Taking Sides Paper Laura Stapley Brigham Young University SFL 210, Section 003 Taking Sides: Divorce The world today is filled with so much information, opinions and controversy on endless issues and subjects that it is difficult to differentiate between what is accurate and what is contrived. Therefore, it is important to be able to decipher a credible source of information from a lacking one, especially in published articles. An article written in 1996 by Karl Zinsmeister discusses research conducted on the impact divorce has on children. The article, while thought provoking, has many weaknesses and flaws in its credibility.…
“Woman Hollering Creek” confronts the danger of adhering to the belief that being part of a nuclear family with a mother, a father, and children is the only way to achieve happiness in life. We often view marriage and children as the greatest achievements in life, but Cisneros argues that they are not enough to fulfill us. Supporting her claim, a Pew Research Center study found that only 30% of parents found children vital to leading a meaningful life, and 30% of spouses thought the same about marriage (Parker and Minkin 2-3). Thus, the majority of those who have achieved the nuclear family do not believe it is essential for fulfillment. Despite society’s praise of nuclear families, attaining one does not guarantee happiness.…
The term ‘family’ has been one that is constantly changing with the times and the seasons of society. Many tend to fantasize about the “ideal” nuclear family in the 1950’s: a father who went to work in an office in a suit and tie, a mother who cleaned the house in heels and cooked every meal, two and a half children that were well behaved, and a house with a white picket fence. However, this image is not a true depiction of the 1950’s. Rather than seeing the restraints and precautions had on the family, individuals are swayed by this myth of a “problem free” decade. The rise of individualism, shift in gender roles and changes in the social environment has made the myth of perfection established in the 1950’s ever more impossible to attain today.…
Dr. Coontz discussed the many myths and realities of marriage, as well as the ways marriage has changed over time in her lecture “The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap.” She touched on topics such as: single parent families, step families, divorce, the stability of marriage, as well as the separate spheres for men and women. Dr. Coontz brought up many interesting facts about the history of marriage. She stated that contrary to popular belief, single-parent homes were the norm in the early 1900’s up until the 1950’s. This was due to the high rates of death as a result of war.…
With divorce rates seemingly increasing every year in America, it raises a question, are American families in trouble? Divorce used to be something that was shunned, but now it has become generally accepted by society because of how often people go through divorce. Now in America a divorce occurs nearly two thousand four hundred times per day. This statistic is growing year by year, and leaves me to wonder why it is increasing so much. The articles I read on this matter shed light on the question “Is the American Family in Trouble?”.…
The American Dream and American Society have sensed changed from the Leave it to Beaver, nuclear family of the 1950s and sixties. From the suburban household with a husband at work, wife at home and their children, playing in the front yard. Brought upon many changes in the past couple of years to the staple of the nuclear family. Yet the traditional family still survives today, only to integrate and become a category among the varied families that now shape the new American society. This melting pot of families has emerged out of decades of movements and events, though the twenty-first century brought a surge of change to what is now viewed as the many faces of the modern American family.…
Changes in American Society Today, many people underestimate the value of marriage and family in America. The 21st century has seen a drastic change with new confused adding culture, language, norms, religion, persona views, experiences, different race marriage, and the environment society. To many this is a great diversity in America, and to most it is interfering with the original “American Dream”.…
The structure of the American family is changing. A heterosexual married couple with children had been considered the norm since the early 20th century (Why the nuclear family has to die, 2012) , but that is no longer the standard. As with any changing institution, there are those that look upon these changes as positive things; that these changes strengthen the family unit.…
In the U.S., the biggest changes in the family are in its structure and changing priorities. In the past century, and particularly in recent decades, the definition of the family has widened to be inclusive of a spectrum of family structures, not just nuclear or traditional families. Less people are getting married and the divorce rate has increased, as have single parent homes and cohabitation, while birth rates have decreased. Ideas about gender roles in families have also been challenged with the women’s rights movement and the legalization of same sex marriage. There has also been an increase in interracial and interreligious marriages.…
For this assignment I chose a newspaper entry from The New York Times with the title “The Changing American Family”. I learned in lesson 1 that there is no true “definition” of family until you come to the political part of it that has to do with rights, benefits, taxes and so on, instead it’s really to each is own. A family could be two parents, one child and a dog, or it could be a mother and her child, in this day in age having one parent or even an unrelated guardian is almost “common”. Many people are considered lucky to have their biological parents still together growing up. Twenty to thirty years ago, though, it was very much looked down upon to have divorced or separated parents, in fact some people today still look down on it whether…
To examine the subject of family and divorce one must look to the three sociological theorist perspectives. The functionalist list six major contributions that the family preforms for basic survival and maintenance. The regulation of sexual behavior and reproduction is governed by rules within the society limiting sexual activities and child bearing to marriage and family contexts. This is to establish supported offspring and generations. Socialization and education are established by parents and family to develop values, norms, language, and skills useful to society.…
Approximately forty to fifty percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. In America, divorce has become an accepted institution where a sense of individualism is found as couples are separated “for the greater good”. However, at some point in the marriage, conflict has arisen which has led to this separation through legal matters. While there are many factors that play into this very high divorce rate in America; one of the prevalent causes seems to be explained through conflict behavior theory.…
Sydney Weissman, Noah Prince, Dillon Tanner Dr. Godwin Sociological Perspectives 31 October, 2016 Effects of divorce on children Each year, approximately one million American children experience their parents getting divorced. Statistically, 50% of marriages will inevitably end in divorce (Cherlin). That means that every other child living in America comes from a household with a single parent (Booth). Studies have shown that Americans are marrying earlier and only for personal gratification and benefits rather than long term commitment. Therefore, divorce has become a way to rectify a poor decision.…
Marriage and Family is all around us. It’s on television, newspapers, and magazine ads. We pass by families on the street, in the store, in our own neighborhoods. At some point of our lives, everyone has a family. However, with society changing and progressing and falling over time, the definition of a family is changing.…
There are plenty of reasons as to why you would need a divorce lawyer. Unfortunately, not every relationship is meant to last. When two people do decide to get a divorce, their emotions are running high. Everyone expects a relationship to last, but unforeseen events do happen. As a couple does enter into a divorce, there is a need to hire a divorce attorney.…