Nuclear Family In The 1950's

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. …show more content…
The nuclear family consisted of a pair of adults and the children they had together. The family was what they were created to be, they exhibited the concern and welfare of one another, and “only slightly more than one in four marriages ended in divorce during the 1950’s” (Coontz 29). Yet, perfection was not evident because many were unhappy in marriage. Even in their unhappiness, husband and wife remained together because the “new stability, economic security, and educational advantages…counted for a lot in in [their] assessment of their life satisfaction (Coontz 40). This suppression gave birth to individualism today. Today’s society has made family all about the importance and benefit of a single individual. This can be seen in the sharp increase in the divorce rate which is “about 40 to 50 percent “(www.apa.org/topics/divorce/). Many individuals that are marrying young are ending their marriages rather quickly because of expressive individualism- finding loyalty and happiness in one’s self. This self-absorbent nature is driving the divorce rate to grow and is making the term “family”, or marriage for that matter, into a contract that can be easily broken. This is therefore causing families to be broken and “family” isn’t seen any more as a unit that consists of two parents, but rather a single parent discovering more of whom they are and their …show more content…
In the 1950’s, the support was believed freely available for anyone and “federal assistance programs were much more generous and widespread” (Coontz 33). This was possible not because perfection was distinct but, because poverty was evident. In fact, “poverty was higher than it is today” (Coontz 41). Nowadays, one has to beg to be supported by the government and this causes concern to quickly develop for the family as they wonder if their children will be financially stable to have a home, car, or pay off school debts. Perfection will never be reached as long as poverty is prevalent. The government doesn’t want to offer any more support that is ‘easy’ and that causes worry about what the future for families look