...Work and Change - The Family Sveinbjorg E. Olafsdottir Sociology-SSCI205 7th July, 2013 This essay will demonstrate the weakening of the modern family and how the weakening of the modern family is a cause for some of the social problems America and other western countries are facing today. What important or significant changes have been in families since 1960 and what factors are responsible for that change? Are families becoming weaker or simply different? And what can be done to straighten the modern family? Among the significant changes that have accrued in families since the 1960 are that there has been a dramatic rise in divorce rate and the ideal family structure has changed from the typical nuclear family. Families today can be combined of same sex parents, single parents, one parent and his/her partner where children have stepsiblings and children born out of wedlock. Since the 1960s women have become more financially independent and the society has become more inclusive. Women have their own career and therefore leave the home for work while in the 1960s women mostly stayed at home to take care of the children and the home. This change has caused more tension with in marriages and children get less time with a parent. (Editorial Board, 2012) Another factor for the change in families since the 1960 can be all the new technology, which brings more expenses for the families, and therefore to be able to afford everything that the modern family needs or is expected...
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...representation of how the family structure was throughout society. Made up of father who worked, a mother who stayed at home to raise the children and family dinners every night. Today in 2012, the family dynamic has changed dramatically. There are several factors that can be attributed to these changes and these changes could continue to change society for future generations. However, perhaps from researching the past and how we got here, we can find ways to strengthen families in the future. Family Changes Since 1960 the family dynamic has changed. Over these mere 52 years families have gone from having both parents in the home, usually with a father who works and a mother who stayed at home to raise the children. Today, many families are broken; children are shuffled between the mother’s home and the father’s home every other weekend. With this broken foundation the family structure itself is becoming weaker, thus creating a difference in society today compared to when our parents and grandparents were being raised. As previously mentioned, the Cleavers made up the traditional family in the 1960’s. This dynamic accounts for less that 15% of families today in the United States (Mintz, N.D). Another drastic change we have seen since 1960 is the divorce rate that has doubled since 1966. Another difference that has grown dramatically since as early as 1970 is the number of homes where couples cohabitate, yet never marry. This type of family dynamic has tripled over...
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...Abstract Many experts cite the weakening of the family as one of the causes for some of the problems that the society faces today. I agree with this statement because in the early 60’s, our fathers worked and or mothers stayed home with the children. Since then, more mothers have been forced to join the workforce to ensure the funding for the family is met. 1 In the early 1960’s, fathers were to be the bread winners, so to speak, and the mothers were to be the caretakers of the children and the home. Today, society has forced mothers to join the workforce just to make ends meet. Some of the families are dealing with single parents trying to make a living and take care of a family while others are being left home alone while both parents make a living. In today’s society, some mothers make a better living than the fathers do, which in turn causes friction and sometimes ends up in divorce. Parents are having to keep their children busy that they are not able to spend the quality time with their children as they used to. I think that more families are becoming different rather than weaker. The main thing is that is important is that the family members develop more of their own personality. More parents are forced to compromise with their children rather than punishing them like when I was growing...
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...relationship to and how it affects them. In narrating or privileging a child's perspective in a novel, the language the reader is presented with is simplistic and the viewpoint of the narrator is often minimalistic as it is based upon the experiences which the narrator has encountered. Shyam Selvadurair's Funny Boy is narrated from an adolescent’s perspective, where the presumed innocence and naivety of the child offers an alternative view to the political, cultural, social and historical tensions in India and Sri Lanka and the effect that it has on the developing child in terms of identity. The child narrator in each text is an outsider as they do not merge with the cultural norms imposed upon by society. Arjie, the product of an upper-class Tamil family in Funny Boy, crosses borders in his awakening as a homosexual, falling in love with a Sinhalese, despite his parents attempt to create a masculine identity for him, in order that he may abide by the boundaries and social order that has been imposed upon him. The need to understand identity determines the characters individual relationship to the tensions surrounding them. Although children might not understand what is going on, they offer a new angle in which the readers may make sense of what they are being told and how it is important to the work as a whole. In Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy, the child narrator draws readers into the characters and problems that we...
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...One of the unintended consequences of civil rights reforms in the last fifty years has been the gradual weakening of traditional family structures. Divorce rates today are far greater than they were in the past and new forms of family structures such as domestic partnerships have dramatically increased. As a consequence, many children grow up with single parents-mostly with single mothers. Research shows that growing up with a single parent greatly increases the risk of emotional and psychological problems for children. For this reason, both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising children to make sure that material and emotional needs of children are properly met. Children need the material and emotional support of both parents. When one of the parents pays less attention to children, they start developing symptoms of various problems such as inferiority complex and alienation. For example, in a study conducted in Scotland, researchers found children growing up in broken families were five times at greater risk of developing emotional problems than those growing up with both parents. Separation of parents also increased the risk of aggressive and bad behavior three times, the study found. Moreover, moving to "reconstituted" families and living with step-children or step-parents further increased the risk of developing behavioral problems (Beckford, 2008). These problems clearly stem from the lack of responsibility on the part of one or both parents. Parents...
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...Eating Gilbert Grape, the main character Gilbert takes on the “Father Role” to support his family economically and financially. The fact Gilbert is the man of the house causes him to repress his anger. His sorrow begins to strengthen his rage in a very unhealthy manner. The melancholy that leads to Gilberts weakening has its roots in his family which is what begins to eat Gilbert alive. All his family members play important individual roles in finding out what’s eating Gilbert Grape. In the film, Amy, being the eldest sibling and daughter of the Grapes, plays the “Mother Role” having to take care of the household. “My older sister Amy is more like a mother”, explains Gilbert, making him portray the “Father Figure”; as he states, “My father built this house, and it’s my job to do the repairs.” Amy being the voice of reason tries her best to keep the family together, which causes Gilbert to repress his feelings the more Amy tells him “he has to do better”. In the scene when Gilbert leaves Arnie in the bathtub overnight, causes a fright to the family; which is when Amy begins to tell him, “You gotta do better” because without his help the family will fall apart quickly. This builds up Gilbert’s emotion because he knows just as Amy he has an important role in the family to fill in. Ellen, the youngest of the siblings, concentrates on appearances, specifically hers. While the family is eating dinner, Ellen begins to chew with her mouth open which disgusts Gilbert. He tells...
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...16, 1751 , and died on June 28, 1836. He was born in Belle Grove, Port Conway in Virginia. He also lived there until the Presidential Election. On June 28,1836 James Madison soon dies on his tobacco plantation. James Madison was the fourth president of the United States. He is also considered as the father of The Constitution. Madison advanced his career in national politics as a member of the U.S House of Representatives from 1789 to 1797. After being homeschooled, Madison went to preparatory school and then he went to College of New Jersey at Princeton. Madison was constantly exposed to the Christian religion and was often influenced by the thought of the eighteenth century. During his upcoming graduation, Madison’s health was slowly weakening. He was soon forced to live at home, where he continued his education. After this, Madison organized the Democratic Republican Party. Which soon became one of the nation's first major political parties. James Madison had proposed a bill in 1810 that would reduce the restrictions on one of the two European countries that respected the uncommitted rights of the U.S. Vessels. As Commander in Chief during the War of 1812, Madison and Treasury Secretary Gallatin were not able to convince congress to increase the funds in order to support the military. Although Madison was a slave owner, Madison also worked hard to end slavery by supporting the American Colonization Society. Soon, The Virginia Plan occurred. The Virginia Plan was drafted by James...
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...Congress of Families II, 08 Nov. 1999. Web. 06 June 2013. The author, Patrick Fagan, Ph.D., uses data from, The World Congress of Families II, to show that each year over a million children suffer the divorce of their parents since now the American culture embraces divorce in law and in behavior. The devastating effects of divorce on children have risen as time has passed. Divorces are effecting children all over the nation, some more than others. Divorce permanently weakens the relationship between children and parents. It leads to destructive ways of handling conflict, diminishes social competence, leads to early loss of virginity, and it diminishes young adults’ sense of masculinity or femininity. It leads to more trouble in dating, to more cohabitation, to higher divorce rates later in life, to higher expectations of divorce, and to less desire for children, states Patrick Fagan in his article. Senior Fellow and Director of the MRRI, Family Research Council, Patrick Fagan, in his article goes well in detail on the topic of the effect that divorce has on children and adolescents psychologically. As an experienced person in the field he expecifically tells you all of what is likely to go through a child mind when facing the reality of their parents’ divorce. Since he is well rounded on the topic he has also expressed his views on how “Americans do not overcome this fear, we will lock ourselves into inaction and lock the nation into a downward spiral of weakening effects...
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...think that marriage is based on love and wanting to spend your life with someone and start a family. But in many western countries this is on the decline. We see in many western societies today, the large changes in divorce rates, the decline in marriage rates, and the general weakening of the traditional family structure. Marriage rates in Canada peaked in the 1970’s and have been on the constant decline since the 1970’s. (Employment and Social Development Canada). We see a seismic shift in cultural attitudes, as it has become more acceptable for couples to live together and have children without being married (Module A3). Many people, especially young individuals do not place the same kind of importance on marriage and having children that they once did. There could be several factors as to whether or not couples decide to get married or live together. Some young adults today struggle to find good paying jobs, and many are hesitant to take big steps like marriage without achieving a certain level of financial security. Module A3 the decision of whether or not to get married and have children, could be decided based on the cost benefit. The comparative economic advantage of marriage was based on having a main breadwinner and a homemaker. The breadwinner model was considered the “Nuclear family”, where the breadwinner is a male. The male works outside the home to provide the family income, and the female stays at home and is the caregiver and takes care of the children. However...
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...argued by some that gay marriage would not weaken the institution of marriage, but that gays would add social stability as the number of couples that take on real, rather than passing commitments, grows. Marriage would remain important in its obligation, commitment and social recognition. Two points are worthy of comment. The age group of 18 to 29 year olds supports gay marriage ( 55 to 61%), while those over 65 do not ( 18 to 21%) [according to a CBS News/ NY Times 2003 poll]. This in part, reflects generational shifts in the understanding of marriage itself. The second point is more sobering. The weakening of marriage to date has been done by heterosexuals—in infidelity, the divorce rate, and the growth of single-parent families. Continued debate on this issue may shed light on our notions and attitudes and understanding of marriage itself. In terms of organization, the family system in the United States emphasizes monogamy, neolocal residence, a modified-extended...
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...What’s Eating Gilbert Grape In the film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, the main character Gilbert takes on the “Father Role” to support his family economically and financially. The fact Gilbert is the man of the house causes him to repress his anger. His sorrow begins to strengthen his rage in a very unhealthy manner. The melancholy that leads to Gilberts weakening has its roots in his family which is what begins to eat Gilbert alive. All his family members play important individual roles in finding out what’s eating Gilbert Grape. What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a beautifully shot movie of tenderness, caring and self-awareness that is set amongst the fictional working class one street town Endora. Centred around the Grape family Ellen and Amy and their two brothers Arnie and Gilbert, who, along with their morbidly obese widowed mother Bonnie Grape are striving to survive and coexist with the absence of a father figure, low wage work and seventeen-year-old Arnie's severe mental condition. It is in this awkward and extremely one sided affair that the unfortunate Gilbert has to constantly, while working for the town's slowly dying Convenience Store, take care of his younger brother Arnie. Gilbert's life, his future, is thwarted he knows this, but it is in this Guardian Angel that his love and bond for Arnie cannot, and will not, be let go. That is until the free spirit of Becky arrives in town, and with her grandmother are stranded for the ...
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...problem or achieve a goal. These social policies are mainly based on laws, which provide the framework for agencies to follow. The first social policy that will affect the family is marriage. There are different laws in place to discourage certain behaviour inside marriages, a few examples of these would be; marriages must be monogamous where only one person can be married to one person at one time, in the UK it is illegal to marry or have children with your brother/sister but is legal to marry and have children with your first cousin, etc. Laws like these would have an effect on a family as having an affair on your partner is illegal and therefore if this happens then the marriage may breakdown and may end up in a divorce. Divorce is another social policy that will have an effect on the family. Divorce was granted legal in 1857 but it was very hard to get one up until the late 1960’s which made divorce become more popular as it was easier to declare. However, a divorce can only be granted if one of the following applies; Adultery – when one partner has a sexual relationship with another whilst in a marriage, unreasonable behaviour, two years separation if both partners consent, two years desertion or five years separation if one of the partners does not consent. Divorce will have an effect on the family because, as feminists believe, women are normally granted custody of the children which means that the children will not have a father around all the time and may only see...
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...progressively losing the meaning and values behind it due to state legal practices. The need to abolish marriage as a legal contract, from a symbolic interactionist perspective, can best be determined by studying the societal changes displayed by today’s high rates of divorce, increased rates of children being born and raised by single parents and state and federal benefits marring the sanctity of marriage. If we remove state mandated control and deregulate marriage, we can in turn strengthen and encourage marriage based on a couples own perspectives and strengthen the quality of family. Early Americans viewed marriage as the staple to a quality family. Men and women found compatible mates they could spend the rest of their lives with, for reasons of love and procreation. They viewed marriage as forever and worked hard to keep their marriages strong. The symbolism behind a strong marriage meant a strong quality family unit. Today, with the tax benefits associated with marriage, it is more of a social contract that is not based on moral obligations, but financial benefits. The Federal tax benefits they give to married couples provide incentive for individuals to get married. This incentive takes the focus away from personal and moral beliefs and persuades an individual to focus on financial reasoning. For example, according to the IRS tax rate schedule (2012) an individual with a seventy thousand dollar a year income would be placed into a twenty five percent tax bracket. If the same individual...
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...5(2): 93-98 (2011) A Study of Elderly Living in Old Age Home and Within Family Set-up in Jammu Aruna Dubey*, Seema Bhasin**, Neelima Gupta* and Neeraj Sharma* * P.G. Department of Home Science, Govt. College for Women, Parade, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India ** Directorate of Distance Education, University of Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India KEYWORDS Elderly. Old Age Home. Family. Modernization. Urbanization. Life Expectancy ABSTRACT The last century has witnessed a rapid increase in the population of the elderly people in the developed and industrialized countries. This phenomenon is not restricted to the western world only, but many countries such as ours are now feeling the impact of this transaction. This situation could be attributed to a combination of factors such as increase in age, longevity and decreased death rates due to advancement in the field of medicine, improvement of life expectancy at birth, and enhancement in the average span of life. India ranks 4th in terms of absolute size of elderly population .The country is not adequately equipped to look after their special health needs and the changing traditional value system. A feeling is now growing among the aged persons that the attitude of the younger generation towards them is not as desired. In the above context, a study was conducted to understand the feeling of the elderly residing in the old age homes and within the family setup in Jammu. The sample of elderly women was selected using the “Purposive...
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...work at home, and since family sizes were larger and there was no gas, electricity, home appliances, telephone, running water or indoor plumbing, housework much harder. Therefore, staying at home and taking care of the family and the home was a full-time job for women. Sometimes, women would earn money at home by taking in boarders. Sons were sent to school until they were twelve or fourteen and then put to work, the age was later raised to 16 as the necessity for education grew. Daughters either worked part-time for wages or at home with their mothers. All children, male or female, were expected to turn over their wages to their parents. In the 1960s, the baby boom happened because men and women were so stable financially they did not see a problem with having many children in a short period of time. Men found it easy to get jobs straight out of highschool, were able to pay enough to support families and had job security. However, at this time, life was very different for African American citizens. For African American families, men were not the only ones considered to be “breadwinners,” as women were always expected to work outside of the home. This caused...
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