Matriarchal Power: Women's Independence in My Family

While growing up, the external social cues were that women needed to be taken care of and that while a job was nice, the family should be the highest of importance in a woman’s life. That was not the dominant theme in my family narrative. A prevalent theme throughout the generations in my family is that women are independent to the point of being ruthless. In addition, marriage is not always forever is another theme that accompanies women are independent. Additionally, women were not always the primary caregiver for the family; men often contributed as caregivers to the children.
Women in my family hold the power in the system, starting with Lucille. She was the matriarch of the family until she died at 104. I could not fully explain the culture of my family without describing my great grandmother. She was the definition of resilience and survived a lot in her life. She outlived her generation and the one below her and still maintained her position in the family. Lucille was the brain of our family. She kept us as a family through rules and expectations but not

They were expected to contribute to raising children and household responsibilities. Generally, men in my family are comfortable cooking and assisting with the children. When I was younger, I can remember all the kids staying with my uncle and grandfather making cookies while my aunt, mother and grandmother shopped. These nontraditional gender roles existed in my immediate family as well. My father was unreliable for financial support, but he cooked and cared for us children after school. These roles were different from the other families I encountered in my childhood. In those household the men worked and the woman stayed home. In recent years, this dynamic has changed in current society. Men are now more active in the home life, and women are not only working but having