The Traditional Nuclear Family

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the traditional nuclear family as a mother, a working father and their biological or adopted descendants. The paper then summarizes the history of this family model. The paper then points out that there are also alternative family types such as childless families, same-sex or opposite-sex partners, families with same-sex parents, single parents, grandparents and a variety of relatives and friends and that the most common nuclear family today consists of two working parents. The paper concludes that, despite the fact that the myth of the model family is challenged on many fronts within society, it continues to exist as a strongly held belief within society.

From the Paper:

"These variations in the format of families with respect to roles provide a great deal of information about changes in gender role behaviours within the family context over history. While it used to be expected that women would perform household duties and childcare, while men took care of the financial aspects of a family's existence, today it is much more common for the division of labour not to be arbitrarily determined by gender. Despite this, women do still complete the majority of housework and childcare within the United States."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Family Ties. (2004). Family Ties: The Nuclear Family. http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/familynuclear.html
• Wikipedia. (2004). Nuclear Family - Wikipedia. Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family
• Wood & Wood (1998). The World of Psychology.2nd Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. chapters: Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths (pp. 1-15 in Rereading America). -"Harmony at Home: The Myth of the Model Family" chapter introduction (pp. 17-21). -"A Family Tree, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear" by Norman Rockwell (pp. 21-25). -"What We Really Miss About the 1950s" by Stephanie Coontz (pp. 31-48). -"Talking Freaks: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families on Daytime TV" by Joshua Gamson (pp91-108). -"Visual Portfolio: Reading Images of American Families" (pp. 84-90

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