Domestic Organization

Domestic Sphere of Culture refers to the home and the universal activities done in peoples’ homes. Obviously from culture to culture there exists a variation of ways where people eat, clean, teach, sleep, and rear children (amid the countless other activities).

The Nuclear family is TRADITIONALLY viewed as the father, mother, and child(ren), and is universally accepted as the center of all domestic organization. The relationship between husband and wife is monogamous (i.e. one spouse exclusively for life). The nuclear family provides the functions/needs that cannot be fulfilled anywhere else (Murdock 1973): • Satisfaction of sexual needs that diminishes competition within groups • The guarantee of safety of females during pregnancy and early infant development • Education and enculturation for the next generation • Subsistence is more efficient: gender and family roles dictate who does each task (household work, child-rearing, education, provider, etc.)

The traditional nuclear family, however is NOT the ideal model, nor is it always the accepted or rational practice for many cultural groups. Our (U.S.) idea of the traditional nuclear family is derived from the Western European-Christian model. But many alternative forms exist that fulfill the same functions as the traditional model.

ALTERNATIVES TO THE NUCLEAR FAMILY AND MONOGAMY: • Single parent (usually mother) and child(ren): also known as matrifocal households—usually due to economic and social conditions that make long-term marriages less tenable • Polygamy (plural marriage) which consists of two types: polygyny (more than one wife at a time); and polyandry (more than one husband at a time)

How does polygamy work?

POLYGYNY: • Wife sleeps alone with children while husband sleeps with different wife each night • Space between