Ideal Family: Defining the Ideal Family Throughout American History

There are many ways that the idea of the “traditional” family has changed over the past several centuries. For instance prior to the 19th century family was often considered anyone who lived within a household whether related by blood or not. This included employees and extended family. Per Coontz (2010) “The biological family was less sacrosanct, and less sentimentalized, than it would become in the nineteenth century.”(p. 35) In society at the time it was socially unacceptable to be separate or not included as part of a family household. Over time, the term family came to encompass the immediate family, a husband, wife and their children. During the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s there were emerging ideas of family that were not widely accepted as traditional or normal, these included single parent homes with only a Mom or Dad, Stepfamilies and same sex couple and parent households. Today, American ideas of what constitutes a family have drastically expanded to include these formerly “non-traditional” families

After reading Isabelle’s summer reading essay, I was not surprised by the values discussed. By reading her essay, however, I have a greater understanding of another perspective on American values and the stress placed upon family. While I agree with the notion that family is an American value, I feel that this ideal does not necessarily entail including people unrelated by blood. Often the stereotypical social commentary seen about the virtue of family dictates that the needs of and relationships with your family supersede all others. That being said, there are always exceptions as American ideals are riddled with contradictions. Such a contradiction is vaguely seen in Isabelle’s essay as she argues both about the unity of family beyond one’s

The understanding of the Diverse Family Structures is important as the structure of the American family grows and changes. To be an effective teacher you need to understand your students and their family structure.

Over long periods of time change is often inevitable. One such instance of change throughout history is that of family members and their role in not only the family, but also in society as a whole. Although changes can be seen in the roles of every family member, it can be argued that the role of women in the family, especially that of mothers, changed the most. Between the sixteenth century and the twentieth century, the role that mothers played in the family and in society changed greatly.

Over time, the American family has proven to be the most resilient structure due to its ability to adapt to changes in our society, economy, and cultures. Families are and have always been the foundation of our society. Today, many types of families exist, making family life and society more diverse. Family types such as blended families, single-parent families, adoptive families, step-families, gay families, lesbian families, and transgendered families exist today. Families are shaped as a result of culture shifts and the economy. The changes and issues associated with these issues have impacted marriage and family roles and structures for both males and females in the home and out of the world of work.

values have been changing and as a result of these changes, the American family is a

One of the ways that Disney remains timeless is that people resonate with the familial support that each character has despite the form of the family (Brockus 201). This is juxtaposed with the cultural defining aspect of what it means to be a family in America, that is more interested in the outer form rather than its function. An underlying myth in American culture presents the family unit as a mother, father, and their children. After the economic prosperity of the fifties, families were able to move to the more isolated suburbs. This trend lead to a shift in the cultural script, where successful people were expected to get married and move away from the family that raised them to start their own family.

As time and years passed by, society’s perspective upon family and life had an incredible shift. In the early 1920’s, “parenting

The Traditional American Family, it can mean anything honestly. What it was perceived from back in the 60s to what it is today there may not be a norm but a tradition

Review the primary arguments in favor of each position presented in the following question: "Is the American Family in a state of decline or simply changing?"

For as long as I can remember, the ideal family household consisted of the male/father as the bread winner, provider, and head of the household, and female/mother, and children as members of this family. This image was embedded in us through our social class, our parents, our community, and the social media. The families of today have drastically changed, and are more complex in the family role. As time progresses, divorce rates are at an all time high, and single parent homes are even higher. To top it off we can’t turn on the TV or computer without seeing or hearing about gay/lesbian marriage or states legalizing same sex marriage. Over time the idea of what the model family was viewed as and the reality of what a model class consist of now began to clash. American families are becoming numb or more excepting of the detrimental changes that I have listed above, of the model African American family. Finances and infidelity are at the top of the list of reasons why the African American family is becoming non-existent.

Combining the multitude of factors that contribute to family formation and structure parallels to mixing ingredients to make a soup that does not always come out with the same taste, as even with the same contributing factors such as race, gender, and social, economic, and political pressure, one family can greatly differ from another. The ideology of the nuclear family shape clashed with my family’s more extended and traditional family structure, and upon arrival to the United States from Korea, initially resulted in opaque gendered behavior and thinking along with muddled male and female constructs. As the family’s stay continued, the idea and shape of the nuclear family began to whittle away at my grandparents’ and father’s initial ideals, albeit at a different pace. As a result of my grandparents directing joining the workforce and contributing, the nuclear family ideals had little influence; on the other hand, my father, after growing up through schooling and having more in depth experience with American culture, was more affected, and the transition into the ideology of the nuclear family was nearly complete after having children. As my father came to be the main breadwinner of the family, the nuclear family shape and ideology was fortified and increasingly embraced, as my dad was pressured to provide, which promoted male dominance within the household.

The American family, which has undergone a major transformation in the past generation, is poised to change even more in the coming century.

A snapshot of the classic yet desired white family of the 1950’s: a pale skinned man with a pressed tie and shiny dress shoes, enjoys the pancakes and eggs his slender and sweet wife had prepared for him before work. The gentle figure leans to kiss her children who hustle to catch the school bus, a full lunch box in each hand and new toys for show and tell. However, this depiction of the “traditional american family” has been greatly modified. In her family history course, Stephanie Coontz asked her students to illustrate their own concept of a traditional or perfect family. Unsurprisingly, the predominating result was the stereotypical “nuclear” family, consisting of only father, mother, and children. This had once been culturally correct, but beginning in the mid-1900’s, the ideal American family has changed immensely with social development. Although the traditional family still exists in several households across the nation, the majority of families are far from the initial standards.

Through history, American families have been based on a household of two parents and children. The father worked while the mother used to stay home, cook, clean and takes care of the children. However, in the last sixty years, American family has experienced dramatic changes, with now a variation of families, different cultures, change in workforce, and many