HHS4U
Unit 3: What Shapes Intimate Relationships?
Activity 1: Trends and Issues in Relationships
The Kissing Song
Anonymous
(insert boy’s name) and (insert girl’s name) sitting in a tree,
K- I -S -S -I –N- G (spell it out)
First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes baby in the baby carriage.
Sucking his thumb,
Wetting his pants,
Doing the hula, hula dance.
This is a rather antiquated rhyme that was a popular chant for some North American children growing up. It was passed down verbally by tradition, and was commonly sung by children to tease one another, and encourage them to kiss.
Today that chant does not accurately portray all relationships. The landscape of Canadian relationships is much more open, accepting and inclusive now than in the past. Historically, the traditional view of a relationship was that of a man and a woman who intended to get married and have children, and other relationships remained hidden and stigmatized. Today, individuals form all kinds of relationships. Some people may remain single forever or for periods of time. Others may have different types of relationships that change throughout their lifetime. This is all normal and acceptable. In the next section of the course, you will examine some of the intimate relationships and friendships in Canada today. This is not an exhaustive study of all relationships in Canada, merely some patterns and trends.
Old-fashioned or obsolete
a mark of disgrace
Relationships in Canada
Canada is touted as a country accepting of many relationship forms. Read the following articles and explore some topics related to Canadian patterns and trends in friendships and intimate relationships. You may wish to use this template to organize your information. If you want to view any links in the following pdfs, right click and select "Open Link in New Tab" to avoid leaving this page.
Friendships
Read this article to explore the changing and essential nature of friendships.
Mixed Relationships
Read this article to investigate the incidence of racial and cultural integration within relationships.
Same Sex Relationships
Read this article to discover the new trends related to same-sex unions.
Part A: Article Analysis
Refer to Unit 1 Activity 6 for a refresher on how to do any of the tasks listed below. For each article:
- Identify the topic of each article.
- Identify the author’s main argument in each article.
- What are the facts presented to support the argument? They should identify patterns and trends that are revealed in this article.
- Create three inquiry questions to extend the learning of relationships based on the topic and supporting facts regarding patterns and trends in the article.
- The questions should assess the impact of a trend on relationships.
- You should have one good, one better, and one best question.
- For example, if the topic is lifelong friendships you might ask,
- “What happens to an adult if they don’t have lifelong friendships?” This is an example of a GOOD question.
- “What are the negative effects of not having lifelong friendships?” This is an example of a BETTER question.
- “Are adults with lifelong friendships less likely to marry or enter into intimate relationships?” This is an example of a BEST question.
Part B: After-Reading Analysis
After reading the articles and answering the above questions, consider the importance of these findings. Ask yourself, so what? Which fact (pattern or trend) in intimate relationships and friendships is the most significant or important? State one fact and explain why you think the fact is significant or explain why it is important to you.
Relationships in Social, Historical and Cultural Contexts
The roles, norms and social institutions that influence relationships vary by social, historical and cultural contexts. For example, in the 1940s many women worked while men were away at war. Then in the 1950s, it would have been a norm for women to remain at home and be in charge of household chores while the men went out and worked. Laundry and cooking may have been a woman’s role, where cutting the lawn may have been a role that men adopted. Roles can change over time, for a variety of reasons.
As you have already investigated in Unit 2, there are cultural differences in roles, norms and social institutions that impact individuals, but they also impact intimate relationships. For instance, child brides are the norm in some cultures and this impacts the social institution of family or marriage as the new intimate relationship is formed. This is in contrast to the intimate relationship or marriages we might see in Canada today. It is illegal that a child of 11 years of age would be a bride in Canada, so the roles of children here are quite different than what would be expected elsewhere. Equally, we could see a man adopt household chores that were typically assigned to females in our past, and see women performing outdoor roles or tasks they would not have in the past.
Relationships and Music
Music is a communication medium that reveals much about the state of society. It can communicate various roles, norms, values and social institutions that explain intimate relationships for that social, historical or cultural context.
The Beatles were a rock band that formed in the 1960s whose target audience was pre-teens and teenagers. Many of their musical works were love tunes and songs on the importance of forming relationships. This was a new phenomenon as the baby boomers were becoming teenagers and becoming a unique subgroup with distinct needs as they transitioned to adulthood.
Madonna: “Papa Don’t Preach” Analysis
This song was produced in 1986 in the United States. The norms presented in the song are that young people date and form relationships. The song also suggests that single women do not have children alone. You might argue that it is a norm for young teens in some areas or cultures to become parents, but it is a value that children respect their parents and try not to disappoint them. The implied roles are parents care for their own children. In relationships, the traditional role of men providing for women is still apparent. The social institution of marriage is discussed as being important for people when having a child.
The Beatles song, I Want To Hold Your Hand, was twenty years before Madonna’s song, and we saw changes to the values, norms and roles of relationships during that time. Do you think there have been changes to the norms, values, roles and social institutions demonstrated since Madonna’s song in 1986? Are they dependent on the culture or social context? Can you think of another song that demonstrates these changes?
Relationships in Social, Historical and Cultural Contexts
In this assignment, you will be selecting and analysing a song. Use the song analysis of Madonna, “Papa Don’t Preach”, to assist you with this task.
Using search engines, locate a song about relationships that is meaningful to you. The relationship can be a friendship or an intimate relationship. There must be some substance to the song to make it worthy of analysis. Read the questions below to ensure that you find a song that you are able to analyse effectively. Provide a copy of the lyrics with your responses to the tasks and questions below:
- Create an APA citation for the song.
- What norms does it suggest?
- What roles are suggested?
- What institutional functions are discussed or implied? State what the function is in this song.
- What values are suggested?
- Is the portrayal of the social, historical or cultural context accurate? Provide evidence to support your response.
- Are there changes to the norms, roles, social institutions or values of relationships in comparison to Canada during a different time period? Provide evidence to support your response.
Introduction
Learning Goals and Success Criteria
Learning Skills and Work Habits
Rubric 1