This paper will argue about the changes that are happening to the family today which is also an important institution of the society. It will attempt to identify and highlight the factors and other aspects that about brought these changes to the family. Lastly, it will try to provide evidences and other materials to support these initial hypotheses.
In my opinion, the state and condition of the society is dependent on the stability and sturdiness of the family as an institution. This direct relationship is possible because the family is the first socializing institution that a child faces. He/she acquires traits, customs, traditions and mores that are important to the society thru constant and unending socialization and association to the members of his/her family. If this function is flawed or non-existed, the society can experience problems and difficulties. Evidence that supports this position can be cited in the case of the Soviet Union. During the early years of its existence, the communist government in Russia advocated divorce, abortion and sexual freedom and these practices resulted in a massive increase of crime, vagrancy, neglect of children and falling birth rates. The effect of these practices was so far reaching that Stalin in 1934 stated that the family as the basic cell and foundation of Soviet society must be strengthened (Geiger 1968, p. 55).
One significant factor that brought about change in the American family is through modernization, urbanization and rapid industrialization. These processes refer to the rapid movement of goods, services and people and the fast advances in the field of science and technology. These societal conditions have also altered the family. Today, there is a decline on the authority of the husband or father due to the shift in the production activities from their home to the factory where they are working. Many hours of work deprives the husband/father to exercise authority in the family. Due to urbanization, the city becomes an agent that tends to undercut family and community ties which are developed by the family earlier. The usual social pressure which serves as a deviant behavior in a closely-knit family is eroded and is replaced by liberal ideas and definitions that are advocated by the society. In a study conducted by Franklin Zimring (1998), it was found out that violence and deviant behavior are acquired by children and students because of constant peer and social pressure to conform or to “fit in”.
Change has also affected the family with regards to gender roles. Women are now challenging the traditional division of labor while pressing for a redefinition of roles. As a result, they have become conscious with regards to subject such as discrimination in the workplace, sexual harassments, equal pay and equal chance of promotion (Cleveland 2000, p. 83). Therefore, out of this situation, a decline in gender segregation and discrimination as far as the work and occupation is concerned. Women can enter and obtain training in almost any occupation today including military life.
In my opinion, the family is not weakening but evolving and is being different and although I agree that the family is changing, this institution’s greatest strength comes from the fact that is adaptable and it can change in the face of social and cultural changes. Therefore, the family in this case is not dying and weakening but rather, it is evolving, changing and adapting.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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