Families in Transition: Ethnic Case Studies

1. Families in Transition: Ethnic Case Studies Dr. Jane Granskog California State University, Bakersfield

2. Self, Family and Community: Positive Dependency • sociological interdependence - self defined in relationship to family, community, ancestors, spirits • cyclical continuous flow between each essential for health and harmony • Self oriented toward personal interaction

3. Positive Dependency Flows • Follow own wishes but within a context limiting boundaries of Self • Control limiting boundaries of Self instilled by space & sound - respect & obedience toward elders

4. Dependency within the Family • Families are viewed as interlocking life units in which the well-being of one is inherent in well-being of others • Roles modify as persons move from one stage to another but not outside group • Bonding with trust is based on demands of custom v.s. a measure of the individual performance of given individual

5. Dependency within the Family • Lateral extended kin - horizontal basis that carries brunt of dependency flow • Tension diluted by stretching discipline lines • Importance of respect mechanism • Emphasis on mutuality, reciprocity - setting things right in family disputes through face-to-face encounters (Hawaiian, 'ohana' practice)

6. Dependency within the Community • emphasis on sharing, support between all groups/subunits within community - reciprocity • emphasis on exchange of services (time & energy) • importance of “doing” for others - involvement, commitment

7. Types of Independence • Opposing dependency - supremacy of self outside of flow, emphasis on self first and foremost (sociological independence - Independence Complex) • Positive dependency - freedom to make choices within a cooperative framework (caring about others)

8. Factors Influencing the Nature of Dependency Flow • Length of time (history) that you've had with someone - continuity, commonality • Nature of the "kinship" bond (biological vs non-biological and significance of the difference) • Nature of the interaction and intensity of the bond (e.g., life & death situation - wartime buddies)

9. Factors Influencing the Nature of Dependency Flow • Location - distance limits the type & frequency of interaction (being able to call upon them), limits involvement • Common interests - ties are with people with whom you share important parts of your life - work, school, leisure activities, etc.

10. Factors Influencing the Nature of Dependency Flow • Personal background/history - personality traits, coming from a disengaged vs enmeshed family; significance of "poisonous pedagogy" - disfunctional traits carried from childhood • Gender and Ethnic Background - differences in socialization patterns of females v.s. males and how they are expressed within the socio-cultural context

11. Positive Dependency Features • Commitment (“amae”) - presume on each other’s convenience, call on in time of need • Involvement - engaged in daily activities • Bonding - established history, being a part of one’s life • Obligation - there to help each other out

12. Positive Dependency Features • Reciprocity - doing for one another • Trust - being able to count on one another, a known quantity • Continuity - sense of community/”family” that extends over time

13. Kinship Exercise • Frequency of interaction -- how often do you communicate with them, what is the nature of the communication? • What areas of life do you share with different members? • economic - support each other • social - get together at family reunions, spend week-end in shared activities, etc. • religious - go to church together, etc.

14. Kinship Exercise • Role obligations and/or responsibilities -- what have you done for them recently & what have they done for you?, when you get into trouble, who are you most likely to call upon? • Note any patterns in the nature of your interaction with kin -- do you interact with some more than others and if so why? Is it because they live close by, share common interests and values, and/or because they are relatives?

15. Changing Family Dynamics • 1950’s“ traditional family” (focus on structure as economic unit of production & consumption - breadwinner/homemaker) no longer dominant by 1990’s - greater acceptance of plurality of forms • Significance of “second shift” - changing role of males & females within home, impact of “downsizing”, conflicting demands work/home (40% of labor force, nonstandard work schedules), increased economic stress on middle class families

16. Ethnic Families in America • Significance of “primordial attachments’- belonging to a given ethnic group with a unique cultural heritage • Changing perspective of “Americanization”, assimilation -renewed ethnic consciousness • Focus of identity and solidarity lies in family’s ability to socialize members into ethnic culture

17. Features of Ethnic Families • Emphasis on family activities - eating "ethnic" foods • Structure of the family - traditionally typically large extended families, patriarchal ideal, father-headed, mother-centered; strong family orientation; trend to smaller more nuclear families, increasing impact of socialization by outside institutions

18. Features of Ethnic Families -2 • Ideology - emphasis on trust within group/family loyalty to kin first; emphasis on honor of the family • Cohesion/integration - traditional unity as the primary social & economic unit, emphasis on supportive family rituals; presently less likely to operate as such • Limited Geographic mobility -- place oriented to a considerable degree

19. Focus of Articles in Ethnic Families • Historical background of immigration patterns • Demographic characteristics (rates of marriage, divorce, intermarriage) • Structure of the family (distribution of status, authority, responsibility within nuclear family) & extended kin networks

20. Focus of Articles in Ethnic Families • Cultural values - achievement, style of life, educational & occupational aspirations; reflected in socialization patterns • Characteristics at different stages of the family life cycle - form of acculturation/assimilation taking place

21. Overview of Immigrant Family in U.S. • 18th cen. Mercantilism, great transformation to large scale capitalist enterprises w/ rise of proletariats in 19th cen. (push factors); opportunities in U.S. (pull factors) • Immigration waves: 1) 1832-82 (old); 2) 1882-1930 (new - Irish, Germans); 3)”great lull” 1925-’65; 4) 1965 on - Asians, Indians, Pacific Islders., circular & transmodern migration patterns

22. Black American Family • Importance of a holistic approach to studying African American families in context • Four cultural traits distinguishing Black Americans from other immigrants: • Are from countries with very different norms & values • Are from many different tribes & cultures • First came without women • Came in bondage

23. Black American Family • Major problems with most studies of black family life in past, focus on low income groups, presumed to fit various stereotypes by social scientists (few studies until 1970’s) - two major perspectives: • Pathological, disorganization perspective • Strength-resiliency perspective

24. Black American Family Perspectives • Pathological view goes back to slavery period - supported by both pro- & anti-slavery groups (either not capable of stable family life or such was not possible under conditions of slavery), views family as deviant/maladaptive • ignores variability in family types & existence of free black families

25. Black American Family Perspectives • Frazier - 1930’s - concerned with assimilation of blacks in America - viewed “moral disorganization” of black families as impediment to assimilation, failure to keep sexual urges under control; • 1965 Moynihan, re-affirmed, view of matrifocal families as disfunctional, associated w/ culture of poverty.

26. Black American Family Perspectives • Strength resiliency perspective emerges in 1968 w/ Billingsley; focus on adaptive mechanisms of family to meet conflicting demands placed on it; strong role of women • Major strengths - strong kinship bonds, strong work orientation, adaptability of family roles, high achievement & religious orientation

27. Black American Family • Stack - focus on strategies used in black networks to survive in poor urban environments; domestic networks; focuses on reciprocal exchange & mutual aid among kin & non-kin (not always as effective as stated) • Staples: majority of Black families have nuclear model (1972 - 2/3 w/ husband & wife); • significant variables: education, work, income

28. Modern Black American Family • 1960-’70-’80 decline in fertility rate (birth rate of college-educated black women lower than white counterparts); increase in out of wedlock births, co-habiting couples; • Distinction of family vs non family households - diversity in composition (nuclear, extended & augmented family households • 130% increase in female headed households (discrimination, urban living, poverty); 45% unemployment rate of black men

29. Modern Black American Family • Black kinship network more extensive & cohesive than among Anglos, take in relatives more readily, rely on kin more • Role relations - egalitarian, husbands involved in decision making; high value of children • Economic problems major factor in marital conflict, imbalanced sex ratio, increase in interracial dating & marriage

30. Native Americans • Significant variation among diverse cultures ranging from hunter gatherers to agricultural states; described primarily by anthropologists in terms of 10-12 cultural areas • Major impact of contact - disease (1/2+ of Indian languages extinct), policy of extermination (vs incorporation characterized by Spanish territories)

31. Native Americans vs EuropeansContrasts • Indian marriages public, customary, contract between kin groups VS European marriages - private legal contract between individuals • Indians tolerant of & expressed diversity of marriage forms (polygamy, monogamy etc) & descent systems VS Europeans - monogamy, nuclear family, bilateral inheritance only

32. Native Americans vs Europeans - Contrasts • Indians - significant variation in level of social organization & kin terminology systems VS Europeans - not significant • Attitudes re: kinship: European failure to understand different kin structures especially of matrilineal groups lead to breakdown of kin systems

33. Acculturation of Native Americans • forced acculturation to Anglo-European practices via missionary efforts (e.g., “proper” marriage); education (B.I.A., boarding schools); • racist federal policies - force individual land holding (loss of land), economic conditions on reservations, inducements to relocate to urban areas; intermarriages - Indian women marrying non-status whites, lost traditional rights

34. Modern Native American Families • are approximately 300 federally recognized tribes + another 100 non-recognized tribes (east, California) • despite forced acculturation + influence of American popular culture on N. American youth, & 500 years of ethnocide, significant differences in family practices & values remain

35. Modern Native American Families • key values - cooperation, balance , harmony, kinship, respect -interrelation of all life, P.D.N. • up to early ‘60’s, dominant view based on early anthro studies - extended family seen as norm; families classified by degree of acculturation • do not have definitive, current research to document changes in Native American family life

36. Modern Native American Families • problems with classification of “extended family networks”, what constitutes extended - Red Horse’s typology; Native American families are more firmly based on interdependence (e.g., child rearing, ego identity) • types based on degree of assimilation - reflected in degree of intermarriage (white father, grandfather, husband, +school teachers, clergy)

37. Modern Native American Families • Miller’s typology based on degree to which have Indian/White values & behaviors - traditional (Indian values); transitional (adapts to white means & ends); bicultural (Indian values + adapt to whites); marginal (anomic in both worlds) • bicultural considered to be most well-adjusted • greater availability & proximity of kin, effect on support networks

38. Modern Native American Families • ways in which researchers define & measure family extension critical • measures - household composition, residential propinquity • best measure - effective or functioning support network based on interaction & proximity of residence

39. Native American Socio-demographics • fastest growing, youngest population (1.4 million + 6.7 million partial descent); median age lower than general population • more women of childbearing age, more are also adolescents • 23% all Native Am. families, female headed; over 1/4th live in povery; high rates of unemployment

40. Native American Sociodemographics • intermariage increased 20% ‘70 to ‘80; 50%, married to another race • socialization - less acculturated, higher self esteem, acculturation--destructive effect • gender differences: women, concern w/ kinfolk, family, marriage, sex; men, employment, money, success, material matters; men’s roles more changed than women

41. Gay and Lesbian Families • Major shift from 1960s-’70s to late 1980s - significant upsurge in # of children w/ 1 or 2 gay/lesbian parent; 1989 Denmark legalized gay marriage, 2001 Netherlands gave full legal rights to same-sex marriages; on-going controversy in U.S. • Impact of sexual revolution, alternative reproductive technologies, continued discrimination & backlash re: “The Family” (DOMA-1996); redefining family in social vs. biological terms; • Legitimizing same-sex marriages significant impact recognizing plurality of diverse vibrant family forms (2001 Gallup poll--opposition dropped to 52%)

42. Diversity Among Latino Families • Historical view - biased perspectives, focus on one family form vs. diverse forms present, tendency to see as “traditional”, disorganized and dysfunctiona; • Impact of economic restructuring & immigration on global basis; 4 factors - new technologies (computer chip), global interdependence, flight of capital, & dominance of info. & service sectors; new demands for immigrant labor

43. Mexican-American Family • Significance of impact of history of colonization by Spain & conflict with U.S. on demographics of Mexican Americans • Key events: Mexican-American War (1846-’48); 1880-1930 & Bracero Program (1942-’64) -- significant increase due to need for labor

44. Mexican-American Family • pop. of Mexican origin tripled from 4.5million in ‘70 to 13.5 million in 1990; presently 60%+ of total Hispanic population (2/3 native born); • majority (86%) in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, & Texas • Highly heterogeneous population with variable family structures depending on region, education, time of migration, social class, etc.; marked by low family income, high labor force participation -- largest average household size of all Latino groups

45. Mexican-American Family • traits of Mexican Americans thought to affect/reflect family patterns - person oriented vs goal oriented (emphasis on interpersonal relations); less materialistic & competitive than Anglos, material goods, a means to an end • stereotypes of traditional family involve positive/negative interpretations of structural features

46. Traditional Mexican-American Family Features • Familism (la familia) - key role of family to all members, major support in attaining all goals; warm, nurturing, stable structure • Male dominance - machismo - stereotypes--aggression, sexual prowess; real machismo - emphasis on honor of family, courage, generosity, respect for others including role of wife & children; marianismo (matrifocality)

47. Traditional Mexican-American Family • Sex & age grading - females submissive to males, young to elders - stereotypes overlook functions of each within extended peasant family; respect for elders, role of eldest son, authority over sisters & younger children • Features of traditional family were a response to needs for survival; importance of familism remains strong despite other changes

48. Modern Mexican-American Family • Primarily located in cities (85%) in SW • Young median age, slightly more males than females; among hispanics, lowest median income except for Puerto Rican families; blue collar jobs predominant • significantly larger than other ethnic families; lowest level of education (median school years); disproportionate number low S.E.S

49. Cuban American Family - Immigration • Long term immigration patterns between Cuba & Florida; key turning point 1/1/59 with advent of Castro • By 1986, U.S. Cuban population = 1 million • Six stages of immigration between 1959-80 - commercial flights, airlifts, fewer by small boats & rafts

50. Cuban American Family • Because of key economic role of women, traditional patriarchal structure of family disrupted; now more egalitarian in role relations • Key feature - Biculturalism & bilingualism - Cubans, significant impact on host culture - 3 stages: acculturation, retention of original Cuban culture, syncretism (all within family unit); also a source of tension between parents & children