Oppressive Nuclear Family - Essay Example

Oppressive Nuclear Family April 21, Introduction There are different family ifications. The nuclear family is a family composed of two spouses and possibly children. The United Kingdom has its own share of the patriarch-led nuclear family environment. The nuclear family is one of the confirmed sources of avoidable patriarchal oppression. Nuclear Family The family culture is normally carried over from one generation to the next. If the parent is oppressive to his nuclear family members, the children normally emulate their parents. The male children will likewise be oppressive to their children. When the male children of the children get married, the male children of the children will likewise executive oppressive acts on the family members. The reason is obvious, most of the family member grew up feeling that their parents’ way of running the family should be the only way to manage and train the children to be beneficial future community leaders (Koenig, 2013). Further, the nuclear family is characetised as the father holding unquestioned authority in the family. The wife’s role is to implement the husband’s instructions and to care for the child. The children’s role is to obey the instructions parents, especially the father’s instructions (Widmer, 2008). Furthermore, oppression occurs when one or more of the persons in the family hold unquestioned authority. In most Asian families and African families residing within the territorial boundaries of the United Kingdom, the prevalent type of family is the nuclear family. Consequently, the father will insulted if the other members of the family question the authority of the father, patriarch. Consequently, some quarters may call such unquestioned authority as a violation of the human right of the oppressed family members (Popenoe, 2011). In response, the oppressed family member or members can run to the United Kingdom family courts. The family court can intervene in the affairs of the family, including the nuclear family. The court intervention is granted by court. Some family disputes that reach the courts include inheritance issues. Another family related court intervention occurs when one of the family members is physically hurt (Day, 2002). Further, the patriarchal nuclear family is grounded on biblical history. The bible tells of stories where the father holds unquestioned authority over the family members. The family members grew up to accept society’s culture of oppressive fathers (Wilcox, 2004). The bible’s proverbs 13:24 states that if the father does not use the rod, punishment, to teach the child how to grow up as responsible future leaders and contributing members of society, the father will literally be spoiling the child. The child will grow up feeling it is okay to disobey the rules of the community, group, or United Kingdom’s authorities (Koenig, 2013). Furthermore, some quarters will fight for the retention of traditional oppressive nuclear family culture. Some prefer the complete oppressive family over a broken family. In the broken family, the members may drive away the oppressive father. Consequently, the children will grow up without the fatherly strictness. Divorce has grown statistically. Women who dislike the oppressive husband may immediately file for a divorce. The divorce breaks up the nuclear family (Kaplan, 2012). Moreover, the Oxford, United Kingdom research shows the oppressive nuclear families still continues to permeate our modern day society. One Pakistani community in our Oxford community indicates 15 percent of the Pakistani population is composed of groups of nuclear family setup. The survey was conducted among 130 Pakistani families. The British research shows there are several variants of the nuclear family setup (Laird, 2008). Further, one research during the 1980s showed that oppressive nuclear families may be excessive. Excessiveness may border on sexual abuse. The oppressive male may inflict physical harm on the helpless female family members. The research shows an estimated 35 percent of female family members had experienced unwarranted or oppressive sexual contact. The same research indicated that the oppressive sexual contact occurred before the female victims reached their 16th birthday (Jenkins, 2002). Furthermore, the nuclear family is a source of patriarchal oppression in Britain. In the case of Singh v. Singh, the 17 year old woman filed for a nullity of her marriage. The parents of both spouses arranged the marriage of their children. The lady stated that she was forced by her parents to marry the person she had never met before. The husband is 21 years old. The court dismissed the case. The court stated that the parents had the authority to force the lady into marriage. Under the nuclear family principle, the father can order the daughter to marry anyone the father wants. Next, the court stated that marriage cannot be annulled on the ground that the lady does not love the husband. The court stated that one of the possible reasons for the marriage to be annulled is the incapacity of the spouse to consummate (make love) with the other spouse. Consequently, the court reiterated the complaining lady’s not being in love with the husband and refusal to make love with her husband does not constitute incapacity to consummate. In many British communities, the Asians and the Africans living in Britain are bound by their cultural heritage. The children are taught to continue the traditions and cultures of their native land (Barnett, 2013). In the case of Hirani vs Hirani, the court allowed the annulment of their forced marriage. The marriage was conducted between two people from within the Hindi race. The Hindu race originally came from Asia’s Indian Ocean. The complaining wife stated her parents would kick her out of their home if she refused to marry the complete stranger. The marriage was fixed by the parents of both Hindi spouses. This is an example of patriarchal abuse within the family (Barnett, 2013). Since the nuclear family includes the father’s unquestioned authority, the father may be sued for being oppressive. If the father violates the rights of one or more of the family members, the father is said to be oppressive. If the father constantly uses the rod to whip the child for disobeying, the child may have an impression that the father is oppressive. To be classified as oppressive, the father must be acting against the free will of any family member. The most common oppressive issue is marriage (Popenoe, 2011). In some communities, the oppressive nuclear family setup equates to gender discrimination. The nuclear family culture relegates the female gender as perpetually under the control of the male gender. Consequently, the male gender will continue to insist that the female must obey the husband at all times. The wife’s disobeying the husband’s instructions is immediately meted with corrective punishment. Consequently, many individuals or groups insist that the oppressed wives should rebel against the husbands (Williams, 2007). Among most traditional families, the oppressive patriarch is an accepted family scene. The family members will not dare question the father’s being oppressive. The answer is obvious. The father works to feed the family. The father pays for the house bills. The house bills include the telephone expenses. The house bills include the electricity expenses. The house bills include the water expenses. The house bills will always include the monthly food purchases. Lastly, the house bill includes the medicine and clothing purchases (Wilcox, 2004). Applying logic to the above situation, the father’s working hard to pay the home expenses includes to a corresponding respect from the other family members. The child who disobeys the father’s instructions may result to the father’s driving the objective child or children out of the family home. When this happens, the child will normally think that it is better to accept the oppressive acts of the father in exchange for the father’s paying for the daily expenses of the growing minor child or children (Widmer, 2008). In our modern society, discrimination is considered as a violation of the law (Day, 2002). Consequently, some quarters may question the traditional family culture of oppression. If the outsider tries to stop the father from wielding his oppressive hand on the family members, there is high probability that one or more family members may question the outsider’s minding his or her own business. The angry father may even maim or hurt the uninvited outsider for trespassing into the family home. Further, some quarters may disapprove of the typical nuclear family setup. For people who did not grow up in a nuclear family setup, they may classify the nuclear family culture as abusive or illegal. In the same light, for fathers who grew up in the nuclear power setup, running one’s family differently from the oppressive manner may be running counter to the correct or proper way of rearing one’s children in the proper way, strict and firm (Vogel, 2013). Conclusion There are several family types within our United Kingdom sphere. The typical nuclear family constitutes a family having two spouses and one child or two or more children. Our United Kingdom environment has its own share of the patriarch-led nuclear family. Evidently, the classic nuclear family is one of the spawning grounds for preventable patriarchal oppressive acts. References: Barnett, H., 2013. Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence. London: Routledge Press. Day, L., 2002. Women, Oppression and Social Work: Issues in Anti-Dscriminatory Practice . London: Routledge Press. Jenkins, P., 2002. Legal Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage Press. Kaplan, G., 2012. Contemporary Western European Feminism. London: Routledge Press. Koenig, H., 2013. Family Abuse and the Bible: The Scriptural Perspective. London: Routledge Press. Laird, S., 2008. Anit-Oppressive Social Work. London: Sage Press. Popenoe, D., 2011. War Over the Family. London: Transaction Press. Vogel, L., 2013. L Vogel. London: Brill Press. Widmer, E., 2008Beyond the Nuclear Family. London: Lang Press. Wilcox, W., 2004. Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands. London: University Press. Williams, N., 2007. Black Poetic Feminisn. London: Lulu Press. Read More