Legal marriage

ACTIVITY
A legal marriage is a lawfully recogn1sed union between a man and
a woman. The married couple will usually share the same residence. Using t he fam ily tree 1n Figure
Traditionally, marnage has been seen as the ideal environment in 1.2.1, answer the followmg
questions.
• which sexual relations can occur.

Monogamy and polygamy 1 Who did Jean Roberts marry?

Monogamy 1s a form of marnage 1n w h1ch a person has only one 2 Name two of Bryan
wife or husband at one t1me. In polygamy, a person may have more and Michelle Roberts'
than one w1fe or husband at the same t 1me. Polygyny is where a grandchildren.
man has more thun one wife, and polyandry 1s where a woman
has more than one husband. If the law states that a person may only 3 What is David Ramsey's
marry one person at a time and someone marries another person relat ionship to Sarah Booth7
while a prev1ous marriage still cx1sts, th1 s 1s <:nown as bigamy. 4 Who are Sarah Boo~h's

Visiting relationships COUSinS?

In a V1sit1ng relationship, the man and woma n are not married and do
not share th e same> residence although they do have sexual relations .

Consensual/common law union

r-----+-----,
In these relat1onships, a man and woman are not legally married but Afl~eh::~ !t-,.." ;:,bPrt• m 0::;"·
they do share a common residence and also have sexual relations. Ru:w ~~ 1\i~ .:t'lael ~C:.'Fts
Ro,-·lel
Family trees Dav c
A famdv tree 1s a chart that shows the names and relat1onsh1ps of -={ar-~e 1 m 'CI"i~~ •,

nr 'Nihom p, Jtl''l(l H
different generat1ons of the same family.
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Boot1
In thE· lamdy tree 111 Figure 1.2 1, male family members are 111 blue
and female family members are in red. The 'm.' between two names Andrew G·art JV ' ..
6oott1 m =!a~st)' , , ,
1nd1cates that these two people are marned.
sn•·lt
Pra<as~

Figure 1.2.1 A farn:ly tree

'I will not see the New Year,' whispered Clara's mother on a
ate December day. Prom1se me you will look after your brother
and sister· Two days later she passed away, another victim to
AIDs C!ara was an orphan and, at 16 yea rs of age, she had the
responsibility of bnng1ng up her 10-year-old brother and ?-year-
old sister She saw her dreams of becom1ng a doctor turn to dust.
Questions EXAM TIP
1 What kind of family 1s Clara now head1ng?
2 What are some of the problems faced n such a family ? Ma~e s~.-<.r-e ijO~.-<. ar-e

3 What else m1ght cause such a family to exist apart from the faV>A.£L£ar- w£th the cl.~fftr-eV¥t
death of parents? tij~es of fa V>A.£Li.es aV¥cl.
&.-<.V¥LOV¥s. you V>A.ust be abLe
to £ci.eV¥ti.ftj aV¥cl. cl.escrLbe
KEY POINTS these, as weLL as ~V¥cl.i.catiV¥0
1 there are a number offamilia~,farnily type·s i~ the <;:aribbeah .soV>A.e of the acl.va V¥tt:~ges
~ region : the nuclear family, th{extended family, th~ single. · a~cl. cl.i.sacl.vaV¥tages that
parent family and the sibling family. -~ · , · V>A.t.ght be associatecl. wi.tl-1
"" . ,- each oV¥e.
2 fhere are a number of un ion~'arQund whi~hj~fami!_Y can :
be based: legal marnag_ e, consensual or c~mfid'ff@w, .and
VISiting relationships. '· -~- · 1(•
,,._, _,.

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