Essay On Nuclear Family

The post- WWII middle class nuclear ideal was a time when the husband worked, the wife stayed home and maintained the family, and the children who were obedient and listened well. It was the idea that everyone in the family had to work together with shared responsibilities in order for the family to contribute to the society 's well being. As stated by the New World Encyclopedia, " The family is often referred to as a haven providing love and protection from the rough and tumble industrialized world, and as a place where warmth, tenderness and understanding can be expected from a loving mother and protection from the world can be expected from the father."It was important to maintain this image because this traditional view was suppose to keep …show more content…
Before, marriages were an all time high after WWII because many wanted to achieve the post nuclear family ideal. However, these marriages often lead to a divorce because there is now a power shift within society. More women are now able to get jobs and support themselves, and this was conflicting with the traditional view of a nuclear family. Another contribution to the divorce rates was also the age at which people were married, and most often it was at a young age. According to the statistics found on the Future of Children organization, the number of divorce doubled in the 1970s to 40 per 1,000 married women compared to the 1950s, which was only at 15 per 1,000 married women. The numbers of divorce were so high because it was much easier than before to get a divorce. A great example would be from Zach McKenney 's biography of his father. His father was married three times while two marriages ended with a divorce because of the early marriages that were involved. As divorce rates climbed, we also saw the rise of single mothers, and women who chose not to be married. This was very rare for the traditional view of women because as a women, it is normal for women to have a family, anything otherwise would be considered out of the ordinary. In Vanessa Wear 's biography of Patricia "Patty" Simpson, Patty was never married and she also decided to never have children as …show more content…
The society always feared that if this nuclear family ideal was not kept, then it can potentially lead to dire consequences such as the increase in crime rates, delinquency, and also teenage pregnancy. However, the departure from the nuclear family ideal took place after WWII when the men all left responsibilities to the wives to go to war. With this shift in power at home, it caused many events to occur after the veterans had return such as the rise of the feminist movement, the events following the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, and the age of the technology era