team 7 final report

The Gender Roles within Families

and

The Power and Status between Family Members.

Assignment 6

Researchers

Kohei Yamazaki charlotte49kohei@gmail.com

Tiffany Morris tnmorri1@gmail.com

Mohamed Safodien rsafodien43@gmail.com

Introduction

Gender inequality takes many different forms, depending on the economic structure and social organization of a particular society and on the economic structure and on the culture of any particular group within that society. Although we speak of gender inequality, it is usually women who are disadvantaged relative to similarly situated men (Lorber, 4).

Women often receive lower pay for the same or comparable work, and they are frequently blocked in their chances for advancement, especially to top positions. There is usually an imbalance in the amount of housework and child care a wife does compared to her husband, even when both spend the same amount of time in paid work outside the home. When women professionals are matched with men of comparable productiveness, men still get greater recognition for their work and move up career ladders faster. On an overall basis, gender inequality means that work most often done by women, such as nursing, is paid less than work most often done by men, such as construction and mining (Lorber, 4).

The main point of gender inequality is that it is not an individual matter, but it is deeply ingrained in the structure of societies. Gender inequality is built into the organization of marriage and families, work and the economy, politics, religions, the arts and other cultural productions, and very language we speak. Making women and men equal necessitates social and not individual solutions (Lorber, 6).

Irrespective of geographical and cultural differences, everybody in the world has some experience of family. There is also a strong tendency that men and women tend or are expected to fulfill different roles in the family. Men tend to be “providers” and women are expected to do some “caring duties” work. Those roles tend to be constructed or assigned socially. According to the socially constructed view, men are more powerful than women in society. This type of view is why our group has come up with two prominent themes within the readings and interviews which are the gender roles within families, and the power and status between familiy members.

Literature Review: Family Practices

Family practices have been researched by a number of family theorists. This assignment provided a review of various family theorists commentary regarding family practices. These include an exploration of how gender impacts on the division of labor within the family context , the impact of cultural or religious practices on the functioning of families and the role of children in their contribution towards household work

Perry-Jenkins explores in her article the crucial question of “Why do men perform less household work than their wives when their wives are employed full-time?” [1994:171]. Perry-Jenkins quotes Beck [1985] who conducted a research and found that women contribute 70% towards household work. Here again Perry- Jenkins attempts to unpack this issue by focusing on Blood and Wolf’s [1960] Resource Theory. According to this theoretical position the issue of “time” in the performance of paid work is seen as a resource. The family member who spends the most amount of time engaged in the performance of paid employment outside the family home will have the least amount of time to perform household duties. In the study women spent the least amount engaged in paid employment and thus had more resource – time- to engage in household work than men. This theoretical position was however modified by later theorist such as Ferrce [1987]. Ferrce argued that “time”is not the only resource but also how valuable the paid employment is for the family. In the context of a ‘patriarchal society men’s work is generally perceived as more important than women’s work. According to Baker [2001] studies conducted on family practices in New Zealand , Canada and Australia have noted that there has been a significant increase in the participation of women in the paid labor market since World War II in comparison to men where a decrease has been observed. A study done in 1995 showed that women have more part time employment than men do and that women who are married have a higher chance of working as well. Single mothers are more likely to have the poorest jobs, low economic standing, and were lower in their education achievement (Baker pg 151). Even though women are engaging more in “out of home” work and bring in money for the family the male/husband still has control over the finances for the majority of families. Women in most of the above-mentioned nations still do most if not all of the housework and the child rearing. Sullivan [2004] expressed the opinion that the power of cultural beliefs exist in maintaining traditional gender arrangements, despite important gender mainstreaming changes, may mean that men and women continue to act according to gendered expectations regardless of their individual abilities. Overall results show that there is still a great deal of gender differentiation and inequality in these relationships, and these differences appear to be consistent in different racial and ethnic groups. Additionally, individuals’ economic and social-psychological resources (education, etc) and their beliefs about gender and fairness do relatively little to explain their actual gendered behavior. According to Dangor [1985] religion such as Islam also has an impact on family practices. In the Islamic religion marriage and family is regarded as sacred religious practices. The issue of divorce is also raised. Divorce is permitted in Islam but is viewed as a measure of last resort. Once the divorce proceedings are finalised the women is required to complete a period of social withdrawal known as “iddah” This period last for three months or if she is pregnant from her divorced spouse continues for the complete period of her pregnancy. During this “iddah” the women is entitled to full maintenance from her divorced husband. According to Dangor [1985:125] “The children remain in the custody of the divorced mother, unless she is for some reason unfit.”

Rama and Richter [2007:136] states that “Children are assigned a subordinate role in a hierarchic structure, and this prescription is done on the basis of culture, generation and gender.” The authors note that contemporary studies have started to explore more proactively the role that children are making towards the fulfillment of household or economic contributions. They state the following :”Empirical evidence for example, from the South Africa Survey of Activities of Young People (SAYP)(Stats SA 2000a,2000b) regarding the reasons children engage in economic activities for pay, profit and economic family gain, show that 58.6 per cent of children report that it is part of their duty to help the family,…”[2007:143] In examining the study conducted by Rama and Richter [2007] they documented how children in the South African context are engaged in various household activities. The authors used the responses of 2855 participants in the 10-17 year old age group. The analysis identified the following household duties that children perform ; cooking, cleaning and care of textiles ;collection of fuel, firewood and dung; collection of water ;chopping wood; tending animals, fish farming and gardening related activities; childcare and other caring-related activities. The authors analysis of these activities suggested that children tend to perform these activities more often in their own households than in other households. The analysis of the data also revealed that girls tend to be more engaged in most of these activities with the exception of tending for animals which is traditionally viewed as a male activity. It was however noted by the authors that boys also fulfill a number of the above-mentioned activities. The most important aspect made by the authors was their concern that a number of these activities were conducted at the expense of educational activities. They suggest that the issue of the strenuous nature of the work , the time-spent on doing the activity and how this impacts on the child’s participation in educational activities must be further examined. They conclude their article by stating that this study provides empirical evidence that children do make an important contribution to household work.

It is evident from these literature that social indicators such as gender , age and culture does have a significant influence on family practices. The literature provides empirical evidence that these social indicators does impact on the functioning of families in various social settings. A question that may however be raised in the review of the literature is whether these social indicators only exert negative impacts on family practices or do they fulfil positive roles in the functioning of families. The research project thus intends to find an empirical answer to this question.

Method

Participants/Procedures

There were three participants for this research. Those participants are all from a different place representing the United States of America, Japan, and Republic of South Africa. There was a wide diversity in terms of age. The participants of the U.S. and Japan were in the early twenties, and the one of South Africa was in the her thirties. Each of our interviewers conducted a life story interview with one of the family members. The interviewers used the opportunity to gather information from a number of resources (e.g. Interviews with family members, diaries, letters, photographs and other documents). Prior to the participants’ involvement in this interview, every participant was briefed by the student researcher regarding the nature and purpose of the study. The participants were also required to read and sign an informed consent form before participating in the study. Then, specific instructions were given to the participants about the logistic and conditions to follow for the proper functioning of this study. The first step was to ask the participants to express freely their life history and assign them to answer the questions that each interviewer selected. The final step was to analyze the data that we have gotten to see if there were any similarities and differences that exist between the participants (American, Japanese, and Southern African). Their participation in this interview was entirely voluntary (no coercion or an expectation of compensation was done to ensure participation). Then, the participants were exposed and asked question regarding their family practices.

Several materials were used for the proper functioning of this study. First, informed consent forms from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of the Western Cape for each participant. Second, quite environment where the participants answered a number of questions was needed for the study. Third, the PLA book was used to enhance the researchers’ techniques and behaviors prior to conduction a life history interview. Lastly, a computer was needed where all the data was stored and analyzed.

Limitations and Strengths

This study has some limitations. First, the age range for the samples is not too homogeneous. Next time if we do the same kind of research, we will try to avoid the influence of age extremes. If you were born in the sixties you tend to have a different experience from one that was born in the nineties. Second, we should have gotten more samples for the study; probably the sample number should have been double at least. On the other hand, the research sample, covering almost all the regions of the world (Christian, Muslim, and non-religious practiced nation), provides valuable information about international family practices. Lastly, we should have debriefed what we were researching on after all steps were completed with the results. The participants knew and were debriefed about the true purpose of the experiment before participating the study.

A set of tools known as PLA (Participatory Learning and Action) was used in order to obtain a greater understanding of the reality of the people, and involve them in the entire project cycle. As matter of fact, it was a good strength to make our research data richer.

Results

Our themes are the division of labor in family, the issue of gender, children’s role in the family and issues around culture and its impact on families. These themes were chosen from our readings in Assignment 4 as a team collectively we have come up with these themes. They are also reinforced within the information we learned from the interviews we conducted with three different people from three different lifestyles.

The readings conducted have a lot of information about how the division of labor is dispersed which also ties into the gender issue as well. The readings state in a couple different instances that women are moving up in the workforce but Perry-Jenkins rose a great question “Why do men perform less household work than their wives when their wives are employed full-time?” [1994:171]. Perry Jenkins also goes to state that women do 70% of the household work. Women do most of the household work voluntarily and without noticing that the men really aren’t doing anything because the men feel more powerful and that their job means more than the woman’s job. The other way to look at it is that women bring some money into the family and are still doing the household work which is like a whole other job. The interviews that we conducted proved this concept when in the Japanese household both parents did work and bring money into the family but still the wife did most of the household work. The Japanese participant stated “My mother is always involved in preparing food and cleaning house (specifically living room and shared space). Domestic labor in the house is performed by my mom voluntarily”. The gender issue falls into this category because of the division of “men’s work” and “women’s work.” Most of the time people feel as if men are in control and men run things but these days women are trying to get involved with being in control and it is becoming more accepting but still not fully accepted. The interviews showed that basically whoever brings the most money into the household is the person in charge of the finances and major decision making for the family. “Rubery and her colleagues note that in many European countries women remain overqualified relative to men in comparable jobs, and that women receive lower returns to education than do men” (Irwin pg. 6). There needs to be an explanation of why then are men still getting higher positions and higher pay if women are as qualified or more qualified than men. The situation seems a little skewed to me that women who are overqualified for a position still won’t get it or get lower pay than a man who is under qualified. Then again on the other hand whoever brings in the most money to a household will receive the most power in the household so really women never even have a chance to be in control or in power. The South African participant stated “No. The females in the family do not enjoy equal access to the family business. At the moment only the males or my brothers have an opportunity to enjoy the family business that my father established. My brothers currently manage my father’s business while we females have little say”. The South African Participant also said “Definitely. I think males get taken more seriously than females. Males can do more things than females”. This would prove the fact in her case that there is a difference between the gender issues if her own father won’t let her have the opportunity to enjoy the family business.

The theme of children’s role in the family was pretty much the same throughout all the participant’s. The South African participant stated that “Children can be given a chance to give their ideas because their ideas are fresh and our ideas are old. I however do not also give my children an opportunity to give their ideas.” The Northern American participant stated that “They disciplined me as a child but not as an adolescent.” The interviews conducted shows that in both families children were not really given much of a voice at a younger age and parents normally made the decisions for them. Whenever the children grew into adolescents they were given more of a voice and they had more of a chance to make their own decisions. Things are normally this way because children can’t really make their own decisions anyway because they don’t really have the knowledge to make good legitimate decisions for themselves.

The last theme which is culture and its impact on families was a very different concept just because the interviews were three different people from different continents so definitely three different cultures. The Japanese participant said “We have some types of rituals and ceremonies held in the family, like weddings and funerals. Those events are attended by family members”. The Northern American participant said “Birthday Parties, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, mother’s day, father’s day, thanksgiving, new years, Weddings, Deaths, and Newborns. We throw parties spend time with family and the entire family prepares a meal everyone pitches in. We always give out gifts no matter what occasion. My aunt makes Easter baskets for everybody”. The South African participant said “As a Muslim this is very important. I grew up in a family where my parents made sure that our religion and culture was active. We had to learn all the requirements of our religion and also follow the traditions. I also expect this in my own family. My childern is also expected to learn all the ways of our religion”. Every participant had their own way of celebrating events and designated people to do things for certain events. The South African participant did have a very strict household since she was Muslim, which also entailed her to learn the requirements of her religion which she will also pass down to her children. The Northern American participant had a more lax household “My parents didn’t believe in discipline. They felt that I would have to learn things the hard way” which would lead to a different type of culture and religion. There were the differences in the cultures but the one thing that each family did the same was to respect the elders of the family. Each participant’s interview all said something about how the elders were respected and taken care of.

The interviews and the literatures were great tools on learning how other households function and also relate to one another. When doing the assignment our group was able to find a few themes that were the division of labor in family, the issue of gender, children’s role in the family and issues around culture and its impact on families. The group has done a lot and learned a lot from the assignments given and the interviews taken about these themes.

Analysis

After the research data had been collected, I learned that everybody in the world has some experience of family, irrespective of geographical and cultural differences. There is evidence that men and women do tend or are expected to fulfill different roles in the family. Those roles tend to be constructed or assigned socially. According to socially constructed view, men are more powerful than women in society.

Social makers, such as race, gender and age, may raise the issue of whether these social markers have an adverse impact on the social functioning of a family. Speaking of race, there was a system of legal racial segregation called Apartheid in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. One of our participants, who has experienced Apartheid, said that predominant white culture took over the nation and the native people (black or “colored”) when the racial segregation was enforced. The participant indicated that the dominant white people had much better standard of living, including better access to education and medical care. It seems unreal that a native person of Africa has to go through the legal racial segregation system of “non-whites” from “whites” when the “non-whites” make up 75 % of the population.

We had also collected data from a Japanese person and an American person. Japan is a uni-racial society where only one race (Japanese) is represented so that there is not a particular racial discrimination rooted in the society. America, on the other hand, is a multi-racial society where so many nationalities are represented. You see whites, blacks, and Asians but none of them are actually from a same country or have a same genetic root (e.g. there are many kinds of white people. She could be from Canada or Mexico and white). In spite of having so much human “diversity,” America functions well as a multicultural nation. To sum up this topic of race, racial inequality eventually leads to social inequality as we can see what happened in South Africa in the past.

In terms of gender, people have to fit into two and only two socially recognized and legal genders in Western societies—“men” and “women.” The members of these two major status categories are supposed to be different from each other, and the members of the same category are supposed to have essential similarities. Work and family roles, as well as practically all other aspects of social life, are built on these two major divisions of people. This gendering produces the gendered social order. Gender inequality is built into the structure of the gendered social order because the two statuses—women and men—are treated differently and have significantly different life chances (Lorber, 7).

According to our research, in families different roles are performed by men and women. Gender has an impact on power in the family. Generally speaking, men tend to take leadership in the family as a “provider,” on the other hand women tend to do “caring” jobs regarding the traditional roles identified. Based on our findings, women of the household do most of the household chores and men tend to be responsible for the ownership of family property. When it comes to social opportunities (job opportunities), women can get ignored more easily than men. In fact, men have more access to education, which leads to more opportunities in business.

However, there are some good outcomes of modern gender practices. Today’s young men and women are likely to enjoy more egalitarian relationships ever in which they have less differentiated gender roles if both parents (or partners) are engaged in paid labor. In more equal sharing families, men and women are likely to have similar economic standing. This trend indicates that economic demands become substitutes for each other in terms of the caring of children.

When it comes to power and status, family members are perceived based on age, gender, race and class. According to our findings on the research, older and elderly family members are treated with great deal of respect worldwide, which indicates that age plays an important part in families. Prior to adolescence, children tend to have very limited power. Reaching to adolescence or “early adulthood,” children become more involved in decision-making. One thing to add, children of today have more opportunities in education and have more contribution to society ever. Social economic status plays a significant role in the family as well. Family members who have greater economic status also have more power in the family.

To sum up our findings, dominant themes of three family households (South African, Japanese, and American) in different social settings proved a valuable exercise. The concept of “family” and “household” is a universal human experience; however family practices are impacted by its social setting you are in. Knowing each nation’s perspective on family practices offers immense value to developing a more global perspective of family practices.

Conclusion

The assignment of the interviews leads to be a valuable assignment in understanding the word “family” around the world. The analysis of the interviews had some similarities and differences about what “family” and household” means to each interviewee and in turn how much can be learned from each individual experience. My group has learned a tremendous amount about the gender roles within families, and the power and status between family members. There are many other themes discussed and learned as well but these two were the most prominent.

The researchers were able to find two main themes presented within the interviews. The first was the gender roles within the family and even though each family had a different standpoint they all had a general idea of the roles that men and women will play within the household. Each one understood what the male duties were and female duties even if on occasion they crossed it was still an underlying known fact that mostly the women play the caring roles and the men play the providing roles. The South African interviewee had grown up in a household where the male was the provider and moneymaker for the family but in her household she is the one in charge. The Japanese family participant did say that the parents could directly interchange into either position or role like how it was stated the male would still participate in caring duties. Even though this could be done it was also stated that the mother did cook and clean though voluntarily it was still the mother who played the caring role of taking care of the household chores. The gender roles within each family were defined and all roles were similar which lead to the researchers learning a great deal about the gender roles in three different households on different continents.

The second theme presented in the analysis was the power and status between family members. Each family seemed to have a greater respect for the elders within the family because all participants mentioned the status of the elders to be greater than the rest. The Northern American participant stated that when her grandfather died her family kind of fell apart because the elder that everyone respected wasn’t there anymore to hold the family together. The families also mentioned that in every instance the younger children had no say and the parents were the decision makers in deciding where they went to school and what activities they participated in. When the children grew older they had more say in decision making and what they wanted to do until they eventually left the house and started their own family. All the families also had a great respect for whoever made the most money in the family and took care of the family. The respect they had for those individuals also gave them a since of power because whoever the “bread winner” is for the family is the person mostly in control of the finances and most family decisions. The Northern American interviewee had stated that her father was the provider therefore he was the person in charge of all finances and decision making. The micro reseearch project also provided empirical evidence that children also and is expected to make an active contribution to household duties. It was also noted that even in this area gender stereotypes appears to have been reinforced between boys and girls.

The interviews done were a learning experience for each researcher when reviewing the material and writing the analysis. This was a great assignment because now we all have a feel for how similar and different other families are and how they operate, neither is better or worse because each family has a sense of distinction and originality. The group now knows that we didn’t know before how each family similar and different operates with the gender roles within families and the power and status between family members.

Bibliography

Baker , Maureen. Families, Labour, and Love. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2001. Print.

Dangor,S 1985 Aspects of Family Life in the South African Indian Community. Department of Social Work. University of Durban-Westville, Durban. Institute for Social and Economic Research.

Irwin , Sarah. "Workshop Paper ." Conceptualising Social Change: Family, Work and the Changing Pattern of Social Reproduction. 7.a (2000): 1-18. Print.

Lorber, Judith. Gendered Inequality: Feminist Theory and Politics (4^th edition). Oxford University Press (2010).

Perry-Jenkins, M 1994: Gender,Families and Close Relationships- Feminist Research Journeys. Chapter 8 The Family Division of Labor – All work is not created equal. London. Sage Publications.

Rama,S & Richter,LM 2007: Families and Household in post-apartheid South Africa- socio-demograhic perspectives. Chapter 7.Children’s household work as a contribution to the well-being of the family and household. South Africa. HSRC Press.

Sullivan, Oriel. Changing Gender Practices within the Household: A Theoretical Perspective. GENDER & SOCIETY, Vol. 18 No. 2, April 2004 207-222.

Appendix

Appendix A

Dear Participant

The University of the Western Cape and the University of Carolina, in the United States of America, have joined to conduct research with regard to families. This research is part of a larger teaching and learning project called, South African Families and Households. The purpose of the joint project is to join instructors, who teach, and students, who learn, at these two institutions. The focus is on Family Studies: How similar and different families are in different countries/cultures. The team of designers and instructors of this project are the following people:

Vivienne Bozalek; University of the Western Cape

Judy Aulette ; University of North Carolina

Nicolette Roman; University of the Western Cape

Jules Nshimirimana; University of the Western Cape

The abovementioned people have been and are still involved with this teaching and learning project and wish to share the experiences of the project with a wider audience. This information will be shared through

conference presentations and by writing journal articles and book chapters on the work achieved in this project. This letter is to ask you whether you would be prepared to participate in this study and give us permission to use the information provided by you in this research which will be shared with others.

Please consider the following in your response:

You are requested to give permission to participate in the study.
Whether or not you give this permission, is entirely your personal decision, and it is entirely voluntary.
There will be no rewards for giving this permission, as there will of course be no penalty for refusing it.
You have a right to withdraw your permission at a later stage – so long as it is before any publication – and we would then not include your story in the research.
We would use your e-learning contributions for the purpose of research only and not for any other purpose.
You may withdraw from the research study at any time.
Your name and any other names you refer to will not be used and you will therefore be anonymous.
All information provided by you will be strictly confidential.
There are no correct or incorrect answers when participating in this study.

Consent form

I, _________________________________ agree to participate in the study and give the people mentioned above, who have been involved with the planning and implementation of this project, permission to use the material.

I understand that those involved in planning and implementing this teaching and learning project are intending to share the work generated in the module in the form of publications and conference presentations.

I also understand that:

Whether or not to give this permission is a personal decision, and it is entirely voluntary.
There will be no rewards for giving this permission, as there will of course be no penalty for refusing it.
I have the right to withdraw my permission at a later stage – so long as it is prior to any publication – and the researcher/s then refrain from including my story in their research.
The researchers would use my stories/drawings for the purpose of this study only and not for any other purpose.
The identity of myself or any other person included in my story will be protected.

My name above and my signature below indicate my permission to use the material I have generated on the SA Families and Households e-learning course:

Signed at ________________________ (Place) on _______________________ (Date)

__________________________________________ (Name)

PLEASE NOTE:

If you have any further queries in addition to what has been explained in the attached letter or the consent form, please do not hesitate to contact the Course Instructors, whose e-mail details are given at the beginning of the attached letter.

E-mails of Instructors

jraulette@gmail.com

jnshimirimana@gmail.com

vbozaleck@uwc.ac.za

Appendix B

INTRODUCTION

This research exercise can be conducted with a family in the community or your own family.

The purpose of this is to give you an understanding and insight into family practices and how the interaction of socio-economic and political circumstances that may be influencing how different family members are positioned in relation to status and resources, the responsibilities they take and what they are able to do and are not allowed to do.

You will also be required to conduct a life history interview with one of the family members.

You will have the opportunity of gathering information from a number of resources (eg. Interviews with family members, diaries, letters, photographs and other documents). You will be required to get the family members who you interview to fill out a consent form

FAMILY MEMBERS’ LIFE HISTORY

Verbatim Report

Choose one family member for an interview. Write the story of this person’s life history in not more than 4 - 6 pages. This information must be presented as a verbatim account (i.e. a story in the person’s own words).

1.2 Evaluation of the family member’s life history

(a) What have you learnt from hearing this family member’s life story?

(b) Did the person have any difficulty remembering past events?

(d) How did your closeness/distance from this person influence the quality of the information, which you received from this person?

2. THE GENOGRAM

A genogram is a visual representation or picture of the family relatedness, history and structure. It combines demographic date (age, sex and marital status) with dates of important life events such as births, marriages, divorces and deaths. It practically represents the relationship structure of two or more generations of the family (Lieberman, : 68 and Parker&Bradley,(2003 :41). It is necessary for you to ask family member being interviewed to draw a genogram as part of your study of the family. As illustrations, two examples of genograms are included in this handout. Please note that you should include the particulars of at least three generations in the genogram i.e. grandparents, parents, and the student and his/her siblings. (The same obviously applies in cases where you use the particulars of another family.

A genogram is useful for the following reasons:

It can involve family members in viewing the family historically and holistically.

It is a summary of basic information about the family.

2.1 HOW TO CONSTRUCT A GENOGRAM

A genogram is constructed by making use of symbols. The following symbols are normally used:

ÿ Male

O Female

D Sex unknown

Y Miscarriage/ Abortion

Stable (permanent relationship)

---------Short-term relationship

M = Married

D = Divorced

S = Separation;

A = Adopted child

F = Foster child

Passed away (dead)

Remember

(a) An unbroken line ( _______) indicates a long-term heterosexual relationship (e.g. A marriage or Common-law marriage).

(b) A broken line (-----) indicates a short-term relationship such as love affair.

(d) Children are indicated from the eldest to the youngest from left to right on an unbroken line (miscarriages and abortions are also included).

(e) Names and ages or dates of birth are written inside the circle or square.

(f) The dates of marriages are written on top of the line that indicates the association, while the dates indicating a divorce or separation are written below the line.

(g) Draw a dotted line around the family members who comprise the household.

(h) The more detail you include in the genogram the better. You could include family

members’ names, places of residence, and what they are presently doing etc.

2.2 Evaluation of drawing up the genogram

How was the information obtained? Was there any resistance from the family, due to cultural or other reasons, to giving information necessary for the genogram? If so, how did you overcome these difficulties?
How has gathering this information changed your perception of the family?
What new insights have you gained from this exercise?

This section is worth (5) marks

3. An Eco-map

An eco-map is a visual representation or picture (just like genogram) of family connectedness, boundaries and communication patterns. It organises and clarifies data or information on the support, connections and stresses in the family (extended or nuclear family members such parent, child, sibling, community and physical environment

3.1 How to construct an Eco-map?

An eco-map is constructed by making use of symbols. The following symbols are normally used:

ÿ Male

O Female

Passed away (dead)

M = Married

D = Divorced

S = Separation;

A = Adopted child

F = Foster child

(a) A descending line from the relationship between a man and a woman, whether a marriage (unbroken line) or a love affair (broken line) indicates the children who were born of the relationship.

(b) A solid thick line(___________________ )represents important or strong connection

(d) The jagged marks across the line(___________________) represent stressful or conflicted relationship

(e) An arrow ( ---------> )indicates flow of resources, energy or interest

(f) Children are indicated from the eldest to the youngest from left to right on an unbroken line (Death, miscarriages and abortions are also included).

(g) Names and ages or dates of birth are written inside the circle or square.

(h) The dates of marriages are written on top of the line that indicates the

association, while the dates indicating a divorce or separation are written below

the line.

(i) Draw a dotted line around the family members who comprise the household.

(j) The more detail you include in the eco-map the better. You could include family

members’ names, places of residence, that they are presently doing etc. Please

refer to the article in the Hartman (1976) Figure 1-3 Pg71- 73 and page 45-50

Parker Bradley (2003)

3.2 Evaluation of drawing up an eco-map

How was the information obtained? Was there any resistance from the family, due to cultural or other reasons, to giving information necessary for the eco-map? If so, how did you overcome these difficulties?

(b) How has gathering this information changed your perception of the family?

What new insights have you gained from this exercise?

Bradley (2003) article in the readings provided to you.

4. Hourly Activity

4.1 Ask your member to draw up an Hourly Activity Plan to illustrate the different

activities that man, women, boys and girls are/ were involved in.. Please make

use of the information collected under patterns of work and division of labour to

draw up an Hourly Activity Plan.

Hourly Activity Plan

4.2 Comment and analyse the family division of labour activities under the following.

Productive
Reproductive
Community role

4. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FAMILY

Introduction

It is important for us to distinguish between family ideology and the reality of the families we live in. We are led to believe that the Western middle class nuclear family is the norm, which is reinforced through media such as TV serials, advertisements, women’s magazines etc. Research has shown that the majority of people do not live in this idealized situation. There is no universal family form, which exists, but an enormous variety of family structures.

We need to be able to examine the real experiences of African and US families, how they have lived their lives, under what circumstances and how they have been affected by the ideologies of how they should live their lives. For example, in some communities it was believed that children should work from an early age. However, as the new middle classes became more powerful, children’s labour was no longer needed and the popular ideology was that children generally should not work, economically essential (Gittins, 1985).

Another example of how ideology has affected the family is that it has been assumed that all forms of caring and household tasks are essentially women’s unpaid work. Men’s domestic participation has been regarded as voluntary - a man may bath the baby, wash the dishes or sweep the flour if he wishes to, but if he decides not to, nobody will criticize or condemn him.

Gender identities are also constructed and reproduced within the ideology of the family. Violence towards women and children are not rare occurrences, but have cultural sanctions and are seen as a natural extension of a husband’s authority. In South Africa, as well as violence occurring within families, the state and capitalism has in the past used strategies such as migrant labour system, influx control, single sex hostels, the creation of Bantustans and other forms of repression and control. These state practices continue to affect the practices of families and the resources to which they have access. We need to be aware of all these influences when examining family practices.

Listed below are some questions, which could serve as a guide to gathering and reflecting on information. The list is not exhaustive and students should feel free to pursue issues, which are appropriate to their specific families in more detail.

4.1 Dwelling and Organization of Family Life

(a) What type of dwelling does the family live in? How does the family organize the living space? Who sleeps in what room? How is the work and living space divided? How crowded is the household?

(b) How is family defined? Are there families that did not meet traditional definitions?

How are they perceived and treated?

(d) Are there any special arrangements for sick family members (e.g. disabilities, contagious like diseases, TB, HIV and AIDS?

(d) Who constitutes the household? Do married sons and daughters continue to live in their parents’ household? Do ageing parents live in their children’s household, in their dwellings, in residential communities or old age homes? Are there other members of the household who were not living with the family e.g. boarders, domestic workers?

(d) How are orphans and other vulnerable children accommodated?

(e) What effect does the dwelling have on the way the family members relate to each

other and the community?

4.2.1 Patterns of work: Unpaid Labour

(a) Who is involved in the daily preparation of food, cleaning the home? Is

domestic labour in the house performed on a paid or unpaid basis?

(b) Who cares for and rears the children? Who looks after the family members

who are sick, disabled or elderly?

cause on the family?

(d) How did the family deal with infectious diseases like HIV and AIDS and TB?

(e) How are these family members handled? Are they accepted or rejected?

(f) Have family members changed at all in their conceptions of what women’s and

men’s roles in caring for others and domestic chores are?

(g) Are children involved in caring for other family members?

(g) Are the children involved in different work from that of their parents? Why/ why

Not?

(h) Do you think that childcare and housework should be private, unpaid tasks done

only by women? Why/why not? Do you think it should be performed by children? Why/why not?

4.2.2. Pattern of work Paid Labour

(a) Do sons and daughters leave/remain at home when they start work? If they

left, when and why was this?

(b) What is the family’s attitude towards women seeking paid employment?

the household? What sort of work are wage earners involved in and for how

many hours a week? Ask the member to complete the Hourly Activity

Schedule

4.3 Effects of Racism

Dominelli (1991) distinguishes between three types of racism:

4.3.1 Cultural racism - which endorses the supremacy of beliefs and values of white

culture.

4.3.2 Institutional racism - by this is meant the public power and authority which

ration power and resources by excluding Blacks eg. access to empowerment,

education, housing health and welfare resources, land etc.

4.3.3 Personal racism - attitudes and behaviours which result in a negative

prejudgement of racial groups.

Of course the three types of racism are interconnected and the other usually promotes the one.

Questions

In examining the three types of racism identified above explain in detail

a) How have family members been affected by each one?

b) How have family members coped and supported each other in dealing with them?

4.4.1 Family Relationships/Status of Family Members

(a). What status is given to older people within the family’s culture?

(b) How are women viewed within the family? What is their status in relation to other

family members?

(d) How does the family handle spouse, child and elderly abuse? Which age groups are involved in/excluded from this? Are elders of the community/members of the

external family involved?

(e) How does the rearing of children change the status of the women in the family and the family as a whole? How were children treated? Are there different

attitudes towards boys/girls children? Are children regarded as a means and

source of security in old age? Who disciplines the children and

how is it done?

(f) By whom and how are the values and norms in the family transmitted? Name three values that are regarded as most important

(g) Describe patterns of communication in the family.

(h) How are family problems resolved

(h) How is conflict dealt with?

(i) How does the family cope with crises such as imprisonment, death, divorce etc.?

(j) Describe what happens during family meals. Are certain family members given

privileges over others? Where do family members have their meals/ Is everyone

together? Who sits where?

4.4.2 Decision making

(a) How are key decisions made (e.g. having children, approval of marriage, care

of children, sick, elderly, religion etc.)

(b) How are decisions on daily family business made?

4.5.1 Family Rituals and Ceremonies

(a) What is the daily schedule of family members?

(b ) Describe the type of rituals and ceremonies held in the family. How are

weddings, baptisms, deaths, important life cycle stages e.g. adolescence,

initiation and other ceremonies held? Who attends? Where are they held?

What happens at these events? What is the value of the

ritual to the family and its culture?

sport, welfare work, civics etc.)

(d) Religious involvement.

(e) Who visits whom, how frequently and over what period of time? In African

families people simply visited each other irrespective of their status. Has this

changed?

4.5.2 Family and Property

(a) Who owns property in the family and how did they acquire it?

(b) Do the women receive dowries e.g. lobola? What effects did this have on family relationships?

4.5.3 Migration and the Family

(a) Did the family migrate, and if so what were the reasons? (influx control, forced

removals, Group Areas Act, economic reasons, transport problems etc.)

(b) What effect did this have on the family?

4.5.4 Community Resources and Influences

What community resources are not available to assist the family ?

(clinics, chid-care facilities, schools, , welfare organisations and libraries).

(b) What effect does the lack or availability or resources have on family life?

(b) What other resources are available which the family could turn in cases of

crises and problems? E.g chief, elders and friends

benefit of the family? How are services advertised?

(d) Are community resources seen as a first or last resort in solving a family

problem? Explain.

(e) If there is a lack of resources what does the family ascribe this to and what

action have family members taken to obtain these resources?

(f) Evaluate the community’s influence on the family (drugs, gangs, friendships, how

education is valued in the community, civic affairs intercommunity conflicts)