Cuban Family Social Structure

Social structure is the organized and continuous connection between positions in a social systems. Two positions that I hold within the social structure are my ethnicity Cuban and working class. My positions has influenced my experiences in the following two secondary social institutions: family and education. Being Cuban has influenced my experiences within family by straining my relationship with my father. In Cuban culture, some norms are derived from machismo. Machismo is extreme masculinity. The male typically dominates the household by sometimes imposing his beliefs, attitudes, and behavior onto the rest of the household. While growing up, there were some topics that I could not talk him about like sexuality and clothing. He believed some topics can be only talked about among women. I did not confide in my dad frequently growing up. As a result, I have a close relationship with my dad but not completely trusting like with my mom. Another way machismo has affected my family is divides some interactions by gender during family reunions. For example, the women participate in certain activities like cooking and talking among the women while men participate in other activities like playing dominos and drinking.

My uncle and his nuclear family are part of the middle class. This class difference creates an invisible division between my extended family and me. My uncle and his nuclear family appear higher in status than me. They live in a larger house in a middle class neighborhood in Texas. My parents and I live in a predominantly working class neighborhood in Florida. They only visit once a year, but since I’m part of the working class, I cannot afford to visit them every year. Therefore, my relationship with them is more