Family in the United States
A hundred years ago one heard the same kinds of comments about the American family that one hears today. In short，that the American family is disintegrating. Proof of this disintegraion, at the end of the 19th century, includes three points：the declining birth rate，a rising divorce rate，and evidence that women were not completely content with their domestic role. It's a little surprising to me that the same claim about the family is being made today. That it is disintegrating and often the same points are mentioned as proof declining birth rates，increasing divorce rates and discontent of women with domestic roles.
Now in no way do I mean to imply that cultural ographic and ecomomic conditions are the same as now they were hundred years ago. On the contrary，the very nature of the family has changed dris in the last fifty yeras，not mentioned the last hundred yeras. But I don't think the average persons concept of the family has changed very much over the years. A lot of people have one fixed idea of the family：a married couple with mother stay home car
eful the children and father works. But this idea challenged by what we are eing everyday in U.S society. To be sure, the family is very nsitive btam for what hapening in society, the culture and the economy of the United States. To make this point clear, we take a look of how the American family has changed in the last fifty years by looking three different time periods. They are the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s and the final prent. Socialologies three periods, the period of traditional families, the period of individual lasm and the period of new lam. I will try each period to show how economic, demograpfic and culture elements in in term of family.
Let's perceive the order, we start with traditional families . I want taking here of twenty years for the mid-1940s to the 1960s. This is the period after World War Two, a peroid of caracters by very strong economy. In this decade United States arising standard living and growing middle class. Academically can figuration of the famliy from this years was the traditional one: American couple with children. Some women worked, but divorce rates were low and birth rates were high. I guess you could say that the country ideali the family in this years and what I mean is that there were a commitment to the family wit
h each members and relevent to it from society Tv programmes of year to pick family in the classical figuration: working father, hou wife and children. The culturaly three caracteristics standed out this period: cnfomative social , of the family in the later periods and clear cut gender row that clear and prate rows women how they worked. Things changed quite bit of after this period.
Let's move on to the cond period. The period of individual lasm. This period is from mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Becau individual is so often mentioned our discussion of people. We should before we discusd it. Individual bring to minds too words: independence and . Individual conveys idea that one should think and actual themlf of lf according to what feels right. Indivitual is easily confud with pr lfishness. But it's best n it's much more. Indivitual implys that one have freedom to decide what's best rather than decision to be made by the group, such as the community or society. Individualism does of cau conflict the concept community which imply in making decisions. And this conflics between the indivitual and community is one comes up again and again rious about the United States. All right, let's give back to our discussion of ab
out the family. The cond period, the period individualism sorts three important social and political movements. Do you have any idea which movements I might be talk about? Keep in mind this decade were caracters by a lack of confomatiy to social norms. Well the movements I have in mind are the Sextual Revolution in which x was clearly no longer rerved for marriage, the Women Liberation Movement and the Movement Against Vietnam. All three movements ,the Sextual Revolution, Women Liberation and Anti-war Movement were typical of non narure decades. Now culturally, it is in this period where we e two important developments. One, the idealisation Korea and work and two, lf . In this period, the famlies movements challenged traditional gender roles and male domination society. Women began to enter professions previously clod them, like medicine, law and management. Men for their part began to least consider and more active roles in rasing their children. This culture changed occured during the time economic changes too. This was time of rapidly rising cost living. Together this fourth change the demodraphic of the family, the former picture of fanlies had only one configuration: a married couple with children while mother stayed home. The new picture
of family had to include new configurations: like families in which the husband and wife both worked, families were single parent with children and families of co couple without children. With more women peusuing the careers and making money, there was less economic precious for them to stay in unsuitable marriges. Therefor, divorce rates doubled in the decade. Rising divorce rates and more financial independence for women made marrige a less atrrative arrangement for many women. Conquently the number of single parent houholds trippled. Now, let's conformtive the social away . So the number of unmarried couples living together in this period called "trippled". Can you e how economic culture aspects of the society with each other? I hope so.
