The Drastic Change in Society and in Family Diversity In the 1960's families were a lot more traditional than nowadays, and most families were nuclear, which means a married a couple with children. Although, times have changed a lot since the 1960’s, what is deemed as socially acceptable has changed a great deal since those times, social mores have changed a great deal, and different types of families, as they are becoming more diverse, and situations previously unacceptable in society, are now an ordinary way of life. Conjugal roles have also changed over the last 45+ years, because in the 60’s it was always the traditional conjugal roles, where the male went out to work, and earned the money, while the woman was to stay at home, and take care of children and be domesticated, this was such a prominent part of society that classes were even taken on how to perfect household skills. This was made even more prominent because of the media, in TV adverts they would always portray the stereotypical conjugal roles, and convey this as the ideal way of living. The 1960's were host to the sexual revolution; this movement happened towards the beginning of the ‘60’s, the purpose of this revolution was to empower women. This empowerment consisted of making women more independent, and gave them the power and the right to seek out careers for themselves, instead of just domestic work. Another aspect of this period was that female contraceptives became available, this eventually gave women the option of whether to have children or not. After the introduction of the pill, women had more freedom to go out and build careers for themselves. However th... ... middle of paper ... ...eve that single sex couples are not good for society and that women should remain in the home in the traditional sense of the 1960’s. They also view divorce and separations as a problem for society as they say it costs society money because single parent families get benefits from the welfare stare. In conclusion, this essay has brought to light different views on the state of families nowadays; I have found that there are many contrasting views on diversity. Feminists view family diversity as a positive outlook, which is a positive situation for women, as they are free to do what they want and free from the ‘restraint’ of men and the nuclear family. However the views of the New Right state that the nuclear family is the best scenario of society and family diversity as being wrong as it breaks all traditional values.
"The Changing American Family" by Cris Beam and "The American Family Is No More" by Allie Bidwell. Both of these articles are explaining how the traditional American family has changed and that there is no traditional American family anymore. These articles all explain how times have changed and families are growing more diverse and no longer follow the trends the once followed. While the article by Cris Beam was more based of statistics and how much things have changed, Allie Bidwell's article still had the same bottom line main idea. Both authors’ views were essentially the same and made the same arguments.
Families are becoming more diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people consider families to be strictly biological, while others consider people they love to be their family. Although two-parent families, also known as a nuclear family are the majority, one-parent families are becoming more common in today’s society. A sole-parent is considered to be a parent without a partner or spouse who is the primary care giver of one or more children in a household (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). From the age of 14 onward I was raised by m...
Like stated earlier, gender roles in the 50’s were very strict and narrow-minded. That being said, women were extremely limited in their role in society. First of all, women were expected to be homemakers. By homemaker, I mean the women w...
The world was a very different place sixty years ago. The men came home from the war to take back the work force from the women and sent the women back into the home to follow traditional domestic roles. All aspects of life had to be cookie cutter perfect, to include the gender roles. The roles of both genders have been portrayed by the BBC Television show, Call the Midwife, as they use to be in the 1950’s. The men were the breadwinners of their family by working arduous hours, protect their family and home, and have zero contact with feminine things and activities; the women were expected to get married early, always look their best, and never indulge in their aspirations for a career outside of the home unless they were single.
During the 1960’s there was a lot of major events that happened in the United States. The 1960’s was known as a decade of “culture and change”, there were lots of political and cultural changes. (Anastakis, 22) One particular movement that was important to society and the country was the Women’s Movement also called the “Feminism Movement”. The first women movement which happened a few decades before focused on gender equality and overcoming different legal problems. The 1960’s women’s movement focused more on different issues such as family, sexuality, workplace issues, and also rights of reproductively. (MacLean, 45) I chose to cover this topic because women have always been influential throughout history, and I being a woman it is important to know about our rights and who paved the way for us.
Families have changed greatly over the past 60 years, and they continue to become more diverse.
Traditional family in today’s society is rather a fantasy, a fairy tale without the happy ending. Everyone belongs to a family, but the ideology that the family is built around is the tell tale. Family structures have undeniably changed, moving away from the conventional family model. Nowadays more mothers work outside of the home, more fathers are asked to help with housework, and more women are choosing to have children solo. Today there are families that have a mom and a dad living in the same home, there are step-families, and families that have just a mother or just a father. Probably the most scrutinized could be families that consist of two moms or two dads. These are all examples of families and if all members are appropriately happy and healthy then these families are okay and should incontestably be accepted. So why is the fantasy of the traditional family model still so emphasized in our society? This expectation is degrading and misleading. Progressing with times one ought not be criticized or shunned for being true to their beliefs. It is those living falsely, living as society thinks they should that are the problem. Perhaps as a society, if there were more focus and concern for happiness and peace within ones family and fewer worries for the neighbor then there would be less dilemma.
Walker, A.H. 1985. "Racial differences in patterns of marriage and family maintenance, 1890-1980." Pp. 87-112 in Feminism, Children, and the New Families, ed. S.M. Dornbusch and M.H. Strober. New York: Guilford Press.
... last 60 years are the roles that each spouse play in the relationship. In earlier days, women were expected to clean house, cook, stay at home with the children, and wait hand and foot on their husbands. But, within the last 60 years women have become key assets to the work force. Men don’t necessarily expect women to be their live in maids anymore. Both men and women in 2014 cook, clean, and take care of the children. I now see more men with their children at sporting events, and taking them to and from practice. Now, roles have changed. In today’s world men and women share the responsibilities of taking care of their family. A lot has changed since 1970 within the American family, and I think America has finally figured it out. Taking care of a family can be tough at times, but if there are two to share the responsibilities, then it seems to work a lot smoother.
During the 1950s, it was believed that creating a home and having children were one of the most important goals for most women. During their schooling years, most women attended college to get their "M.r.s." degree, or the reason most women went to college was to get married and not to earn a real degree (PBS.org, 2001, para. 3). Women also started working again, though they did not have equal benefits or pay to men. Women were also hired for jobs that tailored to their looks, not their skills (Coster, 2011, p. 35-36). They were also encouraged to have large families, but needed help when it came to managing their household. Hollywood created an image of an American mother who has a wholesome family that influenced the way women thought and behaved. Advertising and Hollywood created ideals for the perfect 1950s housewives that were unattainable. Television ads reinforced gender roles of women and the pressure of being the perfect mother and wife caused mental health issues for a lot of women during this time. During the 1950s, women had a part in education, the workforce, in the home, in television, and even in mental health that helped evolve the old 1950s mother to a new modern mother.
The United States has Changed from a Melting Pot to a Vast Culture with Varying Racial Backgrounds
This paper will examine sociological theories and how they relate to the social institution of the family. We typically view society as a group of people, but in sociology, society is not a group of people but a social organization. People are molded by society to fit within the accepted societal bounds. Society must be understood using “the meanings that people put on their values and beliefs” (Bartle, 2010). Within sociology there are three major perspectives. These are the Functionalist, Conflict and Interactionist Perspectives. Each perspective views society in different manners, with each being correct and relevant since social institutions are too complex to be defined by any one theory. Each perspective will be used to explain the perspectives’ relevance to the family.
Is the American family in really in crisis or is it just evolving at a more advanced rate than society? According to the sociologist, Michael Kimmel, “[t]hough the family feels like one of the most fragile of social institutions, it is also perhaps among the most resilient” (Kimmel 143). It seems fragile because of the decline of marriages rates, the increase in divorce rates, and the increase in cohabitating couples. However, the family is one of the most resilient social institutions, “able to adapt to changing economic, social, and cultural circumstances and remain the foundation of society” (Kimmel 142). Besides, statistics alone do not prove the failing condition of the American family.
The book, “Marriages and Families: Diversity and Change, Chapter One: Marriages and Families Over Time,” by Mary Ann Schwartz and BarBara Marliene Scott help distinguish what the word family truly means and the different types of families that are experienced among the United States. Family is defined in many types of ways by everyone, such as, family is the person(s) who share the same blood or family is there when you need them at all times regardless if they share the same blood or not. Family is defined as any relatively stable group of people that are related to one another by blood, adoptions, marriage or by simply living together and provide each other with emotional and economical support according to Schwartz
Functionalists emphasise the harmonious nature of the nuclear family, believing it provides a more stable environment for the family and its individual members but also for society as a whole. It draws attention to the positive aspects of family life, fitting in with many people’s experience and expectation of the family as somewhere they are safe and cared for. Functionalists see the father taking an instrumental role, supporting the family by earning a wage with the mother taking the expressive role, caring, nurturing and taking main responsibility for the home and childcare. New Right agrees segregated conjugal roles are human nature and are reinforced by society’s norms and values.