12.2.1: The Functionalist Perspective:

 12.2.1: The Functionalist Perspective: Functions and Dysfunctions Functionalists stress that to survive, a society must fulfill basic functions (that is, meet its basic needs). Functionalists focus on how marriage and family are related to other parts of society, especially the ways that marriage and family contribute to society’s well-being. 387 Why the Family Is Universal Although the form of marriage and family varies from one group to another, the family is universal. The reason for this, say functionalists, is that the family fulfills six needs that are basic to the survival of every society. These needs, or functions, are (1) economic production, (2) socialization of children, (3) care of the sick and aged, (4) recreation, (5) sexual control, and (6) reproduction. To make certain that these functions are performed, every human group has adopted some form of the family. Functions of the Incest Taboo Functionalists note that the incest taboo helps families to avoid role confusion. This, in turn, helps parents socialize children. For example, if father–daughter incest were allowed, how should a wife treat her daughter—as a daughter or as a second wife? Should the daughter consider her mother as a mother or as the first wife? Would her father be a father or a lover? And would the wife be the husband’s main wife or the “mother of the other wife”? And if the daughter had a child by her father, what relationships would everyone have? Maternal incest would also lead to complications every bit as confusing as these. The incest taboo also forces people to look outside the family for marriage partners. Anthropologists theorize that exogamy was especially functional in tribal societies, because it forged alliances between tribes that otherwise might have killed each other off. Today, exogamy still extends both the bride’s and the groom’s social networks by building relationships with their spouse’s family and friends. Isolation and Emotional Overload As you know, functionalists also analyze dysfunctions. The relative isolation of today’s nuclear family creates one of those dysfunctions. Because the members of extended families are embedded in a larger kinship network, they can count on many people for material and emotional support. In nuclear families, in contrast, the stresses that come with crises—the loss of a job, a death, or even family quarrels—are spread among fewer people. This places greater strain on each family member, creating emotional overload. In addition, the relative isolation of the nuclear family makes it vulnerable to a “dark side”—incest and other forms of abuse, matters that we examine later in this chapter.