Chapter 8 Overview

Sociologists define families as groups of people related by birth, affinity, or cohabitation. The legal union of two people in marriage facilitates cohabitation and children and sociologists have studied many different types of marriages and families from nuclear to extended.

Families in Canada are undergoing some widespread changes Canadian families in a society in which marriage has been deinstitutionalized, meaning individuals are questioning the role of marriage in their lives and in society. The feminist movement, for example, has given women more control over their lives in contemporary society and women are using their rights to enrol in university and enter the labour market in unprecedented numbers, transforming marriage and families in the process. The decline of religiosity and the rise of individualism and respect for diversity in society have greatly impacted marriage rates and family types in Canada as well.

In the past, marriages were undertaken with a collective focus, a type of marriage known as institutional marriage. These types of marriages solidified ties between families and communities. Over time, marriages came to be based on the bonds of friendship, sentiment, and sexual ties. These were known as companionate marriages. Nowadays, some theorize we are in an age of individualized marriages, which focus on each spouse’s satisfaction and ability to express themselves.

Finally, you learn in this chapter how structural functionalist and conflict theorists have explained families and marriages.