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Theoretical Perspectives on Families

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Submitted By momodou76
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Momodou L Ceesay
SOC-210-OL
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According, to the text there are two broad categories for “Theoretical Perspectives on Families” (Strong, DeVault, and Cohen 37). The first category is referred to as Macro-Level Theories. Macro-Level Theories comprises focusing on the family as a “social institution” (Strong, DeVault, and Cohen 37). “A social institution is the organized pattern of statuses and structures, roles, and rules by which a society attempts to meet certain of its most basic needs” (Strong, DeVault, Cohen 37). It refers to the family as a whole and can further be broken down into Family ecology theory, Structural functionalism, Conflict theory, and Feminist theory. The second category is Micro-Level Theories. Micro-Level Theories involve “emphasizing what happens in families, looking at everyday behavior, interaction between family members, patterns of communication and so on” (Strong, DeVault, and Cohen 37). It refers to individuals within the family. They can further be broken down into the following four categories, Symbolic interaction, Social exchange theory, Developmental theory and family systems theory. The two examples of “Theoretical Perspectives on Families” that will be explained are Feminist theory and Symbolic interactions.

Feminist perspective or theory refers to gender and the “inequity of power in society and especially in family life” (Strong, DeVault, and Cohen 43). The women’s movement didn't begin until the 1960's. Women wanted equality in society. This raised major concerns in early society. One concern was the imbalance of power between men and women. In a typical relationship there is a male and female. Males like to be the more dominant ones because of our egos. The text states that “Gender roles have been constructed by society” (Strong, DeVault, Cohen 42).

For example, instead of letting each

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