Sometimes, when the reader reads a story or an essay, they think, “Wow that had a lot of meaning into it”. That was the same for me “In Defense of Single Motherhood”. This essay appeals to all modes of persuasion: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. The author of the essay, Katie Roiphe, is credible person. She is a notable author of several books over the past two decades. She wrote this essay in 2012 which was published in the New York Times. Roiphe emphasizes logos throughout the essay the majority of the time through the use of studies and reports, mostly to persuade the reader to her side, but she also emphasizes ethos and pathos, just not as much as logos. The audience of the argument is most readers of the New York Times to emphasize her point on single motherhood. Roiphe claims single motherhood is not bad like everyone says it is. In the essay, “In Defense …show more content…
The whole entire story is trying to appeal to the emotions of the reader. She provides studies of single motherhood, along with her admitting she is a single mother as well. “I happen to have two children with two different fathers, neither of whom I live with, and both of whom we are close to” (Roiphe 58). By writing this in her essay, she automatically appeals to the emotions of the reader because she shows she understands what it is like to be a single mother in a world like today. Just like I previously said in the paragraph before, Roiphe believes their is nothing wrong with a single mother taking care of children. If the mother is financially stable, and can support her children, there is no reason why she cannot take care of her children by herself. By proving herself as a good, single mother, she can appeal to the reader’s emotions, in which she does very well. She continues on in the essay saying that the only thing that “currently oppresses the children is the idea of the way families are ‘supposed to be” (Soiphe
“She may be unmarried or in a bad marriage. She may consider herself too poor to raise a child. She may think her life is too unstable or unhappy, or she may think that her drinking or drug use will damage the baby’s health” (126). The emotional appeal in this paragraph could make the reader think they are pro-choice. Apart from their use of pathos, the authors do a great job using a mixture of both ethos and logos. Page 130 is an example of both, which were used expertly to help the reader understand their point of view and the
The concepts that Kathleen Genson discusses reinforces the analysis Kramer presented in Chapter 4 “The Family and Intimate Relationships” of The Sociology of Gender. First and foremost, both authors would agree that family is a structure that institutionalizes and maintains gender norms. Both authors would also agree that “families tend to be organized around factors that the individual members cannot control.” In Genson’s chapter “Dilemmas of Involved Fatherhood,” the most prominent forces are the economy and social expectations, both listed and explained by Kramer. Genson’s explanation of how it is unfeasible for men to withdraw from the workforce and focus more time and energy on being involved fathers is an example of the economic factors.
This book is a study of the personal tales of many single mothers, with intentions to understand why single mothers from poor urban neighborhoods are increasingly having children out of wedlock at a young age and without promise of marrying their fathers. The authors chose to research their study in Philadelphia’s eight most devastated neighborhoods, where oppression and danger are high and substantial job opportunities are rare. They provide an excellent education against the myth that poor young urban women are having children due to a lack of education on birth control or because they intend to work the welfare system. Instead, having children is their best and perhaps only means of obtaining the purpose, validation and companionship that is otherwise difficult to find in the areas in which they live. For many of them, their child is the biggest promise they have to a better future. They also believe that though their life may not have been what they want, they want their child to have more and better opportunities and make it their life’s work to provide that.
In Wade F. Horn’s article “Promoting Marriage as a Means of Promoting Fatherhood,” Horn discusses how having a child and being married is better for children because the father is more involved in the child’s life. Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas’s “Unmarried with Children,” on the other hand, takes the reader through Jen’s story about getting pregnant at a young age and deciding not to marry the father of her son. While both sources make appeals to emotion, reason, and character, Edin and Kefalas’s article makes more successful appeals and thus is the stronger argument.
Bennetts exclaims “Why do any of us accept the fact that childless women earn 10% less than their male male counterparts, or that women with children earn 27% less, or that single mothers earn up to 44% less?” (Bennetts 43), continuing to question “Can any of us defend the fact that women’s standard of living drops by 36% after divorce, whereas that of men rises by 28%?” (Bennetts 43). Edelman, on the other hand, offers her own perspective by saying “I hadn’t bargained for how deeply the gender roles of ‘nurturer’ and ‘provider’ are ingrained in us all . . . “ (Edelman 53). Gender roles, people, and society are the main oppressors of mothers in Edelman’s eyes, but Bennetts would argue that the much larger and important threat of policy must be tackled first. She uses statistics to express her disdain for the policy makers in the white house, going as far as to claim that they merely “pay lip service” (Bennetts). Bennetts again takes a broader look on the issue to explain to Edelman why the terms “‘nurturer’ and ‘provider’” (Edelman 53) seem to appear even in this increasingly feminist society. Instead of lamenting this phenomenon and blaming the people, Bennetts counters Edelman with an analysis of the problem’s root in order to find a realistic
Fathers every year in Washington go to jail for nothing more than being broke (Deadbeat). They are called “dead beat dads” by their peers, scorned by society, and treated as subclass citizens (THE, ASSOCIATED). This is a very grim reality that men of every age range face daily. Both men and women make the choices that result in babies. However, women are given a choice at every stage of the child’s development to adopt out, abort, or even use contraception (Why).
One long lasting trait that will never be lost within culture is how we adapt to motherhood. Motherhood is passed down from century to century, modifying and modernizing as we get to present day. There are vast differences from how my mother was raised to how she raises me. During American colonization, which is a debateable time range, two mothers from different backgrounds and morals use their motherhood to demonstrate their determination by going through something unfathomable. In Green Blanket Feet’s and Mary Rowlandson's survival entry, the setting and situation influences their motherhood. Both however, are influenced in different ways, such as Rowlandson’s situation turned her into “me first” mother, and Green Blanket Feet actions were
Over the past three decades these ideals, although they are still recognizable, have been drastically modified across all social classes. Women have joined the paid labor force in great numbers stimulated both by economic need and a new belief in their capabilities and right to pursue opportunities. Americans in 1992 are far more likely than in earlier times to postpone marriage. Single parent families--typically consisting of a mother with no adult male and very often no other adult person present-have become common. Today at least half of all marriages end in divorce (Gembrowski 3). Most adults no longer believe that couples should stay married because divorce might harm their children. Of course, these contemporary realities have great consequential impact on mother-ch...
There is much debate on what constitutes as a family today. However, Ball (2002) states, “The concept of the traditional family…is not an immutable one. It is a social construct that varies from culture to culture and, over time, the definition changes within a culture” (pp. 68). There is a growing diversity of families today including the commonality of sole-parenting. In order to explore aspects of sole-parenthood objectively, I need to reflect and put aside my personal experience of growing up in sole-parent household. Furthermore, this essay will explore the historical origins, cultural aspects discussing the influences and implications of gender identity, and social structures of sole-parent families, as well as consider the implications in midwifery by applying the sociological imagination. Mills (2000/1959) describes the sociological imagination as “…a quality of mind that seems most dramatically to promise an understanding of the intimate realities of ourselves in connection with larger social realities” (pp.15). In other words, the sociological imagination involves the ability to consider the relationships between personal experiences and those within society as a whole.
Women have persistently been challenged with issues regarding what it means to be a ‘good mother’. Although times continue to change, issues confronting 21st century mothers, remain similar to the ones addressed in past generations. An abundance of mothers in the 21st century are still faced with the complex issue regarding the ‘stay-at-home mom’ stereotype, in spite of the fact that the feminist movement has provided women with more rights in the present-day, then ever before. However, while strides have been made, these changes have had an affect on society’s notion of motherhood. The portrayal of motherhood is determined by countless expectations in which society has established. Such expectancies have expanded, which now effect how motherhood is depicted in different cultures. As a whole the feminist movement has strongly influenced Western Society, which has resulted in women’s suffrage, the right to make individual decisions, and has also led to wide-ranging employment for women at more equivalent wages. However, the emergence of female employment has created a war between ‘stay-at-home’ and ‘working’ mothers, which is often referred to as ‘Mommy Wars’. In addition, female employment provides men with the opportunity to stay at home and become the primary caregiver, which has ultimately had a large impact on societies notion of motherhood, treating them differently than primary caregivers of the opposite gender. This paper will examine how the feminist movement has altered societies notion of motherhood in the 21st century in comparison to past generations as a result of working mothers and stay at home fathers.
Nonetheless, the study will still cover economic hardships since the two are closely related. The study will attempt to prove that single mothers are disadvantaged socially and economically. The study is segmented into two main sections; firstly, a background depicting researches in this field. Secondly, the study will present an argumentative literature attempting to clarify that single mothers do have a genuine problem not only economically, but as well socially in upbringing their children. To achieve this, the essay appoints Langston Hughes Poem ‘Mother to Son’ as a derivative reference point in developing this study. Research has traditionally focused in examining the emancipation of the female gender during their development. However, few researchers have intrinsically examined on the adult-life of single parents, more so in relation to women. The few efforts relating to this field like Williams (179) exemplifies that women suffer the greatest menace while trying support their single-parented families...
Being a single mother is not an easy feat. Raising children alone and in broken homes has proven to be difficult for women across the globe. These difficulties seem to multiple when single mother hood takes place in an African American household. Why does this happen? Is it self-inflicted or is there something deeper going on in the mind of the black women that subconsciously leads some to end up being single black mothers? I seek to better understand the dynamic of single black motherhood from a psychological and sociological perspective. Looking at the works of womanist theologians, a solution to this hardship will hopefully arise.
One of the hardest issues to survive in, as a single parent, is an overwhelming emotion that you should complete the role of both mother and father. This feeling evolves and will be more intense if the other single parent is not portraying a role that is active with the children.
Even though the Census Bureau shown that single parent families are increase every year I did not want to be a static of not providing for my family but just another public assist person.
Social Development has not prepared individuals to be single parents. Single mothers and single fathers need to establish strong support networks, personal friendships, and positive parenting skills. They need to learn how to synchronize the demands of work, home-care, and supervision of children (Benson, 1993). They need to enforce limits, rules, and boundaries consistently, and to transmit responsibility and values, in order to raise responsible, self-controlled, and healthy children (Cloud, and Townsend, 1998). They need to find ways to improve and maintain their self-esteem. Many single parents learn to live on reduced incomes, find acceptable ways to deal with non-custodial parent, and redefine their relationships with their children. These are but a few of the challenges facing single parents (Benson, 1993).