1950s Family

In day-to-day life, one typically notices that family strikes a chord in the hearts of all. After carefully perusing What We Really Miss About the 1950’s by Stephanie Coontz, Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt, penned by poet Melvin Dixon, and The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement by Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian, one finds that each of these selections share similar themes relating to ideas of family. Family can be defined as the nuclear family, consisting only of parents and their offspring, or as the extended family, consisting of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, or alternately, even conceptualizing family as a community as a whole. “The structures, or forms, of the family vary as much as the

Sexism, discrimination, underlying family issues, and oppression were rampant. Although the country was finally advancing in the aftermath of World War II and the Great Depression, being either a woman or a minority in this decade of nostalgia reversed the roles of those who had made recent achievements. Family relationships shifted away from their traditional roles and the nuclear family became the only focus. The family of the 1950s was “one of experimentation with the possibilities of a new kind of family, not as an expression of some longstanding tradition” (Coontz). The formation of family establishments were on the rise. In fact, “ninety percent of all the households in the country were families in the 1950s” (Coontz). Families often moved into suburban areas where everyone was of the same race and class; they separated themselves into monotone, monochromatic clusters. This pattern seemed to really instill the practice of mainstream discrimination. In respect to the minority who lagged behind even after the rest of the oppressed gained freedoms, women were heavily discouraged from obtaining careers and were oftentimes forced into the role of homemaker while their husband went out into the world and became solely responsible for bringing home the bacon. It is noted that sexism is commonly defined as prejudice against women, which

The modern family is a very complex organism. It has become evident that not everyone considers family to be the same thing. As illustrated, there are at least seven different variations of families, and only five of them are recognized as such. Not surprisingly, 99% of people consider a married couple with children as an ideal family (Penn). Some focus solely on their nuclear family, some readily claim their extended family, and some even claim others who are like them, but not necessarily biologically related. Many people gravitate towards the idea of a self-based and centered family, fueled by an independent streak. Others have learned that strangers can be more accepting of them than those who are supposed to be kin to them. However, this is not to say that even others still do not reach out to members of their extended family for support in daily living. In short, the modern family is an ever-changing device. Society is much better off having these sorts of various views of family. It is comforting to know that one will always have someone to turn to in times of need, but it is also nice to know that one can be independent of others and have the determination to stand