Family

Definition and Developments

In 1949, G.P. Murdock defined the post-World War II Western family as “a social group characterized by a common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction including adults of both sexes, at least two of which maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and, one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.”

An example of a very different type of family around that time was that of the Nayar in India. A wife could take up to 12 husbands, who would visit her at night one at a time, none sharing residence with the woman. A man could also have an unlimited number of wives. When a woman became pregnant, therefore, any one of up to 12 men could be the father. The men did not assist in raising children or staying with the women, who were supported by brothers, sisters, and children. In this family, the eldest male was the leader of each kin group. There are many other examples of polygamy (where husbands have more than one wife) and, more rarely, polyandry (where wives have more than one husband).

Functions of the Family

Many sociologists argue that the male breadwinner form of family is the best way to socialize children, as well as being most efficient for modern industrialized societies. The popularity of this type of family decreased, however, in the 1960s, as birth control methods increased choice for women about when to start a family. In addition, the demand for female labor grew, which was accompanied by a second wave of feminism demanding equal rights in the workplace and in the home.

Perhaps the most important development with regard to families after industrialization into the 1960s in Western societies was the emergence of companionate marriage. Companionate family or marriage is the idea that marriage is a relationship, rather than an economic institution. This meant equal but different roles within the family; for example, that the man would be the breadwinner and the woman would be the carer and stay at home and look after the house and children.

In 1955, sociologists Talcott Parsons and Robert F. Bales contended that the nuclear family provided the most efficient and functional division of labor, with preindustrial extended families performing religious, political, educational, and economic functions. Parsons believed these obligations came before father-mother-child relationships and employment responsibilities.

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