The idea of a family is constantly changing and evolving. This leads to family being difficult to define. Many researchers have tried to define the family in their own perspective. In which, they have not been able to obtain concrete universal definitions to fit all societies’ description. Society is constantly changing, making norms to change, causing the way of living to change as well. Murdock defines the family in a functionalist approach that includes two individuals of both sexes living under the same home and having a sexual relationship with children of their own or adopted. Murdock supports his definition with four aspects that are sexuality, reproduction, common residence, and economic co-operation. This functionalist definition is
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For example, an ideal American family will consist of my parents and their two biological daughters that are a reproduction of a sexual heterosexual relationship. Although, this family may fit Murdock’s functionalist definition because it has both sexes reproducing people living in the same home may not be everyone’s ideal family. Murdock being specific in which he claims that the family has to have a sexuality representation may exclude many people. The meaning of the family should not exclude people from being able to be considered of being a family that is why we need to take in consideration all people’s backgrounds and situations. By understanding that everyone is different and that everyone will have a different situation can help understand that Murdock’s definition does not fit a good description of what the family should consist of. Not every family creates a family because they are biologically related some families economically need to be combined as one unit in order to sustain themselves that may include two women or two men supporting their kids that may be biologically theirs or adopted. Some individuals just get married to fulfill society norms. They have to hide their real identities in order to fit into society. Homosexual individuals get married with the opposite sex to portray a heterosexual relationship in a household. In reality these individuals use this technic to …show more content…
This is impossible to describe a changeable concept like the family. The world is constantly growing and evolving, making it hard to define the family and expect everyone to live the same expectations. The family is socially constructed and not biological, and that is why there is not an alternative definition of the family. The best way to describe a structure of the family is by creating a list of characteristics and elements that would allow everyone’s personal situation fit the category of being identified as a family. In order to accept this is by understanding the sociological imagination. C. Wright Mills claims that in order to be aware of the idea of the social structure you need to having an understanding of the sociological imagination in his reading The Promise. “The sociological imagination enables it possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals”(Mills 1959;3). This means that we would take in consideration that every person has their own biography and situation in which we would take in account and accept the way they would consider what their family is. In order to understand the family, we have to accept that the world is socially construct and Scott Coltrane explains this and demonstrates that family is changing giving the examples of cohabitating, step
For example, an ideal American family will consist of my parents and their two biological daughters that are a reproduction of a sexual heterosexual relationship. Although, this family may fit Murdock’s functionalist definition because it has both sexes reproducing people living in the same home may not be everyone’s ideal family. Murdock being specific in which he claims that the family has to have a sexuality representation may exclude many people. The meaning of the family should not exclude people from being able to be considered of being a family that is why we need to take in consideration all people’s backgrounds and situations. By understanding that everyone is different and that everyone will have a different situation can help understand that Murdock’s definition does not fit a good description of what the family should consist of. Not every family creates a family because they are biologically related some families economically need to be combined as one unit in order to sustain themselves that may include two women or two men supporting their kids that may be biologically theirs or adopted. Some individuals just get married to fulfill society norms. They have to hide their real identities in order to fit into society. Homosexual individuals get married with the opposite sex to portray a heterosexual relationship in a household. In reality these individuals use this technic to …show more content…
This is impossible to describe a changeable concept like the family. The world is constantly growing and evolving, making it hard to define the family and expect everyone to live the same expectations. The family is socially constructed and not biological, and that is why there is not an alternative definition of the family. The best way to describe a structure of the family is by creating a list of characteristics and elements that would allow everyone’s personal situation fit the category of being identified as a family. In order to accept this is by understanding the sociological imagination. C. Wright Mills claims that in order to be aware of the idea of the social structure you need to having an understanding of the sociological imagination in his reading The Promise. “The sociological imagination enables it possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals”(Mills 1959;3). This means that we would take in consideration that every person has their own biography and situation in which we would take in account and accept the way they would consider what their family is. In order to understand the family, we have to accept that the world is socially construct and Scott Coltrane explains this and demonstrates that family is changing giving the examples of cohabitating, step