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Gender roles and societal expectation
Gender roles and societal expectation
Gender roles and societal expectation
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During the 1950’s the misconception that the nuclear family, which presumes that a self-supporting unit composed of two heterosexual parents legally married and engaging in separate masculine and feminine family roles was predominant and ideal (Palczewski & DeFrancisco, 2014). Understandably, looking at what a family looks like and means now from this perspective could lead one to believe that the American family is deteriorating, however, this is a result of the golden age view about the nuclear family and was never a reality (Afifi, lecture). The American family is not deteriorating, the common understanding of what a family looks like is changing due to the increase of diversity, dependency on discourse based communication, and an emphasis …show more content…
on the role lens. The American idea of family is changing due to the increase of diversity among families in America. The idea of family is no longer limited to two white, heterosexual parents who partake in gendered family roles and have 2.5 children (Palczewski & DeFrancisco, 2014). Now, family can look like any group of people who committed to one another, share a history and future, and have an emotional bond regardless of the color of their skin is or their sexual orientation. As seen in lecture, Cheerios has conveyed this change in belief through their Super Bowl ad showing an interracial couple talking with their daughter about how she is going to become a big sister (Afifi, lecture). This ad was controversial because of how it went against the golden age of family that reinforced the idea of the nuclear family. Furthermore, the understanding of family now includes more than just a mom, dad, and children. It can be intergenerational, headed by a single parent or same sexed parents, include one’s extended family, one’s fictive kin, and even one’s pets (Galvin, Braithwaite & Bylund, 2018). My family consists of more than my parents and two blood siblings. My aunt and uncle have played prevalent roles throughout my life, as well as, my “adopted” brother, Kevin. Kevin isn’t legally adopted by my parents, but he has been a part of my family for a long time, due to his presence at family events and rituals. Two summers ago, he began to live with my family, and we became his fictive kin through his choice to make us his family. However, someone looking at my family would not be able to tell that Kevin is my brother due to our different ethnicities, which, similar to many other families, has led to a rise in the dependency on discourse. Due to the rise in the diverse look of family, people have become more “dependent on communication to develop their identity and rely that identity to themselves and others as a way of legitimizing their family” (Galvin, 2006, p.
8). This dependency on communication is called discourse dependency and is important because it allows families to communicate their identity in the face of the unreliability of “looking like a family.” Furthermore, discourse dependency uses communication to define what it means to be a family. There are defined roles, responsibilities, rules and resources, a shared history and future among people, and an emotional bond or affection (Afifi, lecture). In the past, I did not think my family focused much on how we communicated who we were to outsiders due to how similar we look to one another and the strong sense of family that my parents instilled in my siblings and me through the mandatory nightly dinners of my childhood. However, about three years ago that changed slightly when Kevin became a part of my family. There wasn’t one moment when Kevin just became a part of my family, it was something that was gradual. Kevin first communicated he was a part of our family when he said “love you” to my mom and his attendance at Monday-Wednesday night dinners in the summer. I think it became “official” for him during Christmas time two and a half years ago when my mom embroidered him a stocking similar to my family members stocking with his name on it like the ones that my family hangs up every year. Furthermore, by labeling Kevin as my brother, my family is viewing him through the role
lens. The most relevant lens when discussing the changing nature of families is the role lens. The role lens means looking at family through the relationships where relational partners feel and act like family with social behavior and emotion as the defining characteristics (Galvin et al., 2018). This is a change from the traditional biological lens, that people are genetically related or biologically compatible, which is a lens that many people have used in the past to define family (Galvin et al., 2018). Furthermore, the change in the idea of what is family is supported by the sociological lens, or the laws and regulations, that support the change in what family looks like with the passing of legislation that made same sex marriage legal. In my family, the role lens is very prevalent because we have an invested attachment and emotional bond with Kevin. Not only is he a part of all of our rituals as a family, but also has developed a bond with each of my parents and with my siblings. While he first started out as one of my brother’s friends, he quickly became established in our day to day lives and began to share a common understanding of our responsibilities to one another. My parents have taken on the role as parents to Kevin while he has become a son to them and a brother to my siblings and me. Overall, the mindset around what a family is, has deviated away from the idea of the traditional family. The increase in diversity among families that include single parents, stepfamilies, adopted children, and same sex parents has led to discourse dependency when communicating about family. Most importantly, there are many ways to be a family and the perfect family from the golden age of family does not exist. The role lens paired with the correct discourse has created a visible change in the perception of family to one that is more inclusive and diverse.
Many couples in the United States idealize the myth of a “tradition family”. The idea that a woman can spend quality time with her child while maintaining an effective sexual life with her partner seemed to have caused a lot of stress during the 1950s. Coontz’s says “this hybrid idea drove thousands of women to therapists, tranquilizers, or alcohol when they tried to live up to it.” (Coontz, 569). Which explains that it is merely impossible to try to mold a family to be “ideal.” Many families still strive for a traditional life, which they define as life “back in the day.” They need to forget the past and start living in the 21st century. “Two-thirds of respondents to one national poll said they wanted more traditional standards of family life.”(Coontz, 582). Which goes to show that many families want to change to what once used to be perceived as an “ideal family” but “the same percentage of people rejected the idea that women should return to their traditional role.”(Coontz, 582). Families want to take bits and pieces from what used to be “traditional families” over time and create their own i...
The nuclear family is fundamentally defined as “a family structure or household composed of a couple and their children” (Kimmel 388). Stemming from a passé way of thinking that was first popularized in the 1950’s and 1960’s by advertisements and television shows, the nuclear family brought forth a notion that it was the male’s role to provide and protect the family whereas the woman’s role consisted of housework and motherhood. The concept of the nuclear family in Canada has undergone dramatic changes since colonialism to present day. Societal structural forces such as the industrialization era, technological advancements, feminist movements, and multiculturalism has modified the nuclear family to its present form. This paper will examine how the nuclear family is a socially constructed and historically specific institution, by drawing upon the notion of gender roles, in addition to its impact within the Canadian state.
The American family is constantly undergoing changes. In the early 1600s, the Godly Family was the prevalent family structure of the first Europeans who immigrated to the United States (Aulette, 2010). Until 1780, families were strictly patriarchal with a male head of the family, who supervised “all social activities, including education, health care, and welfare”, and insured the family’s self-sufficiency within its community (Aulette, 2010). Following this form, the Modern Family and its sub-categories, the Democratic Family and the Companionate Family, were the dominant family structures until the 1970s (Aulette, 2010). Throughout the course of almost 200 years, families evolved into more private institutions aside from the community, women withdrew more and more from physical work on the family’s property and concentrated on their designated occupation as a mother, caregiver and housewife. Men were still the head of the family in terms of pursuing an occupation to financially provide for the family’s needs. During this time, gender-specific roles within the family were reinforced, which are still partially in effect in today’s society and family structure. Since the mid-20th century, the American family seems to be changing more rapidly than ever, partially because of the influences of the Great Depression and World War II, which led to the remarkable baby boom of 1946 to 1964. Not only did the year of 1970 mark the beginning of the most recent stage in the history of the (European) American family, the Postmodern Family, it also was the year in which the first gay couple applied for a marriage license (ProCon.org, 2013). Even though the two men’s request had been denied back then, same-sex couples and their family structure h...
Their conclusion is that family dynamics have a key role in creating the context where sibling
“A home with a loving and loyal husband and wife is the supreme setting in which children can be reared in love and righteousness and in which the spiritual and physical needs of children can be met.” (David A. Bednar) When it comes to a family it should be simply a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Questions may arise pertaining to different types of families and whether they’re considered as a proper setting. When comparing family structure during 1950s to modern day three components directly interfere with the two and that is the advancement of technology, the economy, and divorce rates including teenage pregnancy. I feel that in general it is much
As families are changing; the ideological nuclear family which existed in the past is less common, and attitudes are changing (Kelly 2003, p 237). C...
Back in the 1950’s, the media content was unrealistic. Today’s family media is harsh, violent, and real. The majority of the Americans can relate to what they see on the media. CNN reporter Lisa Respers France believes that “Modern Familyis a bit of a throwback because it’s both gently flawed and idealized”. She said. “The characters on there aren’t perfect, but at the same time there are people that the average viewer would love to have in their win family.” This means the concept of the perfect family changes every couple of decades. Today, our perfect family portrait is one with multiracial, multicultural and same-sex couples. Media is responsible for giving the consumer certain images and information. The fact they all are different gives the consumer a big picture about reality. Today, the society is a multiracial one. Everywhere the consumer goes will see families with same sex parents, adopted children, and many more variations. They are the truth representation of the modern American family. Media is showing a less idealized family idea with some extremes making all this information friendlier to the consumer. Basically the masses can find a family on the media that can relate to everybody. What is different from today than from the 1950’s is how honest we
We create our families through how we communicate. We use interpersonal communication skills to improve family relationships and to work carefully to bring the family together and be happy. Instead of communicating in ways designed to maintain these relationships, people assume that “your family is always there for you” (McCornack, pg 334).We treat others who are not related to us more favorably than family members. Three methods for managing family relationships are positivity, assurances and self disclosure.
Traditionally, the standing of the nuclear family symbolized that of American morality. Unfortunately, in the period spanning 1960 to 2000, the percentage of households formed by nuclear families sharply declined from 45 to 23.5 (“The Changing”). Similarly, married-couple households also diminished, as between 1970 and 2000, this type of unit bowed from 40 to 24 percent (Fields). The pattern continued with homes of families containing their own children under the age of eighteen, and throughout the years of 1970 to 2000, the percentage of households such as the described dwindled from 45 to 33. Statistics such as these displayed the drastic lifestyle alterations experienced by American women because of second-wave feminism. Due to an increased proportion of women working outside the home, additional stress was placed on marriages; men were no longer the sole income-earners, a characteristic that defined American culture in this period, and women became progressively uninterested in traditional feminine roles. This sudden shift created irreparable discontinuities, frequently resulting in divorce and the apparent loss of American morality. These developments were specifically harmful for women, as fifty percent of female college graduates desired a career in homemaking and were unprepared for life
In today’s Society, family may include many types of living arrangements and relationships, including single-parent households, unmarried couples, lesbian and gay couples, parent and children, living in the same household. Many people have different viewpoints of what a family is, how a family should be treated and what a family should look like. (Diana. Sociology in our Time, Chapter 17 “Families and Intimate Relationships (2013) (page 434)) There are two of these different viewpoints. One is the way the secular world feels a family should be or how it should look. The world we live in today does not value the importance of a family the way it used to. Now, you see a major disconnect between parents and their children. In many families that do not have God as the focal point, the par...
Growing up in the 1960’s many of us, myself included had identified and or glorified the concept of the traditional nuclear family. The traditional nuclear family is in reference to the iconic “Leave it to Beaver” family. In this iconic television comedy the wife June stays home and tends to the home, her family and attends social events while Ward kisses June at the door after a homemade breakfast and goes off to work each day briefcase in hand. In modern times such as today, this idealized suburban 20th century family has faded out into history.
The family has been referred to as the most vital of the social institutions (Alexander, 2010). The definition of what it means to be a family has evolved over the past several generations. In technical terms, the U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as a group of two or more people residing together related by birth, marriage, or adoption. (U.S. Census, 2010). Categories of families that fit this definition include married couples with and without children, blended families, single parent, and extended family households. Same-sex and unmarried couples with and without children and individuals living alone are not included in this group, though they are a rising segment of the population. The make-up of family and household types at any given time has major consequences for society (Katz & Stern, 2007). Major systems such as economic political, legal, and other social institutions are all impacted by changes in family dynamics. This paper will explore the evolution of the family unit and examine the reciprocal link between this shift and surrounding systems. The relationship between these changes and contemporary systems theory will also be discussed.
Language is one of the most basic necessities for human interactions in a society. Ng and Bradac (1993) stated that, “some of the most remarkable human tools are the specific languages that particular groups of human have developed and adapted for use in their daily lives” (p.1). Without language, socialization between individuals in society would be highly difficult; which would possibly result in a lack of social solidarity that ties people together. From social and academic institutions (family and school), we were taught to use the most favorable language to survive in society. Brunei Darussalam centers on the Malay and English language. Depending on the surrounding and how Bruneians were raised, the use of language may differ for different individuals. In this essay, I’ll be talking about the language that my family and I have acquired. I will also talk about the existence of bilingualism in my family and the use of different languages during travelling.
There is no doubt that for a time, the nuclear family was of great benefit to society, culture, and the perpetuation of moral and ethical values. However, the question becomes, is the nuclear family a paradigm that exists only in certain television programs (e.g. Leave it to Beaver, or Ozzie and Harriett)? Historically, the family has had a strong role that has contributed to societal functions. While family systems are flexible, culturally diverse, and adaptive to ecological and economic conditions, they provide a base of interests to perpetuate the group and to pass on culture. Thus, the central idea of a family has changed; the key is that very evolution. The Judeo-Christian family originates in Genesis; Adam, Eve, and children. This reflects the idea of a patriarchal worldview in which there is one man, one woman, and they procreate to include children. In Rome,...
Wiseman, D. G. (2008). The American Family : Understanding Its Changing Dynamics and Place in Society. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.