This document contains four sections that discuss family theories. The first section summarizes a piece by Emile Durkheim exploring whether differences within families lead to harmony. The second section summarizes a piece by Talcott Parsons arguing that feminism leads to family dysfunction. The third section summarizes a piece by Merton about how individuals react to cultural goals, using a feminist Mormon website as an example. The final section provides references for family theories discussed.

1. 1
Functionalist
Theory
Would there really be no
harmony without
differences?
In this piece Emile Durkheim explores
whether or not differences within a
family lead to harmony within the
subsystem.
See page 2
What leads to family
dysfunction?
This piece by Talcott Parsons explores
the different aspects and characteristics
of a family that could lead to dysfunction
in the future.
See page 3
What is the correct way to
react to cultural goals?
In this piece Merton explains the
different ways in which members of
society react to cultural goals.
See page 4

2. 2
Would There Really Be No Harmony Without Differences?
By Emile Durkheim
In a society where we appreciate people’s differences and allow everyone to
voice their opinions, do we ever consider if it would be better for us to be more alike than
different? I was in shock when I first opened up Feminist Mormon Houswives website
and read that it was “A safe place to be feminist and faithful” and that their original
tagline was “Angry Activist with Diapers to Change.” I was in even more shock to see a
quote on the first page of the website that read “Hooray for differences! Without them,
there would be no harmony.” After reading these quotes, I immediately thought back to
the times before the Industrial Revolution in which women were only thought of as the
caretakers of the family. All women had the exact same job and performed similar tasks
with similar responsibilities (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, pp. 22 ). Every family being
exactly the same worked and led to a collective conscience in which all the community
members had a common sense of morality. So…. When and how did women start being
able to do whatever they want and is it better that there are so many differences
between us?
Feminist Mormon Houswives allows for any person who falls within their group to
write an article to be published on their website. After exploring a few of the different
articles, I realized that these women are allowed to write about whatever they want and
that many of them have different opinions, but still fall within the feminist mormon
housewfie group. The ability for these women to have such different experiences within
their homes goes all the way back to just after the Industrial Revolution in which there
was a “major social shift away from similar people having shared experiences to people
with different tasks having very different experiences'' (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, pp.
23). Because of all the change that happened during this revolution, people started only
focusing on themselves and what is good for oneself. This is why I was very surprised at
this website and how these women were coming together to support one another
through their different experiences even though they still all ultimately belong to the
same group.
Although this website rubbed me the wrong way at first by claiming that there
would be no harmony without differences when there clearly was harmony before the
Industrial Revolution when everyone was the same, I began to realize that having this
outlet allows for better functionality within this particular group of people. Although these
women’s lives are not as similar as they would have been before the Industrial
Revolution, they used these differences to create a safe safe for other women who are

3. 3
mormon and feminist to go against moral individualism. I think that this website is a great
way to show how much the role of women has changed since the preindustrial times.
What Leads to Family Dysfunction?
By Talcott Parsons
There is a certain characteristic among families in the United States that is directly
correlated with dysfunction and that characteristic is feminism. I was shocked to stumble
upon the website, Feminist Mormon Housewives and to see their promotion of women
being feminist and assuming different gender roles within their family other than their
traditional role of being a mother. This website even had a whole browsing category
titled “Feminism 101” that was completely dedicated to women explaining how important
it is to them that other women become proud feminist and begin to change gender roles
within society. I do not believe that the women who write blogs for this website
understand the impact they are making on society by attempting to assume other roles
other than their transitional roles within their families.
A woman wanting to be a feminist who goes to work every day and puts their
child into a day facility can not only lead to dysfunction within the family but also
dysfunction within the whole society. The reason for this is because every time another
woman decides that she wants to assume a role other than the caretaker of the children,
she is forcing other businesses to adapt as well. If a woman puts her child into a care
facility, the facility has to make sure it has the resources needed to provide for that child.
The care facility would have to have enough employees, enough food, enough space,
etc. This leads to stress within that facility and as more and more women decide to send
their kids there, the business is pushed even harder to find enough resources for the
children. This stress is completely unnecessary for these businesses because if each
mother would just stay home and take care of her own children then these facilities
would not have to worry about fulfilling these needs. There is only one way in which a
family can avoid becoming dysfunctional and that is for every family member to stay
within their acceptable boundaries that are already established by the culture (Anderson
& Sabatelli, 2011, pp. 28 ).
This is why I have such an issue with this website. The people who are adding
their opinions on why other mormon women should become feminist do not realize what
they are doing. They are igniting a fire in other women to stop staying at home and to go
work outside the home for pay without realizing the effect they are going to have on
society. They are praising the women who are not putting their children first by telling
them that it is the twenty-first century and women do not have to be just mothers

4. 4
anymore. I do not think that websites like this one should exist unless the women are told
the full extent of how their worlds could actually really affect other systems.
What is the Correct Way to React to Cultural Goals?
By Merton
Is there a correct way for members of a certain culture to react to their society’s
goals? Is it acceptable for individuals to go against cultural goals? A perfect example of
an individuals going against cultural goals are the blog post by mormon women on the
website Feminist Mormon Women. These women have dedicated this website to
completely going against the gender norms of mormon women. Most mormon women
are expected to only be wives and mothers. These women are not expecting to work
outside the home and they believe that it is their divine mission to have children. I found
this website so intriguing because even though these women described themselves as
being feminist, they also describe themselves as being women of faith. These are two
things that do not go hand in hand in the mormom culture so this website is a
nonconforming way in which these women are reacting to culture goals.
There are four categories that describe these types of women that are completely
going against the norm in their culture. The majority of the women who write for this blog
would be considered innovators as they accept the cultural goals, but they are coming
up with ways to achieve them (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011, pp. 29). These women are still
respecting the fact that their religion asks them to be child bearers and to stay at home,
but they are also coming up with ways to do this while also doing what they want outside
of the home. Some of the women who are reading the blog for advice are trying to get
out of being ritualists who accept cultural goals, but are just doing so to keep the peace
and are trying to become more like the innovators. Some of the women who are reading
the blog are already innovators who want to learn more ways to change their culture. I
think both categories of women who are reading and writing for this blog are brave for
trying to avoid strain.
I really enjoyed reading the different blog posts and learning the different ways in
which these women are igniting change within their cultures whilst still respecting the
fundamentals. It would be hard to be a feminist and also be a mormon so I was suprised
to see that there were so many women on this website who all had the same idea to
change the aspects of their culture that could have eventually led to dysfunction. I
believe that change is completely necessary to avoid dysfunction within the family
systems and that these women are moving in the right direction to promote more
functionality amongst their oppressive culture.

5. 5
REFERENCES:
Anderson, S. A., & Sabatelli, R. M. (2011). Family interaction: A multigenerational
developmental perspective. Boston ;: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.