Characteristics of a Modern Family

Characteristics of a Modern Family

Societal and cultural norms have long influenced family dynamics and gender roles. Gender roles are the sociocultural expectations applied to males and females. Gender role behaviors take place both in private and in public. Traditionally in many cultures and societies, the norm is that the woman is the homemaker and caretaker, while the man is the provider for the family. However, over the past 50 years, many societies and cultures have seen significant changes in gender roles. As women win rights formerly only given to men, and as men take on more family-orientated roles, gender neutrality has increasingly made its way into family homes.

The trends are significant not only in present times but also for future generations. While research shows that women are increasingly stepping outside their perceived social and cultural gender roles, the same cannot be said for men. Culturally worldwide, the father is portrayed as the breadwinner and the mother as the caretaker. However, as more professions open to women and men, families have seen significant changes in gender roles. According to Oláh et al. (2018), “Much of the decrease in the gender gap for unpaid work is due to women investing less time in domestic duties because of their greater involvement in paid work, than due to a substantial increase in men’s household- and/or care work contribution.”

On the other hand, while more men are beginning to take on a more significant role in child care within the family home, many corporations do not even offer paternal leave.

Moreover, according to Oláh et al. (2018), paternity leave “did not substantially change men’s employment patterns or a division of family work but it did enable fathers to strengthen their sense of competence regarding care obligations and appropriation of their new father identity.”

I think these trends are interesting because the findings show that societal and cultural ideals shape and influence the dynamics of family life. If the norm is that fathers are always the breadwinners and women are always the caretakers, egalitarianism will be stunted, and family relationships will be confined within those constraints. When women suffer under the double burden of outside work and work inside the home, frequent arguments and troubled marital relations can arise, impacting the child(ren) in the home. In turn, the stress of an unhappy marital relationship between parents can cause inconsistency in discipline and an emotional barrier between parent(s) and child.

Reference

Oláh L.S., Kotowska I.E., & Richter R. (2018). The New Roles of Men and Women and Implications for Families and Societies. In: Doblhammer G., Gumà J. (eds) A  Demographic Perspective on Gender, Family, and Health in Europe. (pp 41-64). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72356-3_4

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1) In the readings on Family by Joel Moraco, the author mentions several characteristics of the modern family which have evolved along with modernization and social-cultural progression. For instance, the traditional divisions of labor, family roles, marital expectations, incidence and attitudes towards divorce, gender roles, and societal and cultural norms. Briefly describe any TWO of these modern trends. Why do you consider these trends to be most interesting, and why?

Characteristics of a Modern Family

Be sure to cite your work using APA format. If you have questions about the APA format, refer to the “APA Style Resources” module posted in the classroom.

2) To make this course relevant to your interests and needs, please identify 2-3 questions about parenting that you would like to have answered by the end of the course.