Cultural, Social and Political Institutions

Kinship, marriage and the

household
Review:

How do groups influence one’s

identity?
Kinship
 A social institution that refers to relations
formed between members of society and
explains the nature and reason for the
formulation of the different types of
bonds that exist in the society
 The bond of blood or marriage that binds
people in a group
 Traceable ancestry based on blood,
marriage or adoption
 Types of Kinship

By blood • Unilineal
(Consanguineal) • Bilateral

By marriage • Relations developed when

marriage occurred
(Affinal)
With so many couples living together and
having children, is marriage becoming
obsolete?
Class Survey
1. Average age of marriage (compare
grandparents, parents and children’s
generation if known)
2. Any married couples that stayed living
with the parents after getting married?
3. Number of children per couple (max.)
4. Frequency of separation (% divorced
Separatedcouples in extended
family) and remarriage
5. Grandparents residing with their
children’s or grandchildren’s family or
independently
6. Same-sex legal unions or marriages
7. Same-sex couples with children
through IVF, surrogacy, or adoption
8. Interracial, intercultural or interfaith
marriages
The Concept of Family: Where it
begins
Marriage is a legally recognized social
contract between two people, traditionally
based on a sexual relationship and implying
a permanence of the union

The state of being united as spouses in a

consensual and contractual relationship
recognized by the law
What is Family
Socially recognized group (usually joined by
blood, marriage or adoption) that forms
emotional connection and serves as an
economic unit of society.
 Types of Family

Extended Nuclear

Orientation Procreation

Family
Types of Marriage

Monogamy Polygamy Endogamy Exogamy

- Social -Polygyny –within -outside
-Sexual -Polyandry locality, the clan,
clan or locality or
-Genetic tribe tribe
-Marital
-Serial
Postmarital Residence Rule

Patrilocal Matrilocal

Biolocal
Marriage in Asia
 For Westerners, marriage choices tend to be based on individual notions of love or
romance, or at least that is how we see it. But in much of China, marriage is, first and
foremost, about family and community. Divorce, though rising in some countries,
remains comparatively rare. In contrast, half of marriages in some Western countries
end in divorce, and half of all children are born outside wedlock. [Source: The
Economist; Brook Larmer, New York Times, May 3, 2010]
 Asians have traditionally regarded marriages as a bonding of families rather than
individuals. People are not seen in the Christian view as individual children of God
but rather as members of family. These ideas are at least partly rooted in ancestor
worship and Confucianism.
 Marriages are not religious events in Buddhism. Sometimes monks are invited so the
couple and their relatives can obtain religious merit. The event is sanctioned by the
community and relatives and often oriented as much to show respect for parents as
sanction the union between a man and woman.
 Arranged marriages are common. These days arranged marriages are yielding to
Western-style "love matches" among the young middle classes. Traditional marriage
patterns have also been altered by the increased number of working women and
women seeking careers.
 Polygamy was one common place in Asia. Arab sheikhs and eastern potentates often
sired 500 children or more.
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2017
Challenges and threats Filipino Families Face

Disintegration of the Parental

Substance Abuse
Family Absenteeism

Rising incidence of
Absence of Family
early sexual
Economic Difficulties goals and
involvement and
deteriorating values
teenage pregnancies

Strong negative
influence of social
Media on family

Mabasa, G.(2012). Challenges and Threats to Filipino Families