Marriage Ads--Questions
to Consider
1.What
do these desirable traits suggest about American culture (or about the
cultures or sub-cultures of some members of class)?
2.What
do the traits we look for tell us about values concerning marriage, what
makes a successful marriage, expectations for women and men?
3.What
else do they tell us?Are there any
omissions--things not asked about--which also tell us something?
Comparison
Between Our Ads and Indian Ads
1.In
American ads, people are advertising for themselves whereas in Indian ads,
senior relatives advertise for junior relatives.
2.Social
status of family is mentioned and seems important in Indian ads, whereas
it is nearly or completely absent in American.
3.In
American ads, personal as well as physical qualities are emphasized; in
Indian ads, personal qualities are rarely mentioned.
4.Common
interests are often mentioned in American but not in Indian ads.
5.In
American but not usually in Indian ads, mention is made of ‘love’, ‘romance’,
‘fun to be with’, etc.
6.In
Indian ads, social status similarities are sought, such as ‘race’, religion,
social class, ethnic/linguistic group, caste.In
American ads, these things are much less frequently mentioned.
Marriage, According to Edmund Leach:
1.Establishes
the legal father and mother of a woman’s children and the legal mother
of a man’s
2.Gives
the husband a rights (potentially a monopoly) in the wife’s sexuality and
the wife rights (potentially a monopoly) in the husband’s sexuality
3.Gives
either or both spouses rights to the labor of the other
4.Gives
either or both spouses rights over the other’s property
5.Establishes
the joint fund of property--a partnership--for the benefit of the children
6.Establishes a socially significant “relationship of affinity” between spouses and their relatives
Crucial Point: Marriage is more than a relationship between a man and a woman:It organizes kinship.Typically, it establishes important ties between groups of people, for example, the husband’s and wife’s kin groups, clans, and so forth.
Marriage and Kinship:Definitions
Marriage is more than a relationship between a man and a woman:It organizes kinship.Typically, it establishes important ties between groups of people, for example, the husband’s and wife’s kin groups, clans, and so forth.
Kinship is a means to organize and describe the social roles of individuals in a society.
As with marriage, which
is central to kinship systems, kinship systems can be defined as much by
what they do as what they are.Thus,
we can say that kinship systems designate and emphasize individuals’ rights
and responsibilities in society as a whole, and/or within the kinship structure.