Single Mothers : An American Family

Though it is a very long nonfiction book, I found myself unable to put it down. I cried a lot and literally laughed out loud while reading this book, and found myself extremely emotionally connected to Kunte Kinte. This book did meet and exceed my expectations. It was vey painful for me to read, yet I am beyond grateful that I was recommended to read it. The story-telling was so descriptive, it put a weight on my heart and made me think and contemplate about the book even when I was not reading it. I think the author did everything perfectly, and I have no critiques. I would like to thank the author for such an amazing historical account and piece of literature.

I believe that society has changed for the worse. The reason I believe this is because society in the past was much simpler. There was not a lot of technology available to individuals. People are starting to lose the art of communication. Instead people text one another in text lingo versus using proper grammar. Family units in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's were much different than they are today. There were more families with two parents in the home. There was less single parent household or step parent households. the more society evolve and changes the worse our society is becoming. The more technology is incorporated into our lives the further people seem to be getting from one another. In the 1950's a traditional household consisted of one mother, one father, two or three children, and a

The period immediately following the Second World War was a time of great anxiety in the United States. Although the Germans had been defeated after many long years of war and much sacrifice and loss, the rise of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Cold War caused Americans great apprehension. However, Americans responded with an increased focus on domesticity and strove to make the family the centerpiece of American culture. In doing so, they hoped to counter the Soviet Union and its policies of egalitarianism, particularly the equality of women in all aspects of society.

“America’s working single mothers: An Appreciation” by LeBron James is a tribute to his hardworking single mother Gloria James. Gloria James has LeBron James at the age of 16 and was single handedly on her own. They lived in poverty because Gloria James was “Lacking any support, and the skills and education necessary to get ahead” (James) making their life extremely hard. Gloria James like every other hardworking and devoted single mother tried her hardest every day to support and provide for her child.

The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.

We generally think of the homeless as people who made bad choices and are doing nothing to help themselves. We rarely think of the parents who have to decide on either feeding their children or paying rent. On how one event leads to a series of events that change the course of history for these families. A family with only one provider who dies unexpectedly, leaving the family with no means of providing for itself. A mother who has to choose the safety of her children over the comfort her abuser provides. Against popular belief that most homeless are mentally ill or lazy people who do not want to work, there are many causes of homelessness (Top Causes of Homelessness in America, 2015).

Ideals of American womanhood between the time of the American Revolution and the start of the Civil War were constantly shifting. The country was founded with the everlasting ideals of economic opportunity, equality, and liberty for all, and compared to Great Britain after independence, America had greater religious freedom and social mobility. In spite of this, numerous groups were excluded from the full extent of these rights and privileges- especially women. After the American Revolution a belief regarding the roles of women emerged and came to be known as republican motherhood, which centered around the belief that women had the primary responsibility of raising their children to uphold the values of republicanism so they could be valuable members of the newly formed American republic. A complementing set of beliefs were instilled into American society between the period of 1820 to 1860, the cult of domesticity, which asserted that women were solely to serve as wives, mothers, and housekeepers who were concerned with only domestic affairs. While the principles brought forth by the cult of domesticity and the ideas of republican motherhood were accepted by many, much of what they embodied was unachievable for women of lower economic standing due to social oppression that handicapped their opportunities, especially blacks who were often separated from their families due to the institution

Edin and Lein wanted to discover the surviving strategies of single mothers who are on welfare or work on a low-waged job. They argue “neither welfare nor low wage work gives single mothers enough income to meet their families’ expenses” (253). To find out the set of survival strategies of single mothers to make ends meet Edin and Lein interviewed 379 low income single mothers. They chose their interviewees from different cities, different aged group, and different ethnic background. Most mothers who are on welfare wanted to find a job and be out of the welfare but the primary problem that single mothers face was that “family economics”. With the minimum wage income it was impossible for the single mothers to bring the ends meet. Neither working nor being on welfare was enough to survive therefore mothers who are on welfare supported their budget by generating substantial supplementary income. Edin and Lein states that “welfare recipients generated extra income by working at side jobs, obtaining cash from network members, community groups and local charities”. They also get cash help from the family members, child’s fathers, and from a boyfriend. Because they were afraid to lose welfare benefits they did not tell anyone about the extra income they have. To survive they needed both the welfare benefits and the extra income. It was very difficult to establish a trust with the interviewees in the beginning because they were afraid if they talk about it they might lose the

In the United States, there are approximately 10 million single mothers leading a family on their own (“ Single Mom Statistics: Surprising Facts & Figures of Today’s Single Mother”). Having a father in the home, can have numerous benefits to a child’s development.

Through the years the definition of family structure has drastically changed. Today, over fifteen million children under the age of fifteen live with single mothers, while some three million live with single fathers (Family Structure). The "Leave it to Beaver" family is no longer the standard, and several variations on family have been created (Blessing). Society needs to accept the new definition of family structure to include single-parent families, same-sex marriage, divorce, and adoption through passing regulations and laws that prohibit state and local governments from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation. Society does not accept this new definition and resources are not approved to help the new categories

Single mothers are usually portrayed in film and television programs as being weak and needing something to be dependent, usually on a man. Five single mothers in the film The Single Moms Club come together to support each other in areas that are their strong suit. These women in this film do carry the gender roles that are put on women, as well as break many of the gender roles. I will be focusing on three out of the five women in this film. These three women all share the same gender role theme of being a caregiver. Each of these women have their own stories, different backgrounds and gender roles that they represent, and some break the roles of being

Australian society face solidarity and Division: Sole Parent Families are living on the edge of poverty, with predictions of a 65% increase of sole parent families by 2036, Why are so many Australian sole parent families living so close to or below the calculated poverty line?

Growing up in today’s society, are the youth still retaining the same values? Are they aware of current events and the difference between what they should do and what they want to do? With every passing year, society seems to move at a faster pace where families do not find time to sit and talk to each other. It is a more and more rare occurrence when children get to see their parents. Dinner tables now contain unhealthy fast food and family outings are a long lost memory. A mother is responsible for strengthening the roots of the child so that they bloom into productive and responsible individuals. But what if mothers do not monitor their children’s activities? Does it always lead to them being weak in aspects of

Single parents have been criticized since the beginning times of early settlers and their negative backlash has deep roots in American culture. Even before the American government was established, early settlers borrowed ideas from England to create settlements laws and colonial poor laws in the 17th century to punish women who didn’t have husbands and mothers whom unfortunately were not part of a marriage. The sole purpose early settlers established these laws were to punish women who committed adultery or fornication. Men too, were held accountable for children born out of wedlock. These laws remained in effect throughout the early colonial times. Centuries later when Ronald Reagan became president the laws took drastic changes and it was during the Reagan’s presidential era, that one cannot help, but to notice the drastic social changes that occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Fundamental roles and social changes created a concern for how people view the conservative ideology in the United States with emphasize on single parents’, especially women. Adding to the concerns, an increase in single mothers, teenage pregnancy, divorce rates caused the government to cut back on public programs such as, Medicaid, food stamps, maternal and child health services. The president himself labeled women of low income communities as “welfare queens.” Due to the government’s decision to cut back on public programs, consequently an

I am one of the 23% of single mothers in America (Bureau, 2016). Being a single mother is both common yet challenging because many single mothers face the same issues: it is hard to maintain a steady job, it is challenging to managing finances, and it is covered in a negative stigma.