The Traditional American Family - 1184 Words

The traditional American family can be traced back to the aggressive marketing in the 1950’s. The image of a white, middle class family owning a moderate sized home with a well-kept lawn. The father is the head of the household who would teach his kids all the life lessons and be the only source of income by working a white collar, corporate job. The mother would stay at home in a full skirt and heels looking after the kids, preparing meals, and taking care of the house. The kids, usually two, would be well behaved and well dressed. This view of the family is narrow and rigid, but through aggressive media portrayals has come to be viewed as normal and ideal. Shows such as â€Å"Leave it to Beaver† and â€Å"Father knows best† reinforced that idea of a good family eating together at dinner, praying together, and being proud of the nation. Today, that ideal family image still holds its place in today’s culture, but there has been a dramatic shift from that ideal to a more diverse representation of the American family. The tradition family has become a sort of fairy tale that can never be achieved. It is now more common to see both parents working to support the family, more women are breaking into the workforce and even fathers are staying home to be the caretaker. A closer look at the data from suggests the traditional family ideal failed to be widely accepted and instead media outlets are scrambling to capture the image of the modern family. Background Information This evolution ofShow MoreRelatedThe Roles Of Traditional American Family Essay1950 Words   |  8 PagesAmerica the roles of the traditional American family have changed over the last couple of decades. Shifting from the more traditional roles of work and family, men being the breadwinners of the family, and the women being at home with the childrearing to more egalitarian values, where ideally both parents bring in money for the family and both parents do the caretaking (Gerson â€Å"Men’s Resistance to Equal Sharing†). According to Kathleen Gerson, we see that most Americans want an egalitarian breakdownRead More Family Values and The Status of The Traditional American Family792 Words   |  4 Pagesof the term family values, many different ideas can come to mind. Morals, religion, beliefs, tradition, expectation, controversy, and misuse are some things that may come to mind when the term â€Å"family values† is mentioned. The true definition and meaning o f family values can most likely never be directly pinpointed, but it is always going to be a known fact that family values are always going to have different meanings to different people. It is the common misunderstanding that family values areRead MoreDecline of the Traditional American Family: Homosexual Parents1246 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿RS-151 Final Paper Decline of the Traditional American Family: Homosexual Parents The conception that lesbians and gay men may be parents is frequently perceived in today s society as impossible or immoral. Gay men and lesbians are often viewed as excluded from having children because sexual reproduction is related to men and women couples only. My approach to this uniquely controversial topic of gay parenting will be that of attempting to analyze the pro side. Gays and lesbians areRead MoreWhat are the consequences of the breakdown of the traditional family for American society?1236 Words   |  5 Pagesconsequences of the breakdown of the traditional family for American society? 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A mother and father jointly raising their offspring with their values andRead MoreA Modern Twist on a Traditional American Family Ideal from the 1950s1576 Words   |  7 PagesDepictions of families in the 1950s were extreme in a myriad of ways. The notion of a â€Å"nucle ar family,† in which a husband, wife and their children were considered the smallest unit of our society, became incredibly popular. Husbands and wives each seemed to have particular roles and duties from which they couldn’t stray. The husband, of course, was a working man responsible for bringing money to the household. His wife worked on something else: their household itself. She cleaned, cooked, and decoratedRead MoreFamily Structures Are Changing The Face of America1425 Words   |  6 Pagesprogressed the definition of a family has changed drastically. What one would have considered a family in early centuries has truthfully changed from what one would consider a family in today’s society. During earlier centuries a family consisted of a father, mother and their children; however that is no longer the case for most families in American society today. In American society families are defined in many different facets such as the traditional family, blended fa milies, single parent homes andRead MoreEffects of Changing Times on Families Explained in The Changing American Family by Beam and The American Family Is No More by Bidwell563 Words   |  3 Pages 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 Bidwells articleRead MoreBreaking The Bounds Of Traditional American Ideology Essay1172 Words   |  5 PagesBreaking the Bounds of Traditional American Ideology From the beginning of time, different cultures and their countless values have played an immense role in the standards that people living in various societies abide by. People are influenced momentously by the ideological beliefs of their ethos. Cultural principles are distinguishable all throughout parts of the world and are responsible for most of the actions taken, language spoken, attire worn, and even daily rituals of the different societiesRead MoreThe Decline Of The Family941 Words   |  4 PagesThe Declining Family Throughout human history individuals around the world, of various ethnic, racial, cultural backgrounds have linked together to form what people call today families. A lot of questions come to mind when contemplating the complex relationship people have. Since families have a direct bearing on society now and on future generations it is essential to take seriously what is happening to the family. Is the American family in decline, and if so what should be done about it? â€Å"Traditionally