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The effect of family on society
The effect of family on society
American families past and present comparison
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The American society has lived with the European American middle-class family structure that has created different living expectations. The European American middle-class family structure has led people to become judgmental and alienated to reality when referring to the family. The ideal European American meaning of family structure is based on the white people. The definition of the ideal family is a couple who live together with their children; only one individual is the head of authority. It is impossible for everyone in the United States to have the same living circumstances as the idealized white people. When America adopted this ideal family structure it became a problem in our social world creating. This created barriers that eventually …show more content…
The family structure portrayed excludes certain families that do not live in a two-parent household. Each family has a different structure and environment. American culture suggests that families have two-parent household. Today there are single parents, stepfathers, stepmothers, homosexual and adoptive parents that are seen as not normal because society expects to have a two-parent heterosexual household in which a family structure is created that are able to reproduce children. The perspective of the ideal family structure is difficult to fulfill since not everyone has the same living circumstance. Stephanie Coontz in her article The American Family and the Nostalgia Trap, she describes different family circumstances that contradict the ideal family structure. She explains the struggle of single mothers that lead them to go on welfare in order to be able to provide for their children. Shirley A. Hill states “Single-mother families became a major predictor of poverty and welfare dependency, and poverty rates in Black single-mother families were considerably higher than in White single-mother families”(Hill 2006;84). The ideal family structure the mother does not worry about working because the father provides for her children and herself. This structure is a problem because not everyone is allowed to live the way they wish. Family structure portrays roles that males are in power and the women are submissive. The women are expected to stay at home to clean, cook, and care for the children. The men are supposed to be working bringing in the money to financially support the family. Women grow up being cared by their mothers and through that relationship they learn to have a strong relationship in which they later carrying the characteristics of a caregiver. Boys are raised by their mothers as well but are taught to be strong, fearless
“Leave it to Beaver” was a popular sitcom about a traditional nuclear family played out through the perspective of an adolescent boy whose curiosity and antics often got him into trouble (TV.com). Despite the show promoting positive family values, it also inadvertently shed light on a historically dark period of time in American history. One such instance was the lack of diversity on the show. Nearly 100% of the show’s characters were white throughout the six-season, 234 episode series. In the single episode that depicted an African-American, the character was a servant, further a reflection of the times when African-Americans where predominantly seen and treated as second-class citizens (Leaveittobeaver.org). However, this 1950’s ideal serves as a reference point to what typical families looked like and how vastly different they look now.
As gender roles were enhanced, the nuclear family was birthed. This ideal family, mainly portrayed in popular culture, had a working father, homemaking mother, and children. Television shows depicting this type of household, Leave it to Beaver, and I Love Lucy, were not representative of the reality of America. Not all of Americans were white, and not all women were happy living as housewives (Boyer 101). Although most did not fit the mold
In conclusion this paper has shown my perceptions on the described topics. I have identified why the family is considered the most important agent in socialization. I explained the dramatic changes to the American family and what caused them. I explained the differences in marriage and family. I expressed my feelings on the trend of diverse families, and how a change in trends to traditional views would change women’s rights.
Depictions of families in the 1950s were extreme in a myriad of ways. The notion of a “nuclear family,” in which a husband, wife and their children were considered the smallest unit of our society, became incredibly popular. Husbands and wives each seemed to have particular roles and duties from which they couldn’t stray. The husband, of course, was a working man responsible for bringing money to the household. His wife worked on something else: their household itself. She cleaned, cooked, and decorated. She bought groceries and clothing for everybody. She watched their children, fed them, and took care of them. In the 1950s, advertising advocated these roles and these roles alone: straying from them was rather unthinkable. The “nuclear family” had a facade of perfection, hiding any troubles within. To challenge it was to ostracize oneself. More than half a century later, notions of family have loosened considerably, but the influence of the 1950s lives on. In the attached advertisement from 2011, Coca-Cola supports its consumeristic goals by presenting a modern twist on classic 1950s family ideals via a brazen acceptance of the negative effects of its products.
The present structure of the average family in America is changing, mainly due to the growing number of mothers who now work outside the home. The current mark of dual-earner families stands at 64 percent, making it a solid majority today. This alteration of the "traditional" structure of the family is a channel for other changes that may soon occur.
Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, two of the leading figures in sociology, may be considered the founding fathers for the ideas of the “modern family” and the “male-breadwinner family.” Collectively, their work has influenced how Americans analyze families and has sparked new ideas regarding the American family from sociologists such as Stephanie Coontz and Arlie Hochschild. However, when studying the American family, Parsons and Bales fail to understand that the “ideal” family may not be so ideal for everyone. They neglect to consider societal influences and economic changes when discussing patriarchal social norms as the most optimal family structure. Their description of the male-breadwinner family consists of the father being the “instrumental leader” within the home, providing economically for his family based on his occupational earnings. Meanwhile, the mother is considered the manager of the household, providing for her husband and children physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Society seems to have many different opinions when it comes to relationships and families and what is ideal. The ideal family may not exist anymore. We now have in our society families that are complete that do not necessarily contain the traditional material. The traditional family, as society would see it; usually consist of a married, mother and father and usually children. Moms are supposed to stay at home while dads work the forty-hour a week job. However, in our 2003 world, families exist in a lot of non-traditional ways. A lot of families now consist of single parent families, or same sex parents and their children, or even couples that are unmarried but live together. And even now, if a family contains what society sees as traditional as far as having a mom, dad, and kids, other aspects are not traditional anymore. Women now have more opportunity in the workplace than they have ever had, therefore, many moms are career moms and dads are sometimes staying at home. Years ago, these types of families were given labels for being dysfunctional or abnormal, however, this label is not holding up as well as it did years ago. There are many non-traditional families that are raising children in a loving, nurturing home with a substantial amount of quality love. Quality is the key in any relationship between anyone. Society is finding out that it is not the traditional image that makes a loving family, but the quality of a relationship that people give to each other is what really makes a family. In the essay "The Myth of the "Normal" Family", written by Lousie B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach, they make references to the cultural idea of what a "normal" family should be and what i...
The changing of American families has left many families broken and struggling. Pauline Irit Erera, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, wrote the article “What is a Family?”. Erera has written extensively about family diversity, focusing on step-families, foster families, lesbian families, and noncustodial fathers. Rebecca M. Blank, a professor of economics at Northwestern University, where she has directed the Joint Center for Poverty Research, wrote the article “Absent Fathers: Why Don't We Ever Talk About the Unmarried Men?”. She served on the Council of Economic Advisors during the Clinton administration. Andrew J. Cherlin, a professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University wrote the article “The Origins of the Ambivalent Acceptance of Divorce”. She is also the author of several other books on the changing profiles of American family life. These three texts each talk about the relationship between the parent and the child of a single-parent household. They each discuss divorce, money/income they receive, and the worries that come with raising a child in a single-parent household.
As century pass by generation also pass their traditional values to the next generation. some people still think the way their ancestors thought and believe in what they believed in. During the beginning of 1890 people couldn’t have premarital sex, women had to be the caretaker while men was the breadwinner. during this century those perspective have changed argued Stephanie Coontz the author of “The American Family”. Coontz believe women should have more freedom and there should be gender equality. Robert Kuttner, the author of “The Politics of Family” also believe that women should not be only the caretaker but whatever they want as a career. Robert Kuttner 's text does support Stephanie Coontz’ arguments about the issues related to traditional
The American family has come a long way and has changed a lot overtime. Liberals and conservatives have their own views on the American family today. It is very tough to raise a family nowadays. However, there are some easier ways to raise a family today as well. Some of the things that I will talk about are divorce and its effects, welfare, abusiveness on children and wives, and a couple of articles in the book, "Families in the U.S."
This theory focuses on stability rather than, change. There are many disadvantages of this theory. This theory fails to analyze inequalities, and is very broad. This theory has also been criticized for enforcing a male-dominated society. Structural functionalists thought that breadwinner-homemaker families “provided the basis for stability and cooperation”, which lead to successful families (Cohen, 17). In transnational families and other families, the function of family members is shaped by their gender, which can lead to unrealistic expectations. When fathers, or mothers are absent for a period of a child’s life, it drastically impacts the dynamic of a
Nothing is a better experience for a parent than watching their child grow into who they were taught to be. It turns out that 66% of parents intend to and do raise their children with the same life lessons, good or bad, that they were exposed to when they were young (Murray). Raising a family requires values, which evolve into ethics, and are crucial to a successful family. This shows that values are what keep the family in their desired lifestyle. Diversity of values in American families, through morals and tradition, is key to what makes this country so unique.
A single parent household is a house with only one parent and one or multiple children. Single parent households are becoming very common in all racial and ethnic groups because it is no longer required for people to be married before they have children. Most households only have one parent because of divorce, never being married, separated, widowed, or because of business. The most common are, separation, divorce and just simply never being married. In these cases it is usually the mother who is the single parent. It is not too often that you see a father taking care of their child by themselves. This is usually because they do not know how, or they simply do not want to take care of their child. Statistics show that family structure has a big impact on certain characteristics of a child such as their attitude and level of respect. Children tend to be less respectful to people because they do not respect the parent who is not around. In many cases a child may become depressed living with only one parent causing them to get out of control and do things that they shouldn’t. Sometimes the child may feel like they are incomplete leaving them to do crazy things to find what they feel like they are missing. often times the child feels that they are the reason their parents are not together.
Some children may be less fortunate in a two-parent household because only the father or mother is working. Single-parent homes have much stress with one person taken care of multiple children. “Households with two parents tend to have more money and some less tangible benefits, including less stress, more involvement from grandparents and less unexpected change”(Leonhardt). Children growing up in a two-parent home will grow older not knowing how to manage their household because everything done for them. Unlike children growing up in a single-parent home, more than likely being raised by their mother will be easier to them from their experience. Seeing their mother struggle hard but always got things done was a great motivation for both male and female. The boys will grow into looking for a woman that’s hard working like his mother. A female, on the other hand, will feel independent enough to not need any man’s help after watching her mother stay
To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.