Enhacing family unity in the 21st century - Essay Example

While it is true that family units as they existed in earlier times were sites of patriarchal oppression, it is also true that the form and function of the family has undergone changes and has the potential to experience further change without compromising on the unity between its members. Most theorists fail to see the advantages of the family system and the advantages that children of a healthy and happy family unit have over children who do not receive the same kind of care. This paper shall search for understanding the family unit and explore possibilities for the improvement of the unity of the family structure.

The arguments shall seek to take into account the changed nature of the family structure and the developments that led to these changes through a historical perspective. Accepting the changes in the family unit that have occurred during the twentieth century can be one of the best methods of achieving harmony in the family. An acceptance on the part of the parents of the changed social codes regarding the manner in which men and women are to conduct themselves in society, can help bridge distances between the two parents in case any clash happens.

On many occasions, conflicts arise as a result of the inability on the part of either parent to accept that the gender roles that the other is supposed to adhere to have changed from previous generations. Parents who have grown up seeing earlier models of manhood and womanhood may not be able to adjust to modern lifestyles that demand different definitions of either category of genders. During the twentieth century, the notions of differences between sex and gender that came about primarily due to feminist movements have also caused changes in the structure of the family.

The establishment of the differences in the sexual and gender roles, that a person is supposed to perform, was explained at length by the French feminist, Simone De