American Family Life Now vs. Family Life in the 1950s - Essay Example

Sociology: American Family Life Now vs. Family Life in 1950s Sociology focuses on the study ofpeople, groups, and society as a whole. In the process of analyzing how people react within a society, the existing political system, culture, and economic status of a country has to be examined (Farley, 2000: 69 – 70). In a macro-sociology, functionalist and conflict perspectives are commonly used in analyzing order and conflict within a society (Farley, 2000: 72). In line with this, a comparative analysis using a functionalist perspective will be conducted to determine how the American family was depicted in 1950s as compared to how it is depicted now. In the process of going through the comparison analysis, an overview with regards to the prevailing social norms on family and family roles, gender roles, and family function will be provided. Based on the gathered information with regards to the factors that contributes to the breakdown of the American family structure, some of the highly recommended solutions will be provided to address the sociological problem in the United States. Prevailing Social Norms on Family and Family Roles, Gender Roles, and Family Function in 1950s and Today Family is one of the three major institutions of the society aside from work and welfare. (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004: 2) In line with this, a family is considered as the basic unit of a society. For this reason, it is important for each individual to fully understand how the modern family structure is functioning. Since a family is composed of a group of people with a common intimate and complex connection with one another, family members are normally involved in activities and social practices like socializing the young, regulating procreation and sexual activity, and the provision of physical, psychological and emotional support to family members. However, there are quite a lot of factors that triggered the significant changes in the function of a modern family particularly in terms of gender and family roles. Over the years, the strong family ties of the modern American family are slowly being broken down. Changes in the social norms on family structure and family roles, gender roles, and family function are being affected by the challenges most Americans are facing with regards to political and socio-economic changes. In line with this, the weakening of the family structure most Americans are experiencing right now is causing serious sociological problem. Influenced by several sociologists including Talcott Parsons, Wilbert Moore, Kingsley Davis, and Emile Burkheim among others (Farley, 2000: 72), the functionalist theory of sociology consider the norm of a family as one that is composed of a husband who will function as the father, a wife who will function as the mother, and the child(ren). In line with this, a family structure that is not composed of a husband, a wife, and children will be considered as a deviation in a normal family values. Back in 1950s, the American family structure was very much well integrated as compared to what we have now. Over the years, the traditional family structure in the U.S. has been challenged with issues related to divorce, homosexuality and same sex marriage, legality behind adopting a child, the public acceptance of single parent families, teenage pregnancies, and unwed mothers among others (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004; Schmitt, 2001; Edwards, 1987). Even though there are still some men and women who decide to get married, most of married couples in modern days prefer to have only one or two children because of economic and financial reasons. Based on the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the marriage rate in the United States has been constantly decreasing whereas the divorce rate is following an increasing rate since 1950s (Teachman, Tedrow and Crowder, 2000). Over the years, the traditional nuclear family structure wherein the fathers rule and order children is slowly becoming less practiced within the modern society. This is primarily due to a lot of social circumstances including the high divorce rate, death of fathers, and the unmarried women who got themselves pregnant which gave either the single mothers and/or same sex couples the power and authority to manage the welfare of a family and children (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004: 46, 61). Although feminist movement was already trying to fight for women’s equal right back in 1950s, the social movement became more active and powerful in the modern days because of the presence of media and other communication technology which enables women to easily receive inspiring messages from this group. Because of the presence of active social movements, more women started to join the workforce. Basically, women’s active participation in economic activity to support the financial needs of their children is a significant factor that affects the major changes in the traditional family structure (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004: 57). For this reason combined with the presence of economic crisis, more fathers are forced to stay at home to take care of the children while women work (Schmitt, 2001). On the Marxist feminists point-of-view with regards to men’s power over women, feminists critique the concept of patriarchy such that men and women should have an equal authority when it comes to managing the family members. Feminists view on men’s power and authority in managing the family members was simply caused by the unequal treatment, educational, and work opportunities given to women as compared to men. Given that modern women have the privilege to have a better educational and work opportunities as compared to men, women are slowly gaining authority and power not only within the society. Contrary to the high male unemployment rate, most of the mothers who are single parent work part-time jobs to enable them to have enough time to look after their children (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004: 60). As a result of the major changes in the traditional nuclear family structure, the authority and power used within a family setting also changes. Between 1950s up to the present, the social acceptance on homosexuality and same sex marriage is significant change in the family structure in the United States. Based on the survey that was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life on gay marriage and civil union, 32% of the research participants are in favor of legalizing gay marriage in the United States (The Pew Forum, 2008). This clearly shows the gradual public acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships. Although there are still some states that do not recognize legality of same sex marriage, there are already some states that legally permit same-sex marriage. Among the different states in the U.S. that permits, recognize or fighting for a legal matrimonial bonding between the same sex includes New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey among others. Recommended Solutions to Solve Sociological Problem in the United States The media plays a significant role in influencing the perception and social acceptance of the viewers with regards to women’s equal rights, single parenthood, unwed parents, same-sex marriage and women’s active participation in the workforce today. Since younger children age eight and below are the easy target of television shows and advertisers in terms of molding their beliefs and attitude on family issues, it is important for the parents to control and intervene with the type of shows children watch on television and advertisements. Parents play a crucial role in teaching the concept of a traditional family structure to their children. For this reason, parents should always try to be a good example to their children. Although this strategy can be effective in terms of making children understand that marriage should be between a man and a woman, this particular recommended solution may be difficult to apply in terms of whether the father or mother should be the one to spend more time at work. Conclusion The American family life now as compared with the family life in 1950s is becoming misaligned with the family structure as described in a functional theory. Back in 1950s, most of the US families are characterized by a standard nuclear family structure. However, there are some evidences showing that families particularly in US has been slowly detaching from the usual nuclear family structure. In line with this, fathers who are the head of the family spend more time at home taking care of children while mothers spend more time at work instead of staying at home taking care of the children. Many sociologists believe that one of the main causes in the decline of the modern nuclear family as a social institution is due to the high divorce rate or the absence of fathers in the lives of their children (Bengston, 2001; Popenoe, 1993). Aside from the after effect of the feminist movement on traditional family lifestyle, Burgess (1926) states that industrialization and modernization also creates a signifincant impact over the continuously changing functions on nuclear family in our society. With regards to the increasing rate of divorce in US, the essence of a child personally knowing and growing up with his/ her biological parents is highly affected. As a result, a lot of social consequences are becoming significant in the lives of the local citizens. All these controversial issues unconsciously increase the concerns of the American family. *** End *** References Bengston, Vern L. “The Burgess Award Lecture: Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Increasing Importance of Multigenerational Bonds.” Journal of Marriage and Family (February 2001): Vol. 63, pp. 1 - 16. Edwards, HN. "Changing family structure and youthful well-being." Journal of Family Issues (1987): Vol. 8, pp. 355-372. Farley, John E. Majority - Minority Relations. (4th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2000. Hughes, Gordon and Ross Fergusson. Ordering Lives: Family, Work and Welfare (Understanding Social Change). 2nd edition. Routledge, 2004. Popenoe, D. “American Family Decline, 1960 - 1990: A Review and Appraisal.” Journal of Marriage and the Family (1993): Vol. 55, pp. 527 - 555. Schmitt, Eric. "The New York Times." 15 May 2001. For First Time, Nuclear Families Drop Below 25% of Households. 8 November 2009 . Teachman, JD, LM Tedrow and KD Crowder. "The Changing Demography of Americas Families." Journal of Marriage and the Family (2000): Vol. 62, p. 1235. "The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life." 2009. Part 2: Gay Marriage. 9 November 2009 . Read More