FAMILY- The basic social institution; primary group in

a society.- Is conceived of as composed by parents

and children, with or without relatives, united by bond and love and affection who share common social activities.

- The members interact with each other in their reciprocal roles, supported by a set of norms, attitudes and values drawn mostly from the larger society.

- Plays a potent role in the personality development of the individual and is an influential factor in determining the social organization of the entire society.

- Is regulated by custom and law; gives continuity to the society through its reproductive function.

Marriage – an important institutional element of the family; also an institution which is a cluster of mores and folkways, of attitudes, ideas, and ideals, of social definitions and legal restrictions.

Why do people marry?- Sex or sexual attraction- Love- Economic security- Emotional security- Parents’ wishes- Escape from loneliness or an unhappy

home situation- Money- Companionship- Protection- Adventure- Common interests

Marriage patterns vary from society to society.

Familial Structures Some societies observe the levirate and the

sorority norms.o Levirate: prescribes that a widow should

marry the brother or nearest kin of the deceased husband.

o Sororate: prescribes that a widower should marry the sister or nearest kin of the deceased wife.

Functions of the Family1. Regulates sexual behavior and is the unit

for reproduction.2. Performs the function of biological

maintenance.3. The chief agency for socializing the child.

4. Gives its members status.5. An important mechanism for social control.6. Educational, economic recreational,

religious and political functions.

Structural Characteristics of the Filipino Family Nuclear Family – includes the father,

mother, and children Extended Family – embraces all the

relatives of the father and mother Other important relationships are those of

the siblings and the cousins and of the grandparents and the grandchildren.

The Christian Filipino family has often been described as a large family group, often including three generations in the same home, that is, “extended” in terms of membership.

Among the Moslems the more frequent type of family is the joint family.

Blood kin – play an important role in the Filipino family so that the family may be considered consanguineal. [rural areas – compadre or compadrazgo system; ritual kinsmen]

The Filipino family is frequently said to be a patriarchal in authority.

o Husband – bread earner; the court of last resort on disciplinary problems; turns over the salary

oWife – shares in the struggle for a living; has domain over the household and the rearing of children; treasurer of the family

o They share in decision-making

Jocano: “…Filipino social organization is based on the principles of generation and seniority.

In terms of residence, the Filipino family may be said to be bilocal and neolocal.

o Bilocal - when the couple alternates between the wife’s group and the husband’s group, their household arrangements

o Neolocal – living together at a new residence

The residence of the more influential and affluent family is likely to be the place of residence of the newly married couple.

Filipinos practice endogamy.oOne is likely to marry within one’s locality

grouping, social class, religion, or nationality grouping.

In marriage, monogamy is the norm although polygyny is allowed among the Moslems and other cultural communities.

Courtship and Marriage

Courtship – the stage preparatory to marriage and may include all forms of behavior by which an individual seeks to win the consent of another to a marriage.

o Taboos: incest, premarital relationship

Criteria young people go by in the choice of a marriage partner: physical attraction, congeniality, economic status, intelligence, or similarity in interests, ideas, or likes, parental influence

Chaperonage characterize the relationship between the unmarried man and the unmarried woman in the rural areas.

Church wedding is the accepted practice.

Socialization for Sex Roles

An important function of the family is to socialize the child to learn the behavior patterns which the society expects him to assume when they become an adult.

blue for boys, pink for girls; dolls and kitchens for girls and guns and cars for boys; war games for boys and bahay-bahayan for girls

The parents train their children for work appropriate for their sex.

Pubescent stage: assigned different sleeping quarters; limited activities outside for girls and free to go out for boys

Puberty: girls are expected to be modest, soft-spoken, and gentle in manners; boys are expected to be assertive and aggressive

“feminismo” – characterized by “a desire to get married to have children, to be subordinate yet equal to her husband, to be seductive without being aggressive, to be beautiful, to be educated, to be a companion to her husband, and a mother to her children.

“machismo” – showing sexual prowess and being dominant, showing virility, strength, courage, and being adventurous, expected to be good providers and bread winners the head, and guardian of the family.

Social Change and the Filipino Family

Factors causing social changes: o Geographical mobilityo Increasing populationo Increasing industrialization and urbanizationo The idea of universal educationo The changed status and role of the Filipino

woman

o Diffusion of the mass media

Coller: “…the family patterns in the Philippines have been moving away from what may termed as sacred familism to secular familism.”

o Sacred familism – characterized by adherence to traditional moral values, the presence of an authoritarian figure who is status-dominated, Gemeinschaft interaction, and a traditionalistic, simple technology with a peasant type of economy.

o Secular familism – epitomized by members of the family who still claim success of the family as their goal but whose definition of success has changed to mean a secular, material sort.

Family Planning

1965 – the nationwide movement for the open advocacy of family planning was launched by the newly organized Family Planning Association of the Philippines

It has been launched to raise the quality of life and curb the rapid population growth.

Family planning – a way of regulating and spacing the births of children by married couples and helping childless couples to find out the cause of inability to have children.

Values – enrichment of human health, the right to decide family size, enhancement of opportunities for self-fulfillment

Methods:o Folk methods – postcoital douche,

prolonged lactationo Natural methods – rhythm method,

withdrawalo Biological method – the use of thermometero Physiological method – the use of oral pillsoMechanical method – the use of IUD or

intrauterine device, cervical cap, the diaphragm or condom

o Chemical methods – the use of jellies, creams, foaming, tablets, suppositories

o Surgical methods – involves tubal ligation for women and vasectomy for men