The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of otherness as it applies to the content of sociology of the family texts. We conducted a study of the content of the indexes and the body of texts on sociology of the family, examining the way in which the experiences of whites were addressed relative to families of color. We found that whites were more often presented as a comparison group to families of color rather than as groups with histories and experiences of their own. We recommend that textbooks avoid separate sections for families of color, examine whites with the same scrutiny as families of color, examine white privilege as well as minority disadvantage, and focus on the positive experiences of families of color.
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