Article Analysis: Families By Andersen And Taylor

In today’s society, family is often attempted to be organized within a social structure. Within this structure family typically is consisted of mom, dad, daughter, and son. However, many families do not fit into this configuration. These families may include same sex couples, separated or divorced families, extended families, or even blended families. Even though these families may be happy and healthy, to many they are not considered real families. Going along with the topic of imperfect families, both Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Rodriguez try to break down the traditional family structure through their writing. While Kingsolver’s “Stone Soup” and Rodriguez’s “Family Values” explore the ideas of different family structures and traditional American values, “Stone Soup” breaks down what an actual family is like while “Family Values” expresses the value of family in different cultures.

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? “Traditionally, family has been defined as a unit made up of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption: live together; form an economic unit, and bear and raise children (Benokraitis, 3).” The definition of decline is to “fail in strength, vigor, character, value, deteriorate, slant downward.” The traditional nuclear family consists of a father provider, mother-homemaker, and at least one child (Brym and Lie, 252).” The nuclear family is a distinct and universal family form because it performs five important functions in society:sexual regulation, economic cooperation, reproduction, socialization, and emotional support. Research from the 1950 's to the present will emphasize what trends are taking place among American families. Family trends might not have expected???

A family is something that comforts and includes others. It is an environment where people can feel like they belong. Although in societies eyes the family is much more. We depict who is fit enough to support a family and question if the family is functioning properly. In both articles, Homeplace: A site of Resistance by Bell Hooks and “Family” as a Site of Contestation: Queering the Normal or Normalizing the Queer? By Michelle K. Owen, both authors have distinct understandings of the concept of family and question the societal norm of how a family should behave. Family is a site of belonging and contestation. Both authors describe that there are many forms of family that contrast the typical nuclear model family. Also it is demonstrated that families supply a place of belonging and nourishment. Although society has placed values on families, distinguishing what families are most fit and functioning. Using an intersectional lens it is demonstrated in these two articles that many families reject the nuclear family model, and families are given a value and are placed within a social hierarchy.

n the upcoming page’s I will answer the following questions. Why is family the most important agent of socialization? What caused the dramatic changes to the American family? What are the changes? I will discuss the differences in marriage and family, I will discuss how they are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choices. The purpose of this study is to explore the many different family functions and the paths that people are now choosing. I will give my opinion on whether these changes have had a positive or negative affect. I will finally discuss the trend of the modern family, back to pre-World War II family structure, how would that effect the strides that have been made in the progression of women rights.

This paper will discuss the differences between families from the 1960’s and the families of today. There are many differences between the different times. I have focused on the parentage portion of the families. I explained what the ideal family is and how it is different today. I’ve also included ways that will help these families of today become stronger as a family.

The family affords its members with a social uniqueness. Offspring are born into their parents’ social class, culture and race, religious conviction, and so forth. Some kids have benefits throughout life because of the social uniqueness they obtain from their parents, while others face many hindrances because the social class or race/ethnicity into which they are born is at the bottom of the social ladder. The conflict perspective accentuates that many of the problems we see in today’s families stem from financial inequality and from patriarchy. The problems that many families experience echo the fact that they live in or near an impoverished

Now well into the 21st century, as a modern, innovative, and multicultural North American society – there are a myriad of family-types, subsequently, multiple definitions and ideologies that encompass family systems, functions, and representations. Galvin, Braithwaite, and Bylund (2016) attest that “family life is a universal human experience” (p. 2) and that “there are many ways to be a family [because] family life is as diverse as the persons who create families” (p. 3). Deliberately, Galvin et al. (2016) reveal different family-types that range from two-parent biological family to intergenerational family with five different cohorts in between, each with individual characteristics (p. 9). Amidst family cohorts, the single-parent family (SPF) comprises one parent, and one child or children forged by choice (including adoption and other means), separation (including divorce and desertion), or death. The SPF is also categorized dependent on custodial functions and responsibilities (Galvin et al., 2016, p. 9).

Hughes, M., & Kroehler, C. J. (2013). The family. Sociology: the core. New York (pp. 319-332). NY: McGraw-Hill.

The make-up and concept of what was once considered a traditional nuclear family is quickly disappearing (Timmerman, 2013). According to Jojic, Raj, Wilkins, Treadwell, Caussade-Rodriguez, & Blum (2012), “Traditional family roles have changed, and the conception of what Americans consider a ‘ family ’ has likewise shifted with differing societal views regarding gender, gender roles, race, and ethnicity” (p. 128). To accompany the changes being made to the customary view of family dynamics, the family environment has become an influential psychological aspect of this change (Kwiatkowski, 2010). As evidence continues to expand regarding all of the changes that have occurred, exact reasons regarding the changes are as abundant as the explanations described in the data.

Our families often are an important part of our lives. They are always there for us. Because of our society’s constant acceptance of new ideals, what one calls a family differs from person to person. The composition and expectations for the modern American family differ from those of the old-fashioned American family, however, both old-fashioned and modern families in the United States are often united, caring, and mostly happy.

Chances are everyone has been asked the question, “What does family mean to you,” at some point in their lives, and to no surprise everyone has a different definition of what family means. Yet, very few people take the time to think about how the family they know and love became what it is today. In this project, an analysis of my family will be conducted. It was observed that a strong correlation between family and the ability to survive was expressed. Based on concepts and work done by Jessaca Leinaweaver and Carol Delaney, a better understanding of this significant connection will be observed. For families in the middle class, such as my own, it became evident that the dependence on family was required for not only social mobility but

Family is often defined in most literature as just a mother and father and children living under the same roof. Although many perceive this to be true, family is now branching out beyond blood relatives. Outlooks of family have been relevant in some literature, influencing the idea of family throughout centuries. These sources include Into the Wild, “The Obsession of Chris McCandless”, and “To Build a Fire”. These sources challenge the idea of family and what it means, revealing a new outlook on family. This allows mankind to ask what family really is, thus, asking if family is truly needed in one’s everyday life, or if it’s exigent relationship.

All around people are celebrating the recent Supreme Court ruling to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. Justice Kennedy, one of these supporters, brought up the fact that because of this ruling, children of same-sex couples no longer have to feel their family is any less than the typical nuclear family (Liptak). His point raises an interesting look at the views of family and it's emerging definition from traditional, to modern.

Over time, nearly every aspect of American family life has gone through extensive transformations. Just over the past three centuries there has been overwhelming changes in family’s roles and functions, childcare practices, and emotional dynamics. The definition of what is considered to be “family” has changed due to shifts in social values, the economy, and health. Therefore, there isn’t a set definition for the “traditional family” because family life is a social and cultural construct.

“Blood is thicker than water” and “Family before friends” are two common ideas related to the idea of family vs. friends. With social changes to modern society these two terms are even more relevant to how families work and how families will continue to form in the future. According to Mary Patricia Treuthart, author of “Adopting a more realistic definition of family” in the 1990’s the appropriate definition of family was “a breadwinner-husband and a homemaker-wife who live with their biological children,” (Treuthart, 91). This idea focused around the fact that the children had to be blood related and the parents had to be a heterosexual couple. This idea of a family is no longer applicable to what are now modern families. A belief that has taken over the western world is the idea that you choose your family. Family is not blood, but those that you care for and those that care for you. I fully support the idea that every individual decides their own family. Through the evaluation of time comparisons, peer experience and personal experience the idea of family and who individuals consider their “family” will be evaluated to prove the idea that individuals have, in some sense, chosen their own families since the beginning of time. First, I will evaluate a simple timeline of relationships to examine where the cross mixture of friends and family first occurred.