Is The Nuclear Family Universal? Case Studies Flashcards
What are the 6 case studies?
The Nayar Tribe The Oneida Community The Russian Experiment Kibbutzim in Israel Polyandrous relationships in Nepal Female - Care Core
Nayar tribe
Where did they live?
South India prior to British rule in 1792
Nayar tribe
Who studied it and when?
Kathleen Gough and 1959
Nayar tribe
What they find about women?
One a female reached puberty, she would take a number of “sandbanham” husbands
Nayar tribe
How many husbands would a woman take?
Typically 12 husbands
Nayar tribe
Do the husbands take responsibility for any offspring?
No, any man within the community could claim to be the father and support the woman with the cost of the child
Nayar tribe
Often, who will look after the woman?
The woman’s brother could help support with the child
Nayar tribe
What does it say about Murdocks claim?
Gough beloved that it countered his claim as there was no ‘marriage’ nor was the biological parents an economic unit supporting the child
The Oneida community
Who was it founded by?
John Humphrey Noyes
The Oneida community
What would noyes do?
Partner young males with menopausal women to introduce them to sex without pregnancies
The Oneida community
What hell ended to those who had passed before noyes’ committee?
Whey could breed with a person of the committees choosing
The Oneida community
Does this go against Murdocks claim?
Yes because there was no reproduction done by a couple in a socially approved sexual relationships
The Russian experiment
What was there an attempt to do?
There was a deliberate attempt to destroy the traditional nuclear family which was seen as a tool of capitalism
The Russian experiment
What things were abolished?
Marriage and divorce and people could choose who they had relationships with
The Russian experiment
What things were introduced to free women from domestic work?
Nurseries, laundrettes and canteens
The Russian experiment
What happened to the children if a woman was at work?
They would be taken care of whilst the parents worked
The Russian experiment
What happened to the children during the experiment?
They became psychologically disturbed by the instability of their environment as parents went through many partners
The Russian experiment
What does this say about Murdocks claim?
Agree - in the absence of a nuclear family, social problems will be encountered
Disagree - not all forms of family include parents looking after children
Kibbutzim in Israel
Who are they?
A collective community in Israel
Kibbutzim in Israel
What % of the population live in the Kibbutzim?
4%
Kibbutzim in Israel
What do the members do?
Work to help the community - this includes sharing childcare
Kibbutzim in Israel
Until recently, what would the children do?
Live separate from their parents in children dormitories
Kibbutzim in Israel
Nowadays, where do children live?
With their parent sin the kibbutzim though will spend some days apart from their parents
Kibbutzim in Israel
What does this say about Murdocks claim?
Communal living and shared responsibility mean that the nuclear family might not be universal
Polyandrous relationships in Nepal
What is polyandry and where is it practised?
It is when a woman has one than one husband and it is practised in countries with limited natural resources in order to limit the number of children born
Polyandrous relationships in Nepal
Who is the father if a woman gives birth?
All the husbands a woman has are considered the father
Polyandrous relationships in Nepal
What is the point in having more than one husband?
If a husband dies, the woman and child will be taken care of by the other husbands
Polyandrous relationships in Nepal
What does it say about Murdocks claim?
It does not involve two adults of different genders engaging in a socially approved sexual relationship
Female care core
Who is the founder?
Yasmin Sheeran
Female care core
What did Sheeran argue about female care core?
It is the most common basic unit of the family
Female care core
What is female care core?
Primary care within the family is usually female
Female care core
What kind of societies is this found in?
Sheeran argued that it is typical in all societies whether that being contemporary or pre industrial society
Female care core
Is the primary care always the mother?
No but it is typically a female relative such grandmother or a sister
Female care core
What does Sheeran say about a mans role?
She doesn’t deny that men play an important role in the upbringing of a child but highlights that it is typically women
What does Robert Chester think about the nuclear family?
He thinks that it is still dominant in British society
What are the 2 pieces of information that support Chesters claim?
Nearly half of he population live in a nuclear family
Someone will be apart of a nuclear family at one point in their life
What does Chester call the nuclear family?
The “neo-conventional family”
What does a “neo-conventional family” mean?
That Chester recognises the growing number of women who work outside the home and that the male is no longer the breadwinner
