MODERN 'AMERICAN' FAMILY (Essay Sample)

Student's Name Professor's Name English DD Month YYYY MODERN AMERICAN FAMILY Over the decades, concepts of family life have profoundly changed. The traditional ideal nuclear family-Dad, Mom, a couple of kids, a dog maybe, and a spacious suburban home- has become a potent myth. Same-sex marriage was made legal in January 2013 across the nation with political battles over the rights of these rights being fought. There has been an increase in divorce in the modern family with a significant percentage of American children living in families that do not contain their married, biological parents. Most people do not consider a successful marriage as one of the most important things in life. There is also a change in the family structure. Traditionally, the man used to be the breadwinner of the family while in the modern family, women have joined the labor force. Also, a significant percentage of births by the American women are outside marriage (Colombo, Robert & Bonnie 18). The ideal traditional family consisted of a dad, mom and a couple of children. It might not be the case in the modern American family as same-sex marriage has been legalized. Despite the political battles fighting these rights, this continues to be a new development in the contemporary society. Therefore, traditional ideas about an ideal family have changed, and our definitions differ. Throughout the 1950s, the unmarried people were seldom sexually abstinent, though, the age of first intercourse was higher than it is now. Most of the nonmarital births would eventually lead marriage even before the child was born. During this period, most teen pregnancies were to married couples (Colombo, Robert & Bonnie 35). It is contrary to what happens to what goes on in the modern society. Most of the teen pregnancies may not lead to marriage. Therefore, the rates of single parenting in the modern family are higher than in the traditional family. Most children stay in a family where they do not have biological parents. 1950s family culture was neither nontraditional nor idyllic. It was characterized by the universal discrimination on women, gays, non-Christians, political nonconformists, and racial or ethnic minorities. The families who were harmonious in their free will would be able to function smoothly in the fifties (Colombo, Robert & Bonnie 40). This is not the case in the modern American family. Minority groups have been given rights and therefore, they do not face much criticism as they encountered in the earlier decades. Gender equality has been promoted thus reducing the discrimination on women. The society has evolved throughout the decades and made it possible to accommodate these minority groups of individuals. Education and other measures of social class have made family patterns unequal. Educated individuals are likely to marry. Less-educated couples are likely to divorce. Marital status affects the socioeconomic position of a person. Socioeconomic status is what make up the social class of an individual. Over the decades, social class has become an essential reference of differentiation on union formation and dissolution, fertility and parenting behaviors. Therefore, people with the same social class will tend to marry (Carlson & England 1-2). In the past, the literacy levels were not as high as they are right now. The society was characterized by poorly educated backgrounds, unemployment, and poverty (Colombo, Robert & Bonnie 36). Therefore, there was a lesser gap between the social classes as compared to modern day family. Historically, father's role in the household has been characterized by breadwinning. In the contemporary family, fathers contribute in different ways which may include nurturing and caregiving; providing moral guidance; connecting the child to his extended family; engaging in leisure activity; ensuring the safety of the child, and linking the child to community members and resources( Carlson & England 6-7). Men have been freed from the expectation that they are the primary breadwinner. Marriage became more optional and separated from childbearing. It gave men more freedom to avoid family responsibilities thoroughly and women more freedom to shut...