“Social relationships are at the heart of life! We are all social beings who exist in a web of social relationships that shape who we are…” Carol Delaney, Investigating Culture, 177)
Part Five: Kinship and Family
There is a saying among the Navajo… one of the worst insults is
to say that
“s/he acts as if they have no relatives!”
In some North American languages, the English word for “loneliness” is translated as “I have no relatives”. What does that tell you about the importance of kinship in traditional societies?
Social life is essential to human existence
From cradle to the grave
People teach us how to speak
Show us how to relate to our surroundings
Help, support, security…mental well-being
Alone… “frail and defenseless primates”…
In groups…. “astonishingly adaptive and powerful”
Maori view genealogy as “sacred.
In some African tribes and clans, it is said
that if you can trace your ancestry back 7 generations, you are an “elite” in society; 3 generations, a “commoner.”
Any thoughts on this?
American society?
Ever trace your own ancestral genealogy or story?
Many people who totally assimilate into a culture
lose track of their past by the third generation.
Do you think anything of significance is lost? If yes, explain. If not, why not? Explain.
Assimilation/ Acculturation
Difference?
Topics in Part 5
Kinship
Descent
Family
Marriage
Part 5 articles
Kinship
Notions of kinship &
kinship theory;
to whom are we related and how?
What do people mean, when they say “blood is thicker than water”? Do you think that is “true”?
Kinship:
What constitutes a family?
How do friendships, romantic relationships, and parent-child relationships fit in?
How do biology and culture interact in shaping notions of kinship?
Kinship
Kinship is the complex system of culturally defined social relationships based on marriage and birth.
Affinity refers to kinship relationships based on marriage.
Consanguinity refers to kinship relationships based on birth (biologically related relatives, or ‘blood relatives’)
Kinship theories
Lewis Henry Morgan
Ancient Society (1877)
Ethnography of Iroquois
Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity in the Human Family [Surveys: missionaries, explorers, government officials]
Henry Lewis Morgan, a 19th century lawyer and early pioneer in kinship studies and often considered the “founder of kinship studies” did what was common for many in the 18th and 19th centuries in the US…he married his first cousin. Cousin marriage acceptance differs from one U.S. state to another ranging from being legal to a criminal offense. For instance, first cousin marriage is permitted in Alaska, Hawaii, California, New York among other states, but it is banned in Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon and Louisiana among other states, and it is considered a criminal offense in Texas and four other states. What stereotypes do you have about people who marry their first cousins? What are your thoughts on this practice?
Kinship systems A.M. Hocart (1937)
Classificatory system
Descriptive system
Two types of kinship systems
Classificatory (classifies a whole group of relatives by the same term)
Melanasian Eg: “tama” (all males on father’s side); “Vungo” (all males on mother’s side)
Hawaiian
Descriptive (separate words for each distinct relationship)
Turkish: teyze (mother’s sister; hala (father’s sister)
Modified descriptive – American: father, grandfather, great grandfather (not tama)…aunt (father or mother’s side)
Relatives and relations
Related to “by blood” vs
Those we relate to because they contribute to our social identities
Family
How would you define a “family”?
(Do you know where does the word “family” come from?)
15th C –Latin “Familus” (akin to household)
“all those dependent on a male head including a wife, children, slaves and servants” (Delaney, 167)
“Patriarchal” (biblical roots of Genesis)
“Family” – Easy or hard to define?
How is it defined in the chapter?
Family
“…is a residential kin group made up of at least one couple and their children.” (George Murdoch cited in McCurdy, Shandy and Spradley)
What do you think of that as a beginning definition? Agree/ disagree? Explain.
Think about how this relates to definitions of marriage?
Marriage “is the socially approved union of two people that confers sexual rights and legitimizes children” (143).
How marriage traditionally been defined (in the U.S.)?
DOMA 2013?
Windsor vs United States
June 26, 2013 DOMA (1996) declared “unconstitutional”
How does this mark a significant cultural shift in attitudes about marriage?
Do nations and states NEED to define, legally, what a family is? Why or why not?
Can you think of contemporary examples of how matters of marriage and family can get “political”?
Or examples of “the State” interacting with such issues?
One-child only Policy (China) and right to choose (US)
Fund/ de-fund “Planned parenthood”
Style of marriage (Chechnya…proposes polygamy)
Putin offers $9,200 to have a second child
Types of Marriage discussed in the chapter
Monogamy
Polygamy
Polygyny
Polyandry
Exogamy/ endogamy?
Types of Marriage
Monogamy is a marriage rule that permits an individual to marry only one other person at a time.
Example: This rule applies in the United States.
Polygamy is a form of marriage in which one person can be married to more than one person simultaneously. Two kinds of polygamy:
Polygyny is the marriage of one man to more than one woman simultaneously.
Polyandry is the marriage of one women to more than one man simultaneously
Exogamous/ Endogamous
Exogamous describes marriage outside a specified group.
Example: The Bhils are village exogamous; they are supposed to marry spouses from other villages.
Endogamous means marriage within a specified group.
Example: Bhils are also supposed to marry within their own ethnic group, meaning other Bhils.
Although it may seem that monogamous sexual relationships are most common to citizens of the United States
the reality is that most cultures, worldwide, do not prohibit the act of sexual relationships to marriage or even to a monogamous relationship.
Positive aspects to marriage
A positive aspect of marriage is the restriction of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). This is provided that the culture adheres to it’s cultural marriage sanctions of no sex outside of the marriage.
In cultures where sexual relationships are limited to the marriage and this is “followed” there is a significant decrease of STD’s.
In the U.S., Many still think of “the family” as a social unit
consisting of Mom, Pop and the kids….(Delaney, 311)
Even in the United States, this model of the family, a married couple, breadwinner husband and homemaker wife raising children – this model now composes only 1 in 5 families
We can see changes of idealized family life over time in our own culture represented in media (1950s)
Suburbia-breadwinning father, stay at home Mom…
1969-1974…
“Blended families”
1984-1992….
Two professional working parents….
2009-2018… “modern family”
Kinds of families
Nuclear families are kinds of families consisting of just one couple and their children.
Extended families are made up of two or more couples and their children.
They are found most often in societies where family performance and honor are vital to the reputation of individual family members.
Most commonly based on patrilineal descent
“My Big, Fat, Greek wedding”
In the film clip, what are some cultural differences between the two families in orientation to?
Orientation to family life? “Types” of families”? Kinship?
Expectations of marriage and family? Size of family?
Who is “appropriate” for dating/ marriage?
“Best Bits”
http :// www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAvxebd7UTM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLA1E0A405BD41A648
Family of orientation (oneself, parents, siblings)
Family of procreation (oneself, one’s spouse, one’s children)
Families of __________________________?
Construction of new types of family structures, adoption, reproductive technologies, etc
Questions:
Who did you consider a part of your family growing up? Who did you interact with most frequently? Fairly frequently? On occasion?
Did you have any animals or pets? Did you consider them a member of the family? Why/ why not?
How would you define a “family”? (Do you know where does the word “family” come from? Do you think there is any such notion as the “historic family”? )
“family”…..hard to define
Family as a “social and cultural construction”
Conceptual structure of a family…varies….
Across cultures
Across different societies
Same society…over time
Varies also according to the “lens” or theoretical perspective of a social researcher or analyst
According to functionalists, families are universal because it serves six essential functions:
economic production,
socialization of the children,
care of the sick and aged,
recreation,
sexual control,
and reproduction.
Conflict theorists
Social inequalities in gender roles and relations
Symbolic interactionists
focus on the contrasting experiences and perspectives of men and women that are played out in marriage’ family relations..
“Meaning” and “significance” associated with roles
Many of us still think of “the family” as a social unit
consisting of Mom, Pop and the kids….(Delaney, 311) Even in the United States, this model of the family, a married couple, breadwinner husband and homemaker wife raising children – this model now composes only 1 in 5 families.
4 out of 5 families????
Household types (in the US)
Any surprising patterns?
4 out of 5 families…???
“Traditional” to “nuclear”….. now…
Single parent households
Blended families
Stepparent households
Grandparents parenting
Childless households
Gay and lesbian households
Sandwich generation
Racial diversity within families (marriages,
interracial adoptions)
The role of New Reproductive Technologies (NRT’s) including In-Vitro (IVF)
Singles…
Unmarried cohabiting households
Co-habitation
What is co-habitation?
Does it mean the same thing to everyone?
60-70% of all married couple co-habitat before they marry (Rhoades, Stanley and Markham, 2009; Stanley, Whitman and Markham, 2004 cited in Hughes and Kroehler 2009:311 )
Cohabiting (after 5-7 years) Bianchi and Casper 2000 in Henslin 2009: 348) [ 2% women born 1928-1932 cohabited before 30, 331]
Substitute for Marriage 10% 35% split up/65% still together (37% married/ 63% still cohabiting)
Step toward marriage 46% 31% split up; 69% still together (73% married/ 27% cohabiting)
Trial marriage 15% 51% split up; 49% still together (66% married; 34% cohabiting)
Co-residential dating 29% 46% split up; 54% still together (61% married/ 39% cohabiting)
Co-habitation
Did you know that co-habitation is considered illegal in some states in the US?
Mississippi and Michigan, have laws on their books against cohabitation by opposite-sex couples.
The majority of states don’t have any legal provisions protecting people from discrimination based on marital status, meaning landlords may legally ask questions about your relationship and may refuse to rent to you if you are an unmarried couple.
Would that/ could that influence where you might accept a job, go to grad school, move into a cohabitating household?
Changing patterns…Marriage to co-habitation
“Dating”?
How is dating cultural? What IS a date?
“Saturday night date” (Margaret Atwood)
“How to ask for a date” http :// www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrBeBabazDU
How is dating…
Personal?
Cultural?
Social?
Political?
How can dating get political?
How can dating get political?
Who is appropriate/ inappropriate (taboo) for courting? Who decides?
Riyadh the capital and most populous city of Saudi Arabia
Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking them in public.
Pictured here is a Trobriand Islander
who has been face painted and given adornments by her father to make her appear attractive as possible to obtain a mate (marriageable).
How does this compare to your own society? How do we attract mates in a Western culture?
Face-painting in the Trobriand Islands….Getting tattooed performs the same function for both boys and girls in Samoa, Hawaii and Tahiti .
Anthropologist Carol Delaney has written about the “quincineara” a ritual where Hispanic girls are presented to the community as “marriageable”.
What were you like at 14-15? What sorts of messages did you receive about relationships, dating, sex and marriage? Did those messages come only from family & friends?
For instance, culturally speaking,
does it make a difference whether middle schools and high schools adopt policies and curriculum that advocate abstinence only or sex education?
Which approach do you think is better? Explain.
Technology, courtship and relationships
As our society, economy and culture change, we are likely to observe more changes…..
How have new technologies reshaped cultural patterns of dating and marriage?
Phones…computers…cellphones… social media
Pros/ cons?
Meeting…dating…marrying…even divorce?
“Catfishing” a cultural phenomena
Common or uncommon occurrence?
E-divorce among young Muslims on the rise
Kinship, Families, Descent
Descent is a kinship rule that ties people together on the basis of reputed common ancestry.
Based on the notion of common heritage, there are three main rules of descent:
Patrilineal
Matrilineal
Bilateral
Descent
Patrilineal descent is a descent rule linking consanguine relatives through males only.
Matrilineal descent is a descent rule linking relatives together through females only.
Males belong to their mother’s line and the children of males descend from the wife’s line
Bilateral descent is a descent rule linking relatives together through both males and females simultaneously.
Example: A majority of Americans observe bilateral descent.
Descent groups are groups based on a descent rule.
Unilineal descent groups
A lineage is a localized group that is based on a unilineal (patrilineal or matrilineal) descent rule and which usually has some corporate power.
Less common forms of descent groups
A clan is composed of lineages whose members believe they are all descended from a common ancestor but cannot always trace their genealogical relationship to everyone in the group.
If a society is divided into only two large groups (clan or phatry) each group is referred to as a moiety.
Phratries are large unilineal kinship groups made up of clans.
Bilateral kin groups are those based on bilateral descent.
Ramages are cognatic kin groups based on bilateral descent.
They resemble lineages in size and function but provide more recruiting flexibility.
Residence patterns
There are four common residence patterns that a newly wed couple may adopt.
Patrilocal
Matrilocal
Neolocal
Ambilocal
Patrilocal residence
A residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the locality associated with the husband’s father’s relatives.
Common to societies where men are dominant in the role of subsistence patterns.
Bride must often move to husbands band, tribe, or community.
Bridewealth is customary here .
(Bride wealth, bride price, dowry…differences)
Matrilocal residence
A residence pattern in which a married couple lives in the locality associated with the wife’s relatives.
Common to horticultural societies.
Men do not generally move very far from their native family to join his bride’s family.
No compensation is given between either spouse.
Neolocal residence
A pattern in which a married couple may establish their own household in a location apart from either the husband’s or the wife’s relatives.
Common to industrial and postindustrial societies where independence is favored.
Ambilocal residence
A pattern in which a married couple may choose either matrilocal or patrilocal residence.
Common among food-foraging groups where subsistence resources are limited and it might be a necessity to travel between families.
Compensation is not given between either spouse.
Taboo
Incest taboo is often explained as a way to extend alliances between kin groups.
It is a legal rule that prohibits all sexual intercourse or marriage between particular classes of kin.
Constructing a kinship chart
What would you consider major questions or challenges
regarding Kinship and Family in the 21st century, or in our globalized and technological world?
Works cited:
Delaney, Carole with Deborah Kaspin. Chapter 5: “Relatives and relations.” In Investigating Culture: An Experiential Approach. Second edition. Blackwell Publishing, 2011.
Haviland, William et al Prins, McBride and Walrath. Cultural Anthropology / 14th Edition by (Cengage)
Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. Eigth edition. Allyn and Bacon, 2009.
Hughes, Michael and Carolyn J. Kroehler. “The Family.” Sociology: The Core. Tenth edition, 2009: 310-347.
McCurdy, David W., Dianna Shandy and James Spradley (Eds). Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. 15th edition. Pearson publishing, 2016.
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