It is believed that the importance of families have faded in the modern industrial societies due to modernisation, It is said that with modernisation individual and professional lives are considered more important. They said people who first were living traditionally now live liberally and open-mindedly. Despite all the changes in the norms, family is still one of the most important social institution. Living as a nuclear family or as an extended family, family has it’s own significance.
Tag: Social Process
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Sex and Gender
Sex and gender is a highly debatable topic as people believe that they are the same thing yet they are not. Sex refers to the biological difference between men and women,such as genitals, internal reproductive organs and body hair. However, gender refers to the socially constructed differences between the two sexes. It refers to the expected behaviour of the two sexes in a society. The concept of gender gives birth to gender role, which is a pattern of behaviour and activity which society expects from individuals of either sex. For example, a boy must wash the car and the girl must wash the dishes. The biological explanations evaluate that there are few body roles that only a masculine anatomy can play and a few body roles that only a feminine anatomy can play. It may also effect the social behaviours, yet they argue that a person male or female may fit into the society as independent individuals with equal roles.
Gender roles are considered stereotypical by the feminist point of view as they elaborate that men are the dominant part of the society whereas women are the dependent ones. They say that gender stereotyping starts with the primary socialisation of a child when a girl is bought delicate and reserved to household toys, while a boy is bought tough and outdoor toys. They say that both the boy and girl have the capacity to be both delicate and tough yet such a perception for a child right from the beginning of learning may lead to the stereotypical view about social roles. -
Social Control
Social control is the social process of persuading or forcing individuals to conform to the values and norms. There are two types of social control; formal and informal. Formal social control is that in which the law is used to force people to follow the norms and understand the values of the society. Agencies of formal social control are; police, courts and prison. Informal social control in which people are ethically forced to fit into the norms and respect the values. Agencies of informal social control do not have social control as their main purpose of operation e.g; family. Family is the source of primary socialisation and teaches a child the difference between good and evil and teaches him/her the importance of the culture and norms. Hence, when a child obeys his/her family he/she also practices social control.
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Role Conflict
Role conflict is a scenario in which the same person has to play several roles at the same time. A perfect example of role conflict is a working mother in a serial packet family system, who not only manages the work but also the household. She plays the role of a mother, a wife and an employee at the same time.
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Socialisation
Socialisation is the process of learning by interacting within social institutions. There are two types of socialisation; primary and secondary. Primary socialisation is the basic and initial socialisation of a child. It is the one within the social institution of family i.e; parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives. Secondary socialisation is when a child steps out into the society as an individual and interacts with people beyond the family. It usually begins at school, the institution of education. Such interaction is with teachers and the peer group.