Sociological Concepts Of Family, Gender, And Identity Essay

This essay discusses the way in which I understand the sociological concepts of family, gender and race - nuclear family, doing gender, and identity, in particular. Arguably, these three concepts can relate to each individuals life, through different personal experiences. To demonstrate my argument, I highlight relevant situations in my own life that further explain my chosen sociological concepts. The first concept I chose to focus on is family. In particular, the idea of the ‘nuclear family’. A nuclear family is defined as: ‘A couple and their dependent children, regarded as a basic social unit.’ My research of this concept will focus on the theories of two sociologists - George Peter Murdock, and Talcott Parsons. George Murdock’s theory suggests that there are four essential functions of an ideal family. 1. Stable satisfaction of the sex drive, 2. The biological reproduction of the next generation, 3. Socialisation of the young, 4. 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