UPSC MAINS SOCIOLOGY SYLLABUS – Paper 1 – Chapter 9 – Systems of Kinship
(a) Family, household, marriage.
(b) Types and forms of family.
(c) Lineage and descent
(d) Patriarchy and sexual division of labour
(e) Contemporary trends.
STRUCTURE OF FAMILY
- Structure means composition and relationships in kinship terms i.e. persisting patterns of relations which form the basis of kinship organization.
- Structural studies are influenced by the size of family and its organization in terms of roles and authority.
- The structure of the family can be studied both as a social institution in itself and also in its relationship to other social institutions of society.
- In itself a family can be defined as nuclear or extended.
- It can be male- headed or female-headed.
- The line of descent can be matrilineal or patrilineal.
- This internal structure of the family is usually related to other structures of society, namely political, economic, cultural etc.
TRADITIONAL FAMILY STRUCTURE
- A “conjugal” family includes only a husband, a wife, and unmarried children who are not of age. In sociological literature, the most common form of this family is often referred to as a nuclear family.
- In contrast, a “consanguineal” family consists of a parent, his or her children, and other relatives. Consanguinity is defined as the property of belonging to the same kinship as another person.
Features - Size – Nuclear family, joint family and extended family. Extended family is a sort of group of several nuclear families and it may be vertically or horizontally expanded. Joint family may be considered a particular type of extended family.
- Authority relationships – Dominant form is ‘patriarchal’ form. Eldest male exercises authority in family, known as Karta in traditionally Hindu family.
- Kinship bonds within family – Conjugal bonds are strong, but subordinate to consanguinal bonds. Filial bonds are stronger, but built on respect with limited interaction in case of father and child.
CHANGING FAMILY STRUCTURE
- One parent households, cohabitation, same sex families, and voluntary childless couples are increasingly common.
- Cohabitation is an intimate relationship that includes a common living place and which exists without the benefit of legal, cultural, or religious sanction.
- While homosexuality has existed for thousands of years among human beings, formal marriages between homosexual partners is a relatively recent phenomenon.
- Voluntary childlessness in women is defined as women of childbearing age who are fertile and do not intend to have children.
REASONS FOR CHANGE IN FAMILY STRUCTURE
- Industrialization leads to small family sizes which are geographically more mobile. Industrialization also promotes achievement based status and strengthens conjugal bonds.
- Families are today formed as a result of love marriages. Free selection of spouse has introduced romantic element in family.
- Legal factors have improved status of women and children.
- Emergence of alternatives to family and marriages – Cohabitation or live-ins, gay and lesbian partnerships and single parent families are new emerging trends.
- Decline of religious control alters functions of family.
- State policy – Family planning drives.
- Individualization and fluidity in relations has led to less durable bondings.