Changes in the American Family - Essay Example

The paper "Changes in the American Family" is a worthy example of an essay on social science. The family structure that existed in the United s five decades ago was more traditional with the father considered full-time laborer to provide for the family while the mother remained a housewife. In the context of social theories of family structure and functions, things have taken a new shape. In recent times there has been a significant influence of socio-economic and political factors in the working of the family (Wiseman, 2008). To begin with the marriage institutions, there are several social and political changes that explain increased divorce, separation which has seen an unprecedented percentage of single parenting. This culture is a complete turn of events as compared to the previous stable and complete family of father, mother, and children. Family in the past decade was centrally hinged on heterosexual relations between married couples with significant harsh punishment for deviants like gay and lesbians. This has changed in the United States society where human rights groups lobby for the legalization of such family structures (Wiseman, 2008). It is therefore evident that the political environment may provide undesirable legal structures that have seen homosexual marriage relationships. This is one of the worst changes in the family structure as it evidently works outside the ordinary social limits and even ungodly.

From the economic perspective, the changing socio-economic and political trend has made provision for the family a critical issue. There is a significant shift from keeping women home to take care of children to engaging them in the labor market for additional income to supplement that of the man (Wiseman, 2008). This has seen children now being taken to daycare as both parents work. This has a positive result as it helps women to realize their potential and prove their worth to society. The modern woman now helps in the overall welfare of society through improved productivity to the economy and finds her way into politics to address the issue of women. Read More