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Media influence on gender roles
Family and family structure
The role of the father in the family
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The textbook defines "family" as "the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children" and includes "any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family". Ideas about what families are come to us partly from our surroundings. From the time we are young, we are exposed to ideas about what families ought to look like and how they should function. We are exposed to alternative images as we become acquainted with the different family structures portrayed by the media; books, newspapers, magazines, films, and especially television. For decades, television has served as a high-powered cultural lens on families. For the most part, these images have tended to be conventional Also, with the rise of more diverse family units, the characteristics of which "vary dramatically" by several factors such as race, age, and economic status, gender roles have slightly deviated from those traditionally delineated to the father and mother. These roles are now more equally distributed, which is correlated with the changing economic role of women. However, certain expectations of the parents ' roles are still perpetuated; society for the most part still expects the father to be the “breadwinner,” and while the mother may or may not work, she is still expected to take on most of the domestic responsibilities. In the 1950s, television largely mirrored the prevalent concept of the American family. Popular shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Brady Bunch depicted the family as a heterosexual, patriarchal, churchgoing unit with chaste children. But in the 1960s, family depictions began to change. Modern Family were on the air in the 1950s people would be horrified by its content. A homosexual couple living together with an adopted child & an older man married to a much younger woman are only a few yet dramatic changes depicted in our society. Woman now play a more dominant role than they did in shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Brady Bunch. Women are seen with careers outside of the home, not relying on their husbands for financial support. However, television still tends to portray traditional gender roles within families. In Modern Family, for instance, Claire is often seen doing almost all of the housework, cooking, and juggling of the kids. The family that depicts the most drastic change is that of the homosexual pair Cam and Mitchell. Though the two are both male it is evident that Cam is much more feminine than his counterpart Mitchell. It seems ironic that even in a
In the last fifty years television has evolved tremendously, especially sitcoms. For example, in 1969 The Brady Bunch aired a show that featured two broken families coming together to form a seemingly ‘perfect’ blended one. The television show emphasized the importance of appreciating your loved ones, as well as surmounting challenges that teenagers face in everyday life. In 2009, the perhaps ‘modern’ Brady Bunch aired on ABC, Modern Family. This show focuses on three families, and highlights non-traditional families, illustrating that there is no ‘perfect’ family. In the forty nine year gap between the two programs, social and cultural issues such as gay marriage, adoption, and multicultural marriages have made
The differences in family values are shown in modern sitcoms. "Gilmore Girls" is a sitcom that demonstrates values of gender and children roles that are significantly different to those in 1950s. From Lorelei and Rory, they show that family organization is not always the father working, mother looking after children. Through the plot of each episode, financial, racial, other general problems such as Rory's school and relationship are actually shown and realistically too. Every family is different, different race and classes have different families. Today, we do not watch shows to copy their ways of living and we do often share the same values. Therefore this shows significant changes in family values from the 1950s sitcoms to today's sitcoms.
Though not immune to criticism, Modern Family and Full House still claim glimpses of societal pressure when showing aspects of the “American family.”
One definition is “a significant social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.” While such definition is a good starting point, some modern family structures are excluded by such definition. In her essay, “Family: Idea, Institution, and Controversy,” Betty Farrell apparently assumes that the traditional family has dramatically changed, and the dynamics of change—altered the definition of a “family.” A family is no longer a picture of a particular image of the mythic past, referring to the golden days of the “1950s.” It is no longer a father, mother and their biological children living together under one roof (and certainly not with the a breadwinner father and a stay-at-home mother). In today 's modern society, it is now common to see women raising their children by themselves without their husbands’ help; unmarried couples living together; and gay and lesbian couples—while far from being universally accepted—adopting and raising children to complete their families. Therefore, despite the children living in one-parent households, or they do not live with their “married-heterosexual-biological-parents” under the same roof—does not necessarily mean they are not families. Farrell states that “a family is defined not so much by a particular set of people as by the quality of relationships that bind them together.” In other words, Farrell believes that a “family” is more than just a collection
The main social issue the Brady Bunch really tackled was the idea of blended families after a divorce. While the show may have focused on Carol and Mike Brady bringing their six children together, it was inspired by a statistic in The Los Angeles Times that 30% of marriages in the US at the time had a child from a previous marriage (Merritt). Mike Brady “was one of TV’s first stepfathers, and his blended family of six kids was a far cry from mom, dad, 2.5 kids and a dog” (Goudreau). Modern Family also tackles the issue of divorces and blended families but with its own twist. The family’s patriarch, Jay Pritchett, remarries despite the fact that his children from his first marriage are grown. Except instead of the family blending together seamlessly as the Bradys do, they struggle with the fact that Jay’s new wife is the same age as his own children and his new step son is the age of his grandchildren. Modern Family also showcases many other modern day issues, such as biracial couples, as Jay’s second wife is Colombian, and homosexual couples in Jay’s son, Mitchell, and his husband Cameron. Modern Family reflects many of the social movements of the current day. As feminism builds, TV moms have began “overshadowing TV dads, who [play] the part of the well-meaning idiot” (Goudreau). With the way TV explores social trends in society, “there's a family for just about everyone on TV today”
In chronicling how the family structure has changed in America, it is important to understanding how family was actually defined. When referencing Leave it to Beaver (further referred to as LITB) times, family took on a substantive definition, or the idea that family was equivalent to relative, or related by blood or law. While this definition of family served the time period, it failed to evolve with society. For that reason, sociologists set out to determine a “more inclusive functionalist definition,” that focuses on what families do. “A functionalist definition of families focuses on how families provide for the physical, social, and emotional needs of individuals and of society as a whole” (Witt). With that, the functionalist perspective identifies six primary functions, which include reproduction, socialization, protection, regulation of sexual behavior, affection and companionship, and...
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
Now that women more and more are joining the workplace, thus, removing them from their family of orientation. The divorced in the United States are more common, its rate has risen then ever before. So, parents today are raising their kids into a diverse family structure, the growth in single parent households has increased as well. Lots of kids living without a father with mother as the “head” of the house. People now are more likely to adopted a child, hey become the legal parents of the child. Let’s not forget the teenager’s pregnancy and same sex marriage. Consequently, different forms of domestic arrangements now outnumber the traditional American
Throughout history, the roles of men and women in the home suggested that the husband would provide for his family, usually in a professional field, and be the head of his household, while the submissive wife remained at home. This wife’s only jobs included childcare, housekeeping, and placing dinner on the table in front of her family. The roles women and men played in earlier generations exemplify the way society limited men and women by placing them into gender specific molds; biology has never claimed that men were the sole survivors of American families, and that women were the only ones capable of making a pot roast. This depiction of the typical family has evolved. For example, in her observation of American families, author Judy Root Aulette noted that more families practice Egalitarian ideologies and are in favor of gender equality. “Women are more likely to participate in the workforce, while men are more likely to share in housework and childcare (apa…).” Today’s American families have broken the Ward and June Cleaver mold, and continue to become stronger and more sufficient. Single parent families currently become increasingly popular in America, with single men and women taking on the roles of both mother and father. This bend in the gender rules would have, previously, been unheard of, but in the evolution of gender in the family, it’s now socially acceptable, and very common.
Almost every minivan has the stick-figure family in the bottom left corner on the back window that shows their family. Yet, it seems that every family consist of a father, mother, kids, and maybe a pet or two. One virtually never sees any variation of a ‘family’. The two men with the adopted daughter, the single mother with a handful of kids, and the lone college student with her dog. An image of a family is limited in the current mindset; it is the average family that is seen when the term is spoken, never the true form of family. The idea of what a family is can be wildly debated and may never come to a true agreement, yet the answer lies in front of each individual, if only they are willing to open their mind and grasp the concept. The definition of family is as
The unit of a family is the most prominent essential for all of us. As social human beings, we seek social support in order to thrive, and that is where family comes into play. A family is where you receive love, support, encouragement, and many other social benefits. The total number of households in the United States increased from 63 million in 1970 to 113 million in 2008 (Weeks, 2012). The family has influenced multitudes of people in many ways. The traditional family in the United States consists two-married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring also know as the nuclear family. However, the term of a true family has ultimately changed over the last 50 years especially for African Americans.
Family, a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Although family is a concretely defined term, the idea of family varies from person to person. But, what makes a family? For those who are surrounded by loving blood relatives, for those who have never known the one to grant them life, for those who have left their blood behind for a more loving and nurturing environment, what can commonly define a family? Family is something defined by the individual. Family includes those who you have come to love, whether platonically or romantically, those you have suffered with, those you have come to respect, and most importantly those you have cared for and in turn have cared for you. To one that could mean people who
Out of the numerous commodities and resources that are scarce on the planet in which we inhabit a family, or even a family system, can never be parallel to even an iota of them. This is due to the fact that everyone, no matter what age at what time period of their life, has a family. That family may not be the cookie cutter family that society imposes on the media world. People develop without knowing their family, people create new families of their own, or they can even find something or someone to call family because of this family will never be scarce. Family is an objective concept to every single person and the definition varies significantly from being as simple as the smallest of toys to as complex as a group of people interconnected
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.
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.