Sociological Imagination of Marriage
Functionalism theory is an essential sociological theory that tries to look at the social structure and why there are order and stability in society. It becomes vital in trying to analyze the complex social structure that human beings live. It majorly focuses on the society at large and not necessarily on an individual. Society is perceived in terms of structures or parts which function towards attaining the stability of the whole system. Functionalism relies on parts of the society for order through ensuring that they perform to the expected standards (Crossman, 2020). Societal components, therefore, play a crucial role in creating social stability. For instance, a family is an essential component that makes up a society through several related families. Behavioral expectations, therefore, are paramount to the stability of a given society. Families will try to raise children in a manner that conforms to societal expectations hence creating balance in the society. Deviant behaviors will always be condemned and are seen as contributors to the instability of society. Most families are, therefore, created through marriage, which attracts different views and opinions towards the institution.
Quite often, many people fall in love and, in the end, formalize their relationship by getting married. Through marriages, we find families even though not all families arise from marriage. Looking at the Americans’ perception of marriage, I try to figure out, is marriage a reward of love? Or is it for procreation? How do society view marriage institutions and their role in ensuring that society is stable? I try to answer the questions by looking at the functionalist perspective of marriage. Many married people often start by dating, which results to love then marriage if they so choose to. Human beings need other people to survive in society. From a societal perspective, people who love each other formalize their relationships by getting married. Still, after some time, some of the marriages do not work out hence end up in divorces. It thus always does not make sense as to why you should love someone, stay with them, and divorce later. Why can’t we have just short term relationships and friends for survival instead? It thus, implies that marriage should not be based on love rather than what the society expects from the union, and that is children for continuity of the society and not love. It equally does not define the essence of marriage well, especially when we look at the same-sex scenario.
People love because they expect reciprocation of their love. Human actions, therefore, are predominantly shaped by the surrounding society. Marriage, thus, is considered a culturally defined goal that ensures economic stability and societal continuity through procreation. The surrounding environmental conditions, therefore, force individuals to enter into the institution because of the normative aspect and not love. The essence is that if marriage is based on love, then why do people exhibit multiple relationships apart from their formal marriage? Family is supposed to be the laid foundation of a society that is hard to replace if it is wiped out (Thompson, 2015). Families are supposed to create stability in the society through the parental upbringing of children as per the societal expectations. These expectations are shaped through the surroundings like the friends of the family, the social status of the family, and the cultural beliefs of the family and the society. Marriage, therefore, cannot be the real answer to societal stability because of the challenges exhibited and the emergence of issues like same-sex gender.
References
Crossman, A (2020).Functionalism and Functionalist Perspective and Theory. Accessed May 2020.
Thompson, K (2015).Sociological Perspective on Declining Marriage and Increasing Divorce on Society. Accessed May 2020.