Feminist Stance Toward The Family

Feminism has revolutionized the family field. Probably no field of study is more profoundly influenced by feminist thought. In the four decades since feminist scholars introduced a gendered understanding of family life, the field has absorbed feminist influences. Feminist concepts and investigative strategies have produced new descriptions of family experience, conceptualized family forms and family processes in new ways, and identified new topics for investigation.

Feminists' Stance toward the Family The feminist assault on traditional gender roles and families began in earnest in the 1960s and increasingly turned radical in the 1970s. This "second wave" of feminism targeted the family because women "could not realize their potential in society as long as they were still tied to childbearing, child raising, and housekeeping as their primary responsibilities." Betty Friedan, author of the celebrated work The Feminine Mystique, contended that women were victims of the delusion that they must find their fulfillment and identity through

Husbands and fathers seem to be superfluous to many women, particularly those who choose to bear children out of wedlock. Yet females have not lost the need for a companion, a father, or a breadwinner. As men who would fulfill those roles no longer take their place, these women increasingly turn to government for support. They are the greatest supporters of government subsidies and are angered when the taxpayer isn’t eager to give enough support to daycare, government health care, even school lunches. In short, they choose to have the government become their husband. What radical feminists seem not to realize is that by exploding the family, they are destroying the very institution that has protected and provided for women over most of human