic thing and give the jobs to the returning soldiers" but it was ineffective. Images of the 1950s family were seared into our collective cultural consciousness through the new technology of television We tend to think of the 1950s family as the "traditional" -it was anything but that The 1950s was a period that was out of sync with the trends of the rest of the century. It was a unique time in history Judging today's family against this anomalous period is what Coontz (1992) calls the "nostalgia trap."
Gender as social structure
Risman (2004) argues that gender is produced at multiple social levels an in multiple ways o Individual Level • Develop gendered selves • Accomplished through socialization o Interactional Level • Doing gender • Gendered expectations o Institutional Level • Opportunities in the workforce and other institutions This means Gender is Social Structure o Social structure = the fundamental set of positions that organize society as a whole
wheel of obligation
Rossi & Rossi (1990) asked respondents to indicate how much obligation they felt to provide assistance to various people. The more obligation, the closer that person is to the center of the wheel. Notice that vertical kinship ties (parents & children) are closer to the center, while other kin are further away. Non-kin tended to be the furthest.
African Americans
Scholars used to think that slavery destroyed Black family, but not the case Families stained by sale of the family members, but ties maintained often across many generations • West African emphasis on lineage important • Strong tradition of oral histories • Marriage illegal under slavery Impact of slavery & Jim Crow Era • Families from small plantations most disrupted • Lack of adherence to Separate Spheres − Men's wages very low, sharecropping created need for family labor − Women working outside the home normative • More family instability due to high mortality of men
Theories used in family research: Post modernism
Shared meanings have eroded No longer lock-step movement through expected social roles Focus on multiple realities and multiple meanings Constructing Self-identity Choice: restricted to mandatory No such thing as objectivity Individuals reinterpret new family forms
Post American Revolution
Shift in Family form Marriage begins to be based on love/ affection Economic aspects still most important! Industrial revolution changes roles of men and women Labor market mode of production Separate Spheres ideology Changing view of children Fertility decline Shifts related to increasing importance of affective individualism
Theories used in family research: Symbolic Interactionism
Society is constructed by people All meaning is the product of shared belief 3 main elements Meaning is product of shared belief No meaning is inherent • It varies across time and from culture to culture • All value and symbolic meaning needs to be created • No one way of thinking about the world is necessarily right or wrong Meaning can change
Decline in African America marriages occurred earlier than whites
Substantially Lower Marriage Rates o Only 34% of African Americans [AA] are Married (Non-Hispanic Whites [NHW]: 57%) o Only 66% of AA will ever marry (NHW: 92%) o AA divorce rate 1.5x higher, 25% less likely to remarry, and 2x more likely to cohabit than NHW
How do we scientifically study people
Surveys Random selection allows us to use statistical techniques and make reasonable assumptions that the sample is representative of the larger population Limited by questions that can be asked in a survey, hard to know context of answers which may be important Cross-sectional vs. longitudinal Qualitative Interviews Open-ended questions, allow participants to explain answers, allow us to reach special populations Rich, detailed data, but not generalizable to the overall population Types: ethnography, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, etc.
t/f According to National Survey of Family Growth the vast majority of Americans have sex before marrying
T
t/f The rise of individualize marriage, with the focus on personal gratification and flexibility, has been accompanied by an increase in non-marital union formation
T
The increasing population density and youth populations of cities in the late 19th century undermined the American Courtship system because the Courtship rules were ill-suited to many potential mates.
TRUE
Why is it hard to create a single definition of family?
The 20-year period after World War II, 1945 to 1965, when nearly all adults got married, divorce rates were modest, living together outside of marriage was frowned upon, and having a child out-of-wedlock was downright shameful. Back then, families centered on the marriage-based unit of husband, wife, and children. Starting in the 1970s, however, family life began a period of intense change that continues today. Divorce rates rose, cohabitation prior to marriage became the majority experience, young adults postponed marriage or forwent it entirely, childbearing outside of marriage became common, the family roles of women and men changed, and most recently same-sex marriage became legal.
Family Diversity in Victorian Era
The Breadwinner/Homemaker Family was the ideal, but only Middle and Upper Class Whites could achieve Diversity among other groups, including: Working Classes & Immigrants African Americans Mexican Americans Asian Americans
three status groups
The first group comprises people with a college degree. The second group comprises people who graduated from high school and most of those who have attended college but did not obtain a four-year degree; The third group comprises people who did not graduate from high school, whose family patterns in some respects are diverging from both groups above them
Which of the following statements about American families are true?
The family form common in the 1950s was uncommon in previous periods in American History.
role of education
The main factor in the lengthening of emerging adulthood is education. Changes in the labor force have put a premium on schooling: Employment opportunities have improved much more for the college-educated than for those without a college degree.
intersectionality
The principle that inequalities related to gender are often overlaid with inequalities in other domains such as race and class
20/21st century families
The private family and expressive individualism: Rather than being economic units, families based on mutual affection, sexual gratification, compatibility, and personal happiness. Increasing certainty of survival meant people could focus on emotion We can divide this era into several periods: Companionate Marriage: The Companionate Family Comes of Age (1900-1929) The Family Crisis of the Great Depression (1929-1941) World War II (1942-1947) The Anomaly of the 1950s (1948-1963) Individualistic Marriage: The Postmodern Modern Family (1964—Present)
In Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, a long tradition of consensual unions exists.
These are cohabiting relationships in which couples consider themselves to be married but have never had religious or civil marriage ceremonies
In the early nineteenth century, well before migrants from the eastern United States arrived, Mexicans settled the frontier of what was then northern Mexico (Martínez, 2001).
These pioneers crossed deserts and fought with American Indians to reach as far west as California and as far north as Colorado. Their early settlements generally included an elite page 50landowning family and poorer farmer-laborer settlers
Throughout most of their existence, human beings have been hunter-gatherers:
They wandered through the forests in small bands, hunting animals and gathering edible plants.
gender at the institutional level
Think about how gender in other institutions affects family lives (and the cyclical nature of these effects) In the workforce o Men are presumed to be smarter, worth listening to, more logical, and better leaders o Women are presumed to (want to) be mothers first and foremost, so they might want to leave their jobs eventually o Employers think it would be better to promote men and pay them more because they are less risky (this is illegal, but happens regularly) At home o Men do less housework because they earn more and have more power in household decisions than women. And women (presumably) "like to clean" and be domestic. o Parents (and later teachers) push boys toward science and engineering tasks because "men are more logical", have better special reasoning.
social structure in book
Think of social structure as the fundamental set of positions that organize society as a whole. Social structure consists, in part, of the distribution of material resources such as wealth and education among individuals and groups. Those with more material resources tend to have power over those with fewer resources, the way the wealthy exercise power over the poor or whites exercise power over blacks. R
WW2 (1942-1947)
U.S. Entry to World War II ended the Great Depression Goods remained scarce, though, as materials needed for war Movement of women into male-dominated occupations Labor shortages because men had been drafted. Employers initially resistant to hire women for such jobs. Rosie the Riveter (right): Part of a highly successful government campaign to get women into the workforce. It was their patriotic duty to do so. Women held jobs operating forklifts, doing heavy labor in factories, etc. War-related changes in marriage Lots of hasty marriages before soldiers shipped out Corresponding temporary increase in divorce after war Japanese Americans put into internment camps If interested please learn more about this here and here
Asian American Families
Very little scholarship on Asian American families, especially historically. Different Immigration Streams • Chinese immigration began with California gold rush in 1840s, continued with demand for labor to build railroads • Japanese immigration began in 1880s with arrival in Hawaii • Filipino immigration began after 1898 Spanish-American War Different cultural arrangements • Chinese men sent remittances to family remaining in China • Patriarchal family among Chinese and Japanese: father has authority • Bilateral kinship of Filipino families: women more independent Widespread discrimination, a series of restrictive laws limited immigration until 1965
Household division of labor
Women's Paid Work o Increased steadily, especially among those with young children o Attitudinal surveys show an expected, normal family role (and necessary too) - Less likely among Upper Middle and Upper Class families Housework & Childcare o Total amount of weekly housework has declined o Greater gender equity - Men's time spent has increased, women's decreased - Women still do majority of housework and childrearing "Kin-Keeping" o Women take primary responsibility for maintaining kinship ties o Men are dependent on women for social connections o Very few class differences here
Mexican american families
Youngest age at marriage, despite low socioeconomic status o Half of women married by age 25 (NHW: 30%) o Single-earner 2PF more common (41%, NHW: 26%) High Fertility (TFR= 2.5) , 40% non-marital (NHW: 22%) More likely to live in both vertically and horizontally extended families Immigration is the key factor for these "pro-family" characteristics o ~ 60 % of Mexican Americans adults are foreign born o Family patterns in U.S. reflect those in their sending communities in Mexico o 2nd and higher generations have family behaviors more similar to NHW
lineage
a form of kinship group in which descent is traced through either the father's or the mother's line
polygyny
a form of polygamy in which a man is allowed to have more than one wife
polyandry
a form of polygamy in which a woman is allowed to have more than one husband
compadrazgo in Mexico,
a godparent relationship in which a wealthy or influential person outside the kinship group is asked to become the compadre, or godparent, of a newborn child, particularly at its baptism
the status group
a group of people who share a common style of life and often identify with each other. They are sometimes distinguished by prestige—the honor and status a person receives—such as the prestige of medical doctors or university professors. They often differ in their level of privilege—that is, their access to special advantages such as attendance at elite universities.
ideal type
a hypothetical model that consists of the most significant characteristics, in extreme form, of a social phenomenon
patrilineage
a kinship group in which descent is through the father's line
matrilineage
a kinship group in which descent is through the mother's line
women-centered kinship
a kinship structure in which the strongest bonds of support and caregiving occur among a network of women, most of them relatives, who may live in more than one household; Yet membership in such a kinship network is not without cost. Because an individual's meager income must be shared with many others, it is difficult for her or him to rise out of poverty.
immigrant enclave
a large, dense, single-ethnic-group, almost self-sufficient community
Under the American Courtship system, semi-private family based activities began with (Lecture).
a limited number of young men calling on a young woman
breadwinner-homemaker family
a married couple with children in which the father worked for pay and the mother did not
exchange theory
a sociological theory that views people as rational beings who decide whether to exchange goods or services by considering the benefits they will receive, the costs they will incur, and the benefits they might receive if they were to choose an alternative course of action
hypothesis
a speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables
boundary ambiguity
a state in which family members are uncertain about who is in or out of the family
survey
a study in which individuals from a geographic area are selected, usually at random, and asked a fixed set of questions
individualism
a style of life in which individuals pursue their own interests and place great importance on developing a personally rewarding life
expressive individualism
a style of life that emphasizes developing one's feelings and emotional satisfaction
utilitarian individualism
a style of life that emphasizes self-reliance and personal achievement, especially in one's work life
American Indian is the name used for
a subset of all Native Americans, namely, those who were living in the territory that later became the 48 contiguous United States
longitudinal survey
a survey in which interviews are conducted several times at regular intervals
bilateral kinship
a system in which descent is reckoned through both the mother's and father's lines
scientific method
a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem
Scientists do this by randomly assigning subjects to one of two groups:
a treatment group and a control group.
1965 Immigration Act
act passed by the U.S. Congress which ended restrictions that had blocked most Asian immigration and substituted an annual quota
Which of the following is not true of families in the 1970's?
age of first marriage decreased
birth cohort
all people born during a given year or period of years
labor force
all people who are working for pay or who are looking for paid work
Social scientists prefer longitudinal surveys because conducting interviews with the same respondents several times at regular intervals ____________ (Chapter 1).
allows for the study of social change
social class
an ordering of all persons in a society according to their degrees of economic resources, prestige, and privilege
secondary analysis
analysis of survey data by people other than those who collected it
primary analysis
analysis of survey data by the people who collected the information
upper-class families
are those that have amassed wealth and privilege and that often have substantial prestige as well. They tend to own large, spacious homes, to possess expensive clothes and furnishings, to have substantial investment holdings, and to be recognized as part of the social and cultural elite of their communities
Middle-class families
are those whose connection to the economy provides them with a secure, comfortable income and allows them to live well above a subsistence level.
____ refers to the tendency of people to marry others with characteristics similar to themselves (Chapter 4).
assortative mating
asymmetry of gender change
asymmetry of gender change over the past few decades. If change were symmetric, it would be the same on both sides: as much movement toward crossing the boundaries of traditional masculinity and femininity among men as among women. In contrast, there has been more change in women's behavior than in men's. EX: Boys (and some girls) strictly policed the boundaries of masculinity by taunting boundary crossers. High school boys, other studies show, do the same (Pascoe, 2007). Yet girls at the middle school could easily cross the boundaries of femininity to be good athletes and to compete with boys for academic success in ways that their mothers and grandmothers could not. In other words, the changes in gender expectations in middle school seem to have made it OK for girls to act like boys but not for boys to act like girls
externalities
benefits or costs that accrue to others when an individual or business produces something
positive externalities
benefits received by others when an individual or business produces something, but for which the producer is not fully compensated
Africans had been forced to immigrate—
captured or bought in West Africa, transported across the ocean under horrible conditions that killed many, and sold as slaves upon arrival. Mexicans, in search of grazing land, had pushed north into the area that is now the Southwest. Asian immigrants first arrived in large numbers in the mid-nineteenth century, when they were used as laborers by the railroads and other enterprises.
Which education group is least likely to divorce?
college graduate
Sociologists using the interactionist approach suggest that gender roles require:
continual reinforcement through life
As discussed in lecture, even as the marriage market was expanding during the 20th century, the number of partners that one would "date" at any one time actually decreased. The increasing importance of __________ explains this paradox.
emotional investment
transgender people
people who identify with a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth
Currently, most Americans seem to view their own families primarily in
emotional, personal terms—the terms of the private family—and to pay less attention to the commitments and obligations of the public family. This emphasis on sentiment and self-fulfillment might lead one to assume that the private family is the older, more established perspective. But that isn't so. The emergence of the private family is a relatively new development in history. Its origins lie in the upper-class and merchant families of Western Europe in the 1600s and 1700s. It did not spread to the masses until the late 1800s and 1900s.
Marriage is a commitment device, what we might call a(n)________; it allows one the ability to call on the law and family to compel the agreements that one has made with a partner (Chapter 7).
enforceable trust
According to Coontz (2005), love has historically almost always been an important aspect of marriage.
false
lower-class families
families whose connection to the economy is so tenuous that they cannot reliably provide for a decent life
working-class families
families whose income can reliably provide only for the minimum needs of what other people see as a decent life
Grant, a 9-year old boy, was pretending his stuffed animals were his children one day. Grant's father told him that "Boys don't play with dolls" and "Boys don't pretend to play house (e.g., pretend to be a parent)". What is this an example of?
gender socialization
According to a 2015 Gallup survey (lecture), men are LESS likely than women to say that which of the following is "morally acceptable" ?
having a baby outside of marriage
two-spirit people
in Native American societies, men or women who dressed like, performed the duties of, and behaved like a member of the opposite sex
Which type of marriage places emphasis on self-development, flexible roles, and open communication?
individualistic marriage
The______ perspective is the belief that human sexual identities are determined by both social and biological factors (Chapter 6).
integrative
The disadvantage of observational studies is that
it is hard to know how representative the families being studied are of similar families. Because it takes a great deal of time to study a family in depth, observational studies typically are carried out with far fewer families than are surveys. a survey-based lake would be wide (because of the large number of people reached) but shallow (because of the limited time spent with each family), whereas an observationally based lake would be narrow but deep.
created kinship
kinship ties that people have to construct actively
assigned kinship
kinship ties that people more or less automatically acquire when they are born or when they marry
Traditionally, African society was organized by
lineages, which I have defined as large kinship groups that trace their descent through the male or female line.
As noted in lecture, women's primarily responsibility for kin-keeping in families means that
men are dependent on women for social connections
mediating structures
midlevel social institutions and groupings, such as the church, the neighborhood, the civil organization, and the family
According to Chapter 2, kinship groups in most societies are made up of smaller family units that ALWAYS consist of __________.
mothers and children
Lareau (2002) described the working class style of child-rearing-- with its emphasis on proving children with a safe environment, informal play, and extended kin relations-- as
natural growth
Institutional discrimination
negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society's institutions o Also called systematic discrimination o More difficult concept given our tendency toward individualism
Individual discrimination:
negative treatment of one person by another (this is what we hear most about)
African American Increase in Single and No Parent Families
o 55% of all AA children live in single parent families (NHW: 21%); mostly single mother families o AA children 3x as likely to live with neither parent (9.4% vs. 3.1%), overwhelming grandparents are caregivers • Sometimes referred to as "Skipped-Generation Households" • Linked to mass incarceration and substance abuse
Race is a modern idea
o Ancient societies didn't group people on physical differences, but according to religion, status, class & even language o The English language didn't even have the word 'race' until it turns up in 1508 in a poem by William Dunbar referring to a line of kings Most genetic variation (85%) is within, not between, races In reality there are no clear boundaries of race groups o Natural variation means many do not fit into rigid classifications based on physical characteristics o A person from Sweden and someone from Algeria as both of the anthropological "Caucasian" race (and would be classified by the U.S. Census as the same.
Gender production is an ongoing activity embedded throughout everyday interaction
o E.g., from text on husband's feigned helplessness and housework Anticipatory Sanctions o Once we have been exposed to norms, we begin to anticipate how others will react to us o "If I do this... then people will think XYZ or I will be ridiculed." o We choose to act in ways that minimize any sanctions/negative responses To "Do" gender is not always to live up to the normative conceptions of femininity or masculinity; it is to engage in behavior at the risk of gender assessment
Socialization does not end
o Gender norms are not fixed or "imprinted" after some period of development. o They are dynamic and able to change
Gender is a fundamental part of self
o Growing scholarly agreement that gender is not a "role" that one plays in a strict sense, one that you could theoretically choose not to perform, o Gender is a master status, which influences the way one sees the world and how we interact in it. o It is an identity: The way in which being feminine or masculine, a woman or a man, becomes an internalized part of the way we think about ourselves
Assistance from Kin: Women-Centered Networks among the Poor
o Network of women (family and non-kin) who provide social support and caregiving o Adaptive strategy to deal with chronic poverty - Men's chronic unemployment undermines marriageability (husband as breadwinner is a powerful norm) - This means marriage not viewed as stable source of economic & social support - So must rely on female-kin to pool resources - Actively cultivating ties over time o Extended kinship network comes with costs - Undermines individuals' ability to save money - This may perpetuate poverty across generations
Marriage rates in military shows importance of economics
o Studies indicate marriage rates of enlisted men do not differ by race o Rates of marriage for Black enlisted men are higher than in the civilian populations o Military service = employment, equal pay with Whites, and valued social status.
Interactionist approach (West & Zimmerman 1987)
o Symbolic interactionist theory --we respond to interactions with others in our social group through the interpretation of symbols or responses Gender is something we "do" and accomplish • Dress & Clothing • Modes of Expression • Mannerisms • Presentation of Bodies (hair, facial hair, make-up, body modification) • Ways of Walking Gender is "fragile"—it must be reinforced for expression to be sustained o E.g., Moving to a different culture, people will change patterns of speech or volume
Status Preservation among the Upper Class
o The main economic task for families from other social classes is to accumulate wealth, yet for the upper classes is to preserve and increase the substantial wealth they already possess - Upper class families traditionally did this through arranged marriages to other wealthy families - Now use indirect control over marriage market though elite schools (so children will meet partners from similar families) o Little current research on wealthy families
public family
one or more adults who are jointly caring for dependents, and the dependents themselves
Rosenfeld and Thomas (2012) found that since the early 2000s gay and lesbian couples are most likely to meet ______(lecture).
online
A basic set of beliefs and assumptions about how the world is ordered used to guide scientific research best describes what concept?
paradigm
racial-ethnic group
people who share a common identity and whose members think of themselves as distinct from others by virtue of ancestry, culture, and some-times physical characteristics
emerging adulthood
period between mid-teens and about age 30 when individuals finish their education, enter the labor force, and begin their own families
The ___________ is defined as "Two or more individuals who maintain an intimate relationship that they expect will last indefinitely or, in the case of parent and child, until the child reaches adulthood—and who live in the same household and pool their income and household labor" (Chapter 1).
private family
In discussing research methods in Chapter 1, Cherlin points out that sociologists generally do NOT use experiments to prove or disprove relationships between two factors because __________ is seldom possible.
randomization
Mexican Americans were forced into barrios,
segregated neighborhoods in the city. Residents of the barrios faced high unemployment or low income if they provided low-wage labor to Anglo employers.
"stopgap jobs"—
short-term, often part-time jobs such as working at a fast-food restaurant—that give them a modest income for a short time but don't help to develop a career
In most societies, kinship groups are made up of
smaller family units, consisting of a mother and children always, a husband usually, and other household members sometimes. In many of the Western nations, the larger kinship groups have been weak and the smaller husband-wife-children unit has dominated. This smaller unit of husband, wife, and children is referred to as the conjugal family (the word "conjugal" is from the Latin term for joining together in marriage). If any other relatives—such as a grandparent or uncle—are present in the household, it is said to contain an extended family.
Historians such as Phillippe Aries and John Demos argue that the concept of childhood as a distinct stage of life was not recognized prior to the 1700s primarily because __________ (Chapter 2).
so many infants and toddlers died
The first-wave of Cuban immigrants were economically successful in the United States, even though banks would not lend them money, because individuals could access resources through their personal and social relationships with other immigrants. That is, Cuban immigrants were able to access
social capital
Family Sociology
studying family dynamics, meaning and change
Families want kids to become good citizens with traits such as..
such as obeying the law, showing concern about others, and being informed voters. It's also in society's interest that they be productive workers who are willing and able to fill the needs of the economy
t/f Kinship, as one anthropologist has written, developed as "a weapon in the struggle for survival"
t
t/f The growing consensus among scholars is that gender differences are produced and reproduced at all the levels we have examined in this chapter: biosocial, childhood socialization, interactional, and social structural
t
t/f it's not just that Japanese Americans are more likely to marry each other but also that Japanese Americans are more likely to marry anyone from the many groups that make up the Asian category—and the same holds for Mexican Americans and the Hispanic category.
t
The effects of globalization on family life can also be seen in
the Western nations, the countries of Western Europe and the non-European, English-speakin—g countries of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This book's main focus will be on the family in the United States, but there are strong similarities between the American family and the family in other Western nations.
objectivity
the ability to draw conclusions about a social situation that are unaffected by one's own beliefs
total fertility rate (TFR)
the average number of children a woman will bear over her lifetime if current birthrates remain the same
sex
the biological characteristics that distinguish men and women
negative externalities
the costs imposed on other individuals or businesses when an individual or business produces something of value to itself
family inequality
the extent to which some families obtain more income and wealth than do others
As discussed in Chapter 1, the key challenge of the public family is
the free rider problem
globalization
the increasing flow of goods and services, money, migrants, and information across the nations of the world
baby boom
the large number of people born during the late 1940s and 1950s
late modern or postmodern era
the last few decades of the twentieth century and the present day
In the current era, behavior is rule—altering to a much greater extent because
the lifestyle choices individuals make can alter the laws and customs pertaining to families.
gestation
the nine-month development of the fetus inside the mother's uterus
reflexivity
the process through which individuals take in knowledge, reflect on it, and alter their behavior as a result
socialization
the processes by which we learn the ways of a given society or social group so as to adequately participate in it
life chances
the resources and opportunities that people have to provide themselves with material goods and favorable living conditions. People's life chances may be augmented by the higher education they obtain or their family's contacts in the labor market. Their life chances may be limited by discrimination or racial segregation.
social capital
the resources that a person can access through his or her relationships with other people
1960s-1990s cohabitation
the sharing of a household by unmarried persons who have a sexual relationship
gender
the social and cultural characteristics that distinguish women and men in a society
life-course perspective
the study of changes in individuals' lives over time, and how those changes are related to historical events
free-rider problem
the tendency for people to obtain public goods by letting others do the work of producing them—metaphorically, the temptation to ride free on the backs of others
assortative marriage
the tendency of people to marry others similar to themselves
biosocial approach (to gender differences)
the theory that gender identification and behavior are based in part on people's innate biological differences
socialization approach (to gender differences)
the theory that gender identification and behavior are based on children's learning that they will be rewarded for the set of behaviors considered appropriate to their sex but not for those appropriate to the other sex
interactionist approach(to gender differences)
the theory that gender identification and behavior are based on the day-to-day behavior that reinforces gender distinctions
The fact that sexual identities have only recently emerged as a concept is evidence that (Chapter 6).
they are socially constructed
public goods
things that may be enjoyed by people who do not themselves produce them
Rosenfeld and Thomas (2012) found that heterosexual couples are most likely to meet______ (lecture).
through friends
The Victorian Era is associated with the emergence of the idea that men and women occupy separate spheres.
true
private family
two or more individuals who maintain an intimate relationship that they expect will last indefinitely— or, in the case of a parent and child, until the child reaches adulthood—and who usually live in the same household and pool their incomes and household labor
During which time period did many of our family rituals—celebrating birthdays, vacations, holiday celebrations—develop?
victorian era
In "X: A Fabulous Child's Story", the psychiatrist determined that X was
well adjusted
According to exchange theory, when would marriage end in a separation or a divorce?
when the cost of marriage outweighs the rewards
Diversity of families
• Blended / Step-families • Same-sex headed families • Single-parent families • Created kinship • Grandparent-headed families • Families without children • Fosterfamilies DIVERSITY OF FAMILIES • Polygyny/polyandry(thePolgreenreading further discusses polyandry
three status group model of social class
• Categorizes people by highest level of education o College (4-year degree), high school diploma, less than high school • Reflects the structuring of the modern service economy and differences in lifestyle • Changes in family life over past half century have occurred along educational lines (in diverging ways).
Public/ Private families
• Cherlin (your textbook author) distinguishes the family as both a public and private institution • Public Family • Family serves important functions for society • Important for socialization of children and perpetuation of society • Private Family • Provides members with emotional satisfaction and security
Working Class engages in parenting characterized as "Natural Growth"
• Children just need love, food, and other basic essentials to thrive • They will develop spontaneously without any intervention on the part of the parents • Practices o Focus on providing children with safe environment o Informal play at home and in the neighborhood o Use direct language and discipline (not reason) o Extended family involved • Consequences o Children do not learn how to navigate complex rules of school, come to accept constrained opportunities, and lower education and status attainment in young adulthood.
More mobility—especially upward mobility—in Denmark.
• Danish men raised in the bottom 1/5 of income distribution are more likely to end up in the middle to top fifths as adults. • Put another way- you're more likely to stay poor in the U.S. if you were raised in a poor household. This contradicts our ideas about the U.S. being a meritocracy, where if "you work hard, you can get ahead."
Problems w/ family
• Divorce ? • Cohabitation ? • Child abuse • Domestic violence / Intimate Partner Violence • Marriage access and rights ? • Single Parent families ? • Same-sex parent families ? • Technology ?
Since the 1970s there has been growing inequality in the socioeconomic standing of families
• Gains in income have accrued disproportionately to top 1% of households • The top 1% of households have a greater and greater share of wealth • Poverty rate has been fairly stable at 11-15% • Median family income and wealth have diverged across educational groups
Three primary axes of stratification in the contemporary U.S.
• Gender • Social Class (Socioeconomic Status) • Race/Ethnicity
Other things about family
• Household • Nuclear/Conjugal vs. Extended • Family of Orientation: the family into which a person is born and in which early socialization takes place • Family of Procreation: family formed through marriage and having/adopting children
Individualism and families
• Individualism: examined in a utilitarian and expressive form • Utilitarian individualism: Puts emphasis on self reliance and personal achievement • Expressive individualism: Places emphasis on developing one's feelings and emotional satisfaction
Childrearing Values
• Lareau (2002) studied parenting practices in several diverse communities in the Baltimore area. • The full details of this study are in your assigned reading. • Lareau found that middle class and working class parents engaged in different, distinct parenting styles. • Her findings parallel the 1970s work by Kohn and Schooler, which found that parents raise their children to the norms of working life in their social classes.
Age at Marriage
• Less educated more likely to marry young, but lower lifetime rate • College-educated display a "catch-up" (and surpass) pattern. o All groups have been delaying marriage, but the delay has been greatest for college-educated. • Median age at first marriage for men in 29.3, for women 27.0 o In Nebraska, median ages are 27.2 for men, 25.7 for women-below national average. o New York & California have oldest ages. Why? Highly educated populations. o Utah and Idaho youngest. Why? Influence of religion (High percentage Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints [Mormons])
Social Classes are Defined by:
• Level of Education -years of schooling, degrees • Occupation -white collar, blue collar, pink collar • Income -wages from employment • Wealth -value of all assets (e.g., house) minus debts (e.g., mortgage) Social class is also associated with our: • Marriage and Family Behaviors • Attitudes & Leisure Activities Social Class boundaries may be well-defined or ambiguous at the margins
Educational Inequality in Men's Wages? Yes.
• Non-college educated wages have stagnated or declined • College-educated wages have grown
Why is sociology useful?
• Opens a window onto social worlds • Provides an understanding of how individuals are influenced by society • How social locations influence life chances Sociology shows that the problems we face are not only the results of personal choices but reflect the operation of society itself • Helps us grasp the connection between history and biography • Allows people to step outside their social roles • Role of the objective stranger • People tend to be individualistic in their observations- Inaccurate observations; Selective Observations; Overgeneralization's
Middle Class parenting emphasizes "Concerted Cultivation"
• Parents view it as their duty to cultivate their children's potential skills and talents • Everything can potentially help them in the future • Practices o Work to actively enhance children's talents and skills o Formal activities (e.g., lessons, sports teams, camps) o Reason with children, use explanatory language o Parents are primary adults in children's lives • Consequences o Children develop of social and cultural capital that leads to education advantage and status attainment in young adulthood.
Marriage Market
• People marry those with similar characteristics to themselves (assortative mating) • Education key characteristic in the marriage market now o You tend to meet a spouse in school or at work. o Labor market has become more segregated by education o Religion used to be the basis of assortative mating 50 years ago. • Among college educated, women remain slightly more likely to marry a person of higher status (although rate is declining)
Changes in Tax Policy? Yes.
• Since 1980 revisions to the U.S. tax code have disproportionately benefited the very affluent • They have used these savings to increase their wealth • Tax policy has compounded the effects of the other changes we have documented. • The new 2017 Tax Reform law is emblematic of how U.S. tax policy has shifted toward the very affluent— o A family with the median income will see a 1.6% increase in after tax income. o But the Top 1% will see twice that increase in their after tax income (3.4%)—a benefit that in real dollars is 55x larger than that received by the middle class ($51,140 vs. $930)
What is sociology?
• Systematic and scientific study of human interactions • Sociologists believe that the social world guides behavior • Structure (i.e., rules, norms) and Agency (i.e., choice, decisions) • Sociologists look at general social patterns to draw conclusions about people and society • Findings are complex and never simple
Reproductive Strategies
• The ways we fit childbearing into the life course • Women of all ages have been postponing childbearing (see figure next slide) o Birth rates have declined for young women and increased for older women o Delayed childbearing means women have fewer children However, there are class differences in marital status at birth o College-educated delay childbearing until marriage o Less-educated have seen increase in non-marital births • Why this difference? o Decision of when to have children depends on a woman's assessment of how likely she is to find a suitable marital partner-one with steady, decent income, and free of "problems" (e.g., substance abuse, violence) o College-educated women think they will find such a mate, less educated women increasingly do not. o Less educated think waiting until marriage to have children is best, difference is that if they become pregnant beforehand they have child (Edin and Kefalas 2005). o Increase in non-marital births (NMB) doesn't mean not partnered
Divorce
• Through the 1970s divorce rates rose for all groups • After 1980, rate for college-educated started to decrease, leading to divergence (see figure next slide): o Risk substantially lower for college-educated o Rose fastest for those without high school diploma
4 class model of social class
• Upper class, middle class, working class, lower class (described in your textbook) • Traditional way that we think of social class
Movement of Middle- Class Wives into Labor Force? Yes.
•Movement of middle-class wives means HH income has not fallen for middle class married couples. It has increased due to college- educate men's wages + wives' wages. •So greater inequality relative to poor and working class where wives' wages have had to replace the declining wages of men since 1970s. Co-breadwinners—working moms bringing home at least 25-49% of their family's total earnings. Breadwinners—working moms bringing home ≥50 % of their family's total earnings.
Increase in Single- Parent Families? No.
•The share of poor people living in SPFs had declined (and has been 34-37% since mid 1970s). [Right Scale] •The % population in poor families headed by single women is much smaller than the % population in other poor families [Left Scale]. Both fluctuate with the economy.