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UNIT 3 FAMILY AS A SOCIAL UNIT

Structure
3.0 3.1 3.2 Objectives Introduction Concept/Definition
3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 Family Group Marriage Kinship

3.3 3.4 3.5

Need to Study about Family Distinctive Features of Family Types of Family


3.5.1 Classification based on Household Pattern

3.6 3.7

Functions of Family Role of the Family in the Context of Womens Health in India
3.7.1 Girlhood: Perceptions of Family in India

3.8

Status and Role of Women within the Family


3.8.1 3.8.2 Stresses Faced by Most Women Womens Status and Nutritional Needs

3.9

Changes in the Family and Implications for Socialisation


3.10.1 Backdrop of Overall Social Change 3.10.2 Factors Affecting Changes in the Family 3.10.3 Transitional Phase of Indian Family

3.10 3.11 3.12

Let Us Sum Up Answers to Check Your Progress Further Readings

3.0

OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you should be able to:


G G G G G G

define the terms: family, group, marriage, kinship: list the distinctive features of family; discuss the classification of family; explain the role of family in context with women in India; describe the status and role of women within family; and discuss the changes in family and implication for socialization. 27

Basic Concepts in Sociology

3.1

INTRODUCTION

The study of family and marriage is one of the most important areas of sociology. Virtually everyone is brought up in a family context in all societies. Family is the fundamentals and basic unit of human society. Man is a social animal, but before this he is a family member, because he is born into a family. Family is not imposed on anyone, but it is incumbent by birth. Family being the smallest unit is an important medium of human socialization. In everyday discussion family refers to a group entity where children are born and taken care of. The structure of this group differs in different societies. There is great variation in the family and marriage pattern across different cultures as with other aspects of social life. Hence it is essential to understand family in details as it has great influence on its members during health and illness.

3.2 CONCEPT/ DEFINITION


According to the most acceptable and common view, the family has been defined as a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption constituting a single household. The above view implies that:
G G G

Usually this small kin-group is a single economic unit; All members share a common culture; Authority may be vested in one or many persons of the household.

3.2.1

Family

The family is an organized group based on a network of relationships. These relationships provide basis for the definition of the family and assignment of rights and duties between members. The main elements of the structure of family are: a) Affinal Relationship: The family begins with the marriage of person of opposite sex. The couple is called husband and wife. They may or may not have children, yet they constitute a family. Thus, family is not necessarily a biological group as adopted children by the couple are also the members of the family. Consanguineous Relationship: The members of the family are related to one another through the process of procreation. The biological interconnection is the consanguineous relationship that is socially defined as kinship. Thus, family is a kinship group. Dual Membership: Every individual acquires membership in two family groups. An individual first takes birth in a family and then after a certain period he himself procreates. The family in which the person takes birth is called the family of orientation and the other one is called the family of procreation.

b)

c)

3.2.2

Group

While we have talked about family and different types of families that are there in society, we must also understand distinction between family and groups. Groups are formed in order to satisfy human needs. Groups also provide many activities that would not be possible by a lone individual. Websters dictionary defines groups as a number of individuals assembled together or having unified relationship. Each group has unique wholeness qualities that become patterned by way of members thinking, feeling and communicating into structured subsystems. In our society we often use the word group that refer to such diverse collectivities such as family, the crowd or the social class, informal cliques or vast communities. What should be understood very clearly is that family does fall into the category of group, having shared sense of unity among members, stable pattern of relationships among members, but what distinguishes family and group is that in a family the members are united by ties of

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marriage, blood or adoption. Or in other word the members of the family united by the bands of kinship. It would be of relevance here to know about kinship and marriage. Without going into the details, we would touch upon the basic concepts so that you as students of sociology are clear how to use concepts in daily life.

Family as a Social Unit

3.2.3

Marriage

The sex relationship in human society is highly constrained. Who, when and with whom will have this relationship is determined by society. For regulating sex-relationship, society has designed and evolved the institution of marriage. Harry M. Johnson has defined marriage as a stable relationship in which a man and woman are socially permitted, without loss of standing in community, to have children. According to the Collins Dictionary of Sociology marriage is a socially acknowledged and sometimes legally ratified union between an adult male and an adult female. This type of union is based on two objectives: sexual gratification and procreation with socially sanctioned sex-relationships and economic co-operation. Marriage provides permission for sex relationship between the two particular individuals of opposite sex and grants legitimacy to the offspring born out of this relationship. Marriage is an universal institution of human society.

3.2.4

Kinship

We have seen above that family is a group consisting of close relatives. These relatives are known as kins. Kinship system is seen as a method of organizing marriage relations between groups. The members of the family are linked with one another by kinship bonds based on blood relationships with only exception of husband and wife who are bound by marriage. Every member of the family behaves and expects from others to behave in particular way as sanctioned by social norms. This behaviour patterns are learnt through socialization process. A kinship system is not an unorganized aggregation of individuals. It is a system of the ways the relations between individuals in the family and between families are organized. G P Murdock has defined Kinship as merely structured system of relationships in which individuals are bound to one another by complex interlocking and ramifying ties. RadcliffeBrown looks at kinship system as part of social structure and insists upon the study of kinship as field of rights and obligations. Studies in kinship systems have been done, largely by social Anthropologist and only a few of them by the sociologists. i) Role of Family in Socialisation

If you recall, we have seen in the previous unit role of family in socialization. In all cultures, the family is the main socializing agency. Since family systems vary widely, the range of contact which the infants experience is by no means standard across cultures. The mother is everywhere normally, the most important individual in the childs early life, but the nature of relationships established between mothers and their children is influenced by the form and regulatory of their contact. Yet the fact remains that in Indian society the role of mother and family is most important in socialization and personality formation of the child. Family is the first unit in which the child is nurtured and has continuous contact with other people. Interaction with them, the child learns various skills and develops appropriate values in accordance with the value system of the society in which he/she lives. Therefore, family is the first agency through which culture operates on any individual. Family is said to be the cradle of the future society. Children pick up ways of behaviour characteristics of their parents or others in their neighbourhood or community. The various social roles that individuals enact as they participate in organized social life are acquired in one of the two ways: by ascription or by achievement. Ascribed roles are assigned to individuals because of one or more social characteristics they possess. The most fundamental of these ascribed criteria are age and sex, although factors such as race, religion, family background, and socio-economic status are also often used as bases for assigning roles to individuals. Varying patterns of child rearing and discipline, together with contrasting values and expectations, are found in different sectors of large-scale societies. It is easy to understand 29

Basic Concepts in Sociology

the influence of different types of family background, for a child growing up in a poor slum family in a run down city, compared to one born into an affluent middle class family. So would be different between ascribed roles to these two individuals. The familys importance in socialization is quite obvious, since the experience of the infant and very young child is shaped more or less exclusively within it. Women play an important role in the family, in child rearing and in social reproduction of labour force ii) Role of Family in Psycho Social Needs

In the Indian society, Procreation has traditionally been considered not only as a right but also as an objection. Marriage and procreation are in consequence held in such an exaggerated sanctity that no thought is given to too many children being born of early marriage or of parents genetically deficient in many of the families, especially belonging to the lower socio-economic strata of the society. Poverty and the hold of social values thus continue to deprive the Indian child, especially of the poor class families of the opportunities for reasonable physical growth and development. According to many researches in the field of child health, it has been observed that growth is also inversely related to the number of children in the family. Limitation of family size to three or less would significantly bring down the incidence of malnutrition and mortality among children even under the existing economic conditions and present food resources. The dismal consequences of the communication of poverty with neglect, apathy and ignorance not only increase childhood mortality and morbidity but also very often forces many a child out of countless families to become vagrant and spend better part of his growing years in a childrens jail. Thus, we find how important the role of responsible parenthood in the family is in understanding the interplay of nutritional, environmental as well as social, psychological and educations influences in the young childs life. iii) Role of Family in Conflict Management

This basically involves the role of the family to initiate healthy environment for growth of interpersonal relationship among the family members, which mainly includes the following: a) b) c) d) developing awareness, sensitivity and responsiveness towards members belonging to all ages; developing sense of togetherness and belonging; Realignment of relationships as required; developing an egalitarian decision making plan on vital aspects of family life, e.g. whether or not and when to have the first baby and plan to use contraceptives accordingly; developing equality with regard to role, power and status of members in the family; sharing and managing house-hold tasks efficiently including child-rearing; distributing family resources equitably; helping adolescents/youth to develop positive social behaviour, such as self discipline, sense of responsibility, good judgment and the ability to get along with other in the wider family circle as well as the society at large; helping the other young people in the family to develop as strong commitment towards their own kith and kin, school teacher and peer groups; exploring effective ways to resolve family conflicts fairly and peacefully; developing listening skill to understand each others problems and respond positively which will increase communication within the family.

e) f) g) h)

i)

j) k) 30

iv)

Role of family in Health and Disease

Family as a Social Unit

Health cannot be isolated from the social context, so is the context of family. Social economic factors have as much influence on health as medical interventions. Today there has been increased recognition that successful application of medicine to individuals and groups involves more than mere scientific or biological knowledge. It is true for the causation of ill health. Ill health is not only caused by the biological microorganism, but also social and economic factors contribute to this. Family being the smallest and closest social circle of the individual has effect on health and disease. Anyone who is concerned with medical practices or community health activities will know that family is ultimately the unit with which one has to deal. It is important to note that patterns of childcare (e.g. feeding, nutrition, hygiene, sleep, clothing discipline habit training) are passed on from one generation to another. v) Choice of Food

Food habits have deep psychological roots and are associated with love, affection, warmth, self-image and social prestige. Local conditions, religious costumes and beliefs influence the diet of the people. Hindu women often take food left over by their husband. In some families people do not eat unless they have taken bath. Even choice of food varies across families. Vegetarianism is given a place of honour in Hindu society. Even among vegetarians, the pattern of eating is not the same. Muslims abhor pork, and Hindu beef---these food habits have religious sanctions from early days. The concept of hot and cold food is widely prevalent in the country. Muslims observe fast during Ramzan and Hindus on other occasions. These fasts are considered important adjuncts to religion. In Hindu families, the women who keep fats for the well being of the family, son or husband. So choice of food is a subject of widespread customs, habits, beliefs, which vary from family to family, religion to religion, country to country, but all this have bearing on the well being of the individual and society. vi) Maternal and Child Health

A wide range of customs and beliefs surrounds Mother and child health. This has obvious implications in the context of the number of children woman is going to have, the kind of services she is going to access in the community----would she come for regular antenatal checkup or prefer traditional dai. All this would determine maternal and child health status of the family. As we have discussed above that status of woman is most important factor that would determine if the family were going to support women to access these services. Would she be given proper nutrition, rest and love and affection. The girl child in the family is another issue that needs to be addressed by the community health workers. Immunization, breast feeding, kind of food woman is given after giving birth to girl child, all this have bearing on the maternal and child health. Hence family being the basic unit in the society has bearing on personality of child, well being and nutritional well being of the its members and community all large. vii) Role of the Family in Mental Health Care

Despite the breakdown of social ties and norms, the family and society remain the pivot of Indian social structure. The family members are an important resource in mental health care at several levels: a) b) c) d) family members as care providers in the hospital setting. family involvement in therapy family members as trainers of the mentally retarded family members as a pressure group for policy change and better facilities. While Indian families have always been an important source of strength in the care of mentally ill (Verghese 1971), initiatives to involve the family in care and rehabilitation of patients have now become the trend in the West.

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Basic Concepts in Sociology

3.3 NEED TO STUDY ABOUT FAMILY


What counts as a family, its connections with other kin, whom one is permitted to marry, how spouses are selected, the connections between marriage and sexuality all these differ widely. It is important to understand some of these variations to highlight distinctive aspects of family life and patterns of marriage in modern society. The study of family will give you understanding of both fertility and mortality and interrelationship with not only the family structure, sociocultural aspects of marriage but also behaviour of individuals within the family and the socioeconomic structure of the population living in the society at large.

3.4 DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF FAMILY


MacIver has enlisted the following features of the family: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) University: family is found all over the world and all levels of culture; Emotional bond: an outcome of mutual love and affection and blood ties; Limited size: characterized by decision-making role of the couples to met the demands and challenges of the world outside home; Nucleus of individual growth: involves socialization and child rearing activities; Feeling of personal responsibility to each other mutual ties make the family members feel accountable to one anothers welfare; Means of social control: by imposing certain restrictions on all members for their behaviour and smooth functioning of the family; Subject to constant change: as a backdrop of overall social changes.

Check Your Progress 1 1) Define Family. ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 2) What are the three main elements of the structure of family? ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 3) Distinctive features of family are: a) ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... b) ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... c) ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... d) ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... e) 32 ...................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................

3.5 TYPES OF FAMILY


Though family is the fundamental and basic unit of human society, yet we do not find uniformity of this fact in all the societies of the world. The family gets its special form by the cultural ideas and ideals and values of special society. Despite their specific nature all kinds of families found in human society can be classified according to the following classification.

Family as a Social Unit

3.5.1
i)

Classification Based on Household Pattern

Joint/extended family: It comprises two or more elementary families, bound together by common movable or immovable property and may or may not staying together. A joint household means a joint family living together (Shah, 1973). Elementary or nuclear family: It comprises couples and their unmarried children. It is generally financially independent of other families (Desai, 1953). Environment

ii)

Religious/Ethnic society

Political policies and systems

Economic policies and systems

Science and technological developments

Ecological policies and systems

Family as a Social System

Functions

Structure

Social systems

Family Law

Housing, health and education policies and systems

Social security policy and systems

Population policies and systems

Policies for children, women and aged

Fig. 3.1: Conceptual framework to study family as a social system

iii)

Alternate family: Has a family pattern which do not fit into societys norms regarding usual family patterns. Following situations give rise to such families:
G G

childless families (due to infertility or out of choice) single parent families (due to unwed motherhood, death of spouse, desertion, separation, divorce or migration of spouse) reconstituted/step families consensual unions.

G G

a)

Classifications based on the power-structure in the family i) Patriarchal Family: Power and authority rests with the oldest man in the family. The other members of the family have to obey his order. In India, most of the families are patriarchal. The nature of most of the Hindu families is patriarchal. Matriarchal Family: In matriarchal families man has no right to property. Property rights come hereditary from mother to daughter or to mothers brother. In the real sense, women in these families set priorities. In the Khasi tribe of Assam such practices are common. In the tribes of Garo Malabar we find the prevalence of matriarchal family.

ii)

33

Basic Concepts in Sociology

iii) b)

Egalitarian: Here equal distribution of power exists between female and male members of the family.

Classification based on Lineage or descent i) Matrilineal family: In this family lineage runs from mother. In other word, mothers heredity gets all the importance. In the Nayar family of Malabar such types of family are in existence. ii) Patrilineal family: Dynastical heritage comes from father to son. Most of the families in India are patrilineal. Classification based on Residence i) Patrilocal: Where woman resides in husbands house after marriage. ii) Matrilocal: Where husband goes to reside in the spouses house after marriage. Classification on the basis of Marriage i) Monogamous Family: Family with one man and women is characteristic of this family. It is illegal for a man or woman to be married to more than one individual at any one time. ii) Polygamous Family: Polygamy describes any type of marriage that allows a husband or wife to have more than one spouse. There are two types of polygamy: polygyny, in which a man may be married to more than one woman at the same time; and polyandry, in which a woman may have two or more husbands simultaneously.

c)

d)

Check Your Progress 2 Give classification of family based on: 1) Household ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 2) Power structure ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 3) Lineage ............................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................. 4) Residence ............................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................................

3.6

FUNCTIONS OF FAMILY

The family has very important functions to play i.e. biological, economic and socio-cultural. Details are given below: a) b) Biological: These include sexual and procreative activities in a socially approved manner. This is also termed as biological reproduction. Economic: At one time the family was the unit of production and consumption, where males hunted and women and children gathered good for the survival of the family. In the preindustrial society, women took active part in economic survival of the family based on the activities centred around home. However, with the advent of industrialisation women seek jobs in home-based economic activities as well as outside house and play a significant role for the survival of the family. Socio-cultural: Entire process of socialization operating form childhood is clearly visible through the process of imitation and identification. The child gradually acquires orientation about his roles within the family and is taught to accept the social control as exercised by the family to maintain discipline and decorum in the society at large. This function is termed as the social reproduction of labour power.

c)

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Family is the first unit in which the child is nurtured and has continuous contact with other people outside the family too. Interacting with them, he learns various skills and develops appropriate values in accordance with the value system of the society in which he lives. Therefore, family is the first agency through which culture operates on any individual. Family is said to be the cradle of the future society as it produces the necessary labour power for the on-going production of the society. Women play an important role in the family in this social reproduction of labour power.

Family as a Social Unit

3.7 ROLE OF THE FAMILY IN THE CONTEXT OF WOMENS HEALTH IN INDIA


As we have seen above that womens low status in the family deprives her of many privileges and rights that are given to males in the family. Women and girl child in the family has secondary status in the family. So it has ill effect on the health of girls.

3.7.1

Girlhood: Perceptions of Family in India

Born into indifference and reared on neglect, the girl child is caught in a web of cultural practices and prejudices that divest her of her individuality and mould her into a submissive self sacrificing daughter and wife. Her labour ensures the survival and well being of her family but robs her not only of her childhood but also of her right to be free of hunger, ignorance, disease and poverty. For most of the families in India, from the day of her birth, a girl is viewed as a burden and a liability. The universal desire for sons, and obsession that cuts across all differences of caste, class and region determines both the quantity and quality of the investment that parents make in their female children. For the vast majority of Indias daughters, gender determines their meagre share of the family s affections and resources. Sons are considered ritually and economically desirable and essential not only to light the funeral pyres of their parents and release their souls from the bondage of their bodies, but also to ensure the continuation of the lineage and become the economic support of the parents in their old age. This contrasts sharply with the view of the girl as a drain on the familys previous resource which gets expended on her own self with no hope of any return because when she gets married, her father has to collect a sizeable dowry, which symbolically marks the transfer of the burden from one family to another. So deeply entrenched is this view of the girl as a liability and the son a valuable resource that even when girls step over the barrier of their upbringing to become wage earners for supporting their parents, this is seen as an aberration, a grudgingly accepted reversal of the ideal that even the neediest parents find some what demeaning. The low status of the girl child is thus inextricably linked to the low status of the woman. Family structures and the values function in such a way that the daughters grow up looking upon themselves as inferiour and subservient, entitled to less of every thing than the sons--less opportunity, less property, less status, less power and virtually no choices. The girl childs perception of herself and her role is conditioned by her early socialisation. She grows up in this hostile home environment with a poor self image and regards her own daughter later in life in the same light. There is difference in the treatment of the boys and girls by parents and other members of the family too. The son is fondled by the mother or her surrogates. He receives a favoured treatment throughout and is frequently provided with better food and clothing. There is continuous ministration to his needs and prolonged breastfeeding which fosters the development of basic trust, dependency, sense of security, positive self image and the capacity to receive and give affection and a conception of the world as good. Such a favoured treatment does not fall to the lot of the female child who is brought up in an environment that tends to develop in her envy, jealousy, a negative selfimage and a conception of the world as being basically unfair. She has a feeling of perpetual dependancy and has an idea that life is not going to be happy for her. As she grows older her personal mobility is strictly restricted and is progressively inducted into domesic work and into the role of a family woman. Fed with religious concepts, she is taught to regard her future husband as God and is exposed to the cultural idea of Sati, symbolising life-long sacrifice and complete submergence

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Basic Concepts in Sociology

or individuality in the family. Gratifying the need of her husband, at all costs and time, is emphasised and there is pressure for complete conformity to the standard imposed by the family tradition. Girls in poor households, already exploited and discriminated against are even worse hit when an economic crisis overtakes the family, They are caught in the web of ill health and deprivation. Statistics on health status of the girl child show the glaring desparity in the morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death) rates between male and female infants. In fact, today, rejection of girl begins even before birth with pre-natal sex determination tests, followed by abortions if the verdict is a girl. Researches show that those allowed to survive often meet their death soon after by strangulation, drowning, poisoning or being burried alive. In India the discrimination against the girl child does not end there. A girls health is of minor significance to the family which is reflected by the following observations in researches conducted in this respect: a) b) c) d) girls do not achieve their full height and weight potential, their diet is inferior and more girls than boys in most families, in the same age-group, suffer from malnutrition. girls are given less nutritious food than boys. fewer girls than boys receive timely medical attention in most house-holds.

The perilous path of life which girls lead in our country has been depicted here diagramatically in Fig. 3.2.

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Fig. 3.2: Path of life of a girl

3.8 STATUS AND ROLE OF WOMEN WITHIN THE FAMILY


Role of women is most important in the family. Traditionally womens role is considered to be related to the upbringing of children and taking care of the family. Women have always been valued for their biological reproduction of the family. Womens productive functions within and outside the family are neglected and their economic contribution to the family go unnoticed. Women carry the double burden of taking care of household and also working outside home. Women may not be engaged in active work force but her contribution to the household is immense. According to the report by the Department of Women and Child Development (1988) India, if women stop doing the work, they are traditionally been assigned to, there could be virtual collapse of the entire social organisation. The report gives due recognition to womens contribution to the socially productive labour force. Womens status in traditional family is secondary, so is the status of girl child. Women are considered burden to the family. Due to her secondary status women are also deprived of the rights and privileges given to the men fork in the family. Birth of girl in the family is mourned. Women who give birth to girls are looked down. Giving birth to a son raises her status in the family. Motherhood is highly respected in the society. Each and everything to do with motherhood is respected. Lives of women revolve around their role as a mother. It is unfortunate that in Indian society women is defined by her role in the family and not as a person. She is defined as daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, mother-in law and not as a person. Women keep suffering on account of domestic violence, crime, and exploitation. Women cannot claim share in the property of their parents. The Constitution of India recognizes all men and women as equal persons. It guarantees social equality and economic justice. They have political and legal rights. But great majority of women remains deprived of these privileges. It has to do with their low status in the family and ignorance about their rights. The women have always been denied the right of education and jobs outside the four walls of their homes. Now deliberate attempts are being made to raise the status of women so that they are treated as equal partners in the development process of the society. Due to womens secondary status she is deprived of many things. This long continunous deprivation and exploitation has chronic effect on her health and well - being. These stresses that women face can be classified as follows:

Family as a Social Unit

3.8.1 Stresses Faced by Most Women


Economic, social, cultural, occupational, familial, personal stresses a) Economic Inadequate food for family. Inadequate financial resources for other basic needs----shelter, health and clothing. Inadequate financial resources for maintenance and improvement of assests ----land and livestock etc. b) Social Womens low status in family and society. Purdah system. c) Cultural Oppressive interpretation of myths, stories. Harmful food taboos, especially during pregnancy/lactation d) Occupational Insufficient wages and earning opportunities. Exploitation at work---- economic, physical, sexual work over load an dignored occupational hazards. Migration of self or husband. 37

Basic Concepts in Sociology

e)

Familial Status in family Early marriage Role expectations Physical/sexural stress and violence Inadequate food Work over load

f)

Personal Poor self image Frustration due to unmet needs and desires Anxiety/insecurity due to lack of physical safety Deprivational stress due to loneliness.

3.8.2

Womens Status and Nutritional Needs

When the girl gets married, her role as daughter-in-law is also one of subservience and neglect, and she is dominated by other elders in the family. There is some enhancement of her status with the birth of a son. During this period she also has access to good food and nutrition. Childless and widowhood again deprives her of basic nutrition. Womens secondary status in the family also deprives her nutrition necessary for healthy being. (Refer Fig. 3.3)

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Fig. 3.3: Material nutritional Status

In short the familys perception of woman as the presiding deity of the household, glorifying her as the pivot of the household, yet under-estimating her double burden, has in fact, led to only her neglect in terms of nutritional deficit, but also made her to yield to the socio-economic pressures demanding early, frequent and prolonged child bearing. Role of Family in Maintaining Nutritional Status In the family, women is deprived of the nutrition. Men in the family are fed first and the women in the family share the left over. Lack of nutrition, repeated child bearing, lack of access to health care contributes to ill health. Moreover women also accept their lower status and do not make any efforts to change this status. This leads into vicious circle where one thing leads to the other. Refer Fig. 3.4.

Family as a Social Unit

Fig. 3.4: Nutritional Status of Women

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Basic Concepts in Sociology

Check Your Progress 3 1) Write the functions of family? ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... 2) Differentiate between family and group? ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... 3) Define marriage and Kinship? ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... 4) What is the role of family in socialization? ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... 5) How does status of women in the family determine her health status? ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................

3.9
3.9.1

CHANGES IN THE FAMILY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIALIZATION


Backdrop of Overall Social Change

To understand the changes that are taking places in the family, one has to view the phenomena against the general backdrop of large-scale and rapid changes that are taking place in the developing countries. The processes of the socio-cultural and individual transformation that started in the west especially with the French and Russian revolution, breakdown of feudalism, agricultural and industrial revolutions, the radical changes in the lifestyle brought about through scientific and technological innovations, have taken many centuries to come about. These changes have produced certain unsettling conditions for both the society and the individual. It is against this background that the changes that are taking place in the family have to be understood. Therefore, when we analyse the womens social role with in the family,

40

we find that this household labour which she performs in up-bringing her family, requires tremendous patience, will power, self-sacrifice and devotion for such painstaking, time consuming and labourious work. Although aimed at the tremendous task of social reproduction of labour power of the society at large, yet this household labour does not seem to be visible and therefore, the value of domestic work remains ignored and unpaid. On the contrary, it is termed as nonwork and considered unproductive. Moreover, due to the impact of economic and social pressures of life, the woman is forced to seek work outside home but this work is considered to be secondary activity being done in leisure time. Not only does, she become exposed to double burden of household work and income-earning work outside home, but also she becomes a victim to all forms of exploitation even at the place of work.

Family as a Social Unit

3.9.2 Factors Affecting Changes in the Family


Some of the factors affecting changes in the family are: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) Industrialization Urbanization Migration of population from villages to cities General spread of education, especially among women Changes in occupational structures Conferment of political and property rights Modification in the legal status of women and then taking up of various occupations General weakening of the cast as a social force.

3.9.3 Transitional Phase of Indian Family


With the modernization and social changes that are taking place in the country. The structure and role of the family have altered, interrelationships within it have been radically transformed. Growth of industrialization has radically altered the employment structure with the possibility of going beyond their caste and family occupations. Migration has inevitably led to separation from the family and created a situation in which individuals have began to resent income sharing with other members of the family. Uprooting of population due to migration has also generated new values and rejection of many traditional values of which joint family has been the repository. Kapadia (1966) notes that although the younger generation often complains of the suffocating atmosphere of the joint family, at the same time it appears to be conscious of certain benefits derived from the joint family: a) b) c) d) Economic help. Refuge in many crises situations, Proper upbringing of younger children, and Restraining influences on classes between husband and wife.

3.10 LET US SUM UP


In this unit we have studied that family, being a unit of society plays an important role in the socialization of man as a child till his adulthood. Family has important role in upbringing of the children and the differential treatment given to girl child has bearing on her health and upbringing. Various studies have indicated that womens secondary status in the family with double burden of family of outside world has detrimental effect on her physical and mental health. In this unit we have also tried to understand family, and group; and relationship between marriage and kinship. These are basic concepts that has to be understood by all including the medical practitioners.

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Basic Concepts in Sociology

3.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRAMME


Check Your Progress 1 1) The family is an organized group based on a network of relationships. These relationships provide basis for the definition of the family and assignment of rights and duties between members. Dual membership, Affinal Relationship, Consanguineous Relationship a) b) c) d) e) University Emotional bond Feeling of personal responsibility to each other Means of social control Certain restrictions on all members for their behaviour and smooth functioning of the family

2) 3)

Check Your Progress 2 1) a) b) 2) a) b) c) 3) a) b) 4) a) b) Joint/extended family Nuclear family Patriarchal Matriarchal Egalitarian Matrilineal family Matrilineal Patrilocal Matrilocal

Check Your Progress 3 1) a) b) c) 2) Biological Economic Socio-cultural

Websters dictionary defines groups as a number of individuals assembled together or having unified relationship. Each group has unique wholeness qualities that become patterned by way of members thinking, feeling and communicating into structured subsystems. What distinguishes family and group is that in a family the members are united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption. Marriage according to Harry M. Johnson is a stable relationship in which a man and woman are socially permitted, without loss of standing in community, to have children. According to the Collins Dictionary of Sociology, marriage is a socially acknowledged and sometimes legally ratified union between an adult male and an adult female. Kinship system is seen as a method of organizing marriage relations between groups. The members of the family are linked with one another by kinship bonds based on blood relationships with only exception of husband and wife who are bound by marriage. Every member of the family behaves and expects from others to behave in particular way as sanctioned by social norms. This behaviour patterns are learnt through socialization process.

3)

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4)

Family has a great role in socialization. In all cultures, the family is the main socializing agency. Family is the first unit in which the child is natured and has continuous contact with other people. Interaction with them, the child learns various skills and develops appropriate values in accordance with the value system of the society in which he lives. Therefore, family is the first agency through which culture operates on any individual. Family is said to be the cradle of the future society. Womens status in the family also determines the health status of women in general. Womens status is in traditional family is secondary, so is the status of girl child. Women are considered burden to the family. Due to her secondary status women are also deprived of the rights and privileges given to the men fork in the family. This secondary status has direct bearing on her health status as well.

Family as a Social Unit

5)

3.12

FURTHER READINGS

Bottomore, T.B. (1972) Sociology ---- A Guide to Problems and Literature, (Third Impression), Blackie and Son (India, Ltd.) Chakraborty, B. (1992) AIDS --- Fighting the Fear and the Virus, Swasth Hind, (Nov.-Dec. 1992), Vol. XXXVI, No. 11-12, New Delhi. Chatterjee, M. (1993) Occupational Health of Self-employed Women Workers, Health for Millions, Vol. No. 1, (Feb. 1993,) Women and Health Series, VHAI, New Delhi. Desai, M. (1993) Family Dynamics and Developmental Programmes: Curriculum Planning, Indian Journal of Social Work (Jan., 1993) Special Issue --Family Development, Vol. LIV, No. 1, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Bombay. Goode, W. J., Principles of Sociology, New Delhi, 1977. International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences (1972), Vol. 15. Mazumdar, D.N., Madan, T.N. (1988), An Introduction to Social Anthropology, National Publishing House, New Delhi. Mehryar , A. (1992) AIDS Education at School and at Work, Swasth Hind (Nov.-Dec.1992), Vol. XXXVI, No. 11-12, New Delhi. Parsons, Talcott, The Social System, New York, 1951. Patnaik, R. (1991) Women in Society, Social Implications of Reproductive Technology with Special Focus on Indian Women, M.Phil. Dissertation, Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Sathyamala C., et al (1986) Taking Sides --- The Choice Before a Health Worker, ANITRA, 32nd Cross, Besant Nagar, Madras. Tribhuwan, R.D. (1993) Maternal and Child Health Care; Beliefs and Practices of Thakurs, Journal of Education and Social Change. Uberoi, P. (ed), Family, Marriage and Kinship, Asia Publishing House, New Delhi, 1993. UNDP (1992) AIDS and Asia: A development Crisis, Report on 2nd International AIDS Congress for Asia and the Pacific, New Delhi. UNICEF (1987) Lesser Child -The Girl Child. VHAI (1992), State of Indias Health, VHAI New Delhi.

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