7. Marriage & Family Flashcards
Joint family / extended family?
Affinal kin (related by marriage) will love together with Conseaguineal kin (related through blood)
Define marriage?
- Sexual relation between partner (Doesn’t exclude sexual relationships with others)
- Regulation of sexual division of labor, some are biological (childbirth and nursing) but many are cultural norms
- Support and legitimacy of children, an environment that supports child development, and legitimate heirs to family property.
How does anthologists see marriage? (exchange)
Marriage can be seen as a partnership between two families who join together in a relationship based on exchange.
Survival and mutual support by sharing resources.
Families of orientation?
Blood-related members
Family of procreation?
Family unit created by marriage or partnership, including children
Serial monogamy?
Marriage to one partner at the time, in a succession of partner
Why do we have monogamy in Western societies?
Settlers and colonizers imposed strict catholic rules, probation again divorce, multiple spouses and adoption
Monogamy works best in societies with independence training.
Polygamy?
Marriage practice of having two or more spouses
Group marriage?
Multiple spouses of each sex
Polygyny? + Biocultural perspektive
Having two or more wives at the same time
Biocultural perspective, many women allow the family to grow quickly through pregnancy
Many men die of violence so there might be a surplus of women
Women are often mistreated and viewed as property in these societies.
Polyandry? when beneficial?
The women take two or more husbands
Less common but can be beneficial when limits of population growth help the group to survival
Fraternal polyandry?
Women may marry brothers to keep their landholdings intact.
Exogamy? why good socially and bioculturally
Marriage partners must come from different groups
Socially, linking people from different communities creating alliances
Biocultural, more genetic diversity -> limits interbreeding
Endogamy? Seen in what society+ consequences
Require marriage partners to be from the same social group
Seen in societies with strong ethnic, religious, or socio-economic class divisions
Serve to maintain a homogenous group, but reduce genetic diversity
Incest taboo? + why a cultural universal (Westermark effect)
Prohibition against sexual relationships with the immediate family
Why is insect taboo a universal? (Psycological, social, political and biological)
Westermark effect, children who are raised together early develop sexual attraction
“Role Confusion” undermines successful social interaction
Forcing people to seek partners outside the family creates social, economic stability and political alliances
Loss in genetic diversity, higher potential for genetic diseases
Household?
Domestic unit of residence, not necessarily a family unit
Nuclear family?
One or two generations living together. A conjugal couple, or parents and kids
Neolocal?
Residence pattern in which a husband and wife move to their own household after marriage.
The least common residence type in the world most common is extended family.
Matrilocal residence?
Husbands join their wives families of orientation
Common where land is held by the women family
Patrilocal residence?
Wives join their husband’s families of orientation
Most common residence pattern
Marriage compensation?
Gifts or services exchange between the families of the bride and groom
Depends on the cultural context: Who is losing a family member and who is gaining one?
Bride price?
Form of marriage compensation in which the family of the groom is required to present gifts to the wives family (patrilocal residence)
Bride service?
Form of marriage compensation in which the family of the groom is required to work for the brides family (patrilocal residence)
Dowry?
Gifts or money or goods from the bride’s family to the groom to compensate for the loss of their son
Also given in neolocal societies, to help the new couple start their household
Also in patrilocal societies, due to cultural values that encourage families to marry their daughters into a higher class
Dowry death?
Death of women who live in the home of their in-laws due to unmet dowry demands
Arranged marriage?
Parents find a suitable husband or wife for their child. The norm for most of human history.
Kinship? Provide structure for?
Family relations, involves a complex set of expectations and responsibilities
Provide structure for:
Regulating sexual activity
Raise children
Divide labor
Fictive kinship?
“Family” of unrelated individuals who have family-like bonds. Referring to each other as brothers or sisters
Nurture kinship?
Non-blood relationships based on mutual caring and attachment. Example a mentor and a mentee
Queer kinship?
Family-like bonds between members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Descent group? + Partilineal & Matrilinal
Tracing one’s descent along one family line
P: Fathers
m: Mothers
Bilateral descent?
Trace genealogy through both the mother’s and father’s lines
