SOCI 1F90 Lecture 4: Lecture Four
7 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
The family: a haven in a heartless world. Standard north american family (cid:498))t is a conception of the family as a legally married couple sharing a household. The adult male is in paid employment; his earnings provide the economic basis of the family-household. The adult female may also earn an income, but her primary responsibility is to the care of the husband, household, and children. Adult male and female may be parents (in whatever legal sense) of children who also reside in the household(cid:499) (cid:523)smith, (cid:853)99(cid:855), p. 5(cid:854)(cid:524). This mythical model (or snaf) of the family functions like an (cid:498)ideological code(cid:499) and embodies two distinctive features: a nuclear unit, a gendered division of labour. Women are primarily responsible for the social reproduction of the family, but it is not as valued as the work of men. Mythical ideal: to be warm and happy, mutually satisfied in harmonious ways.
