The study of sociology allows us to examine issues within our personal lives and how they relate to larger, society-wide issues and developments (The Department of Sociology at UNC Chapel Hill, n.d.). Understanding the dynamics of one’s family structure is no different. While each family will create a structure and function in a way that best suits their needs on a personal level, these families will fall into shifts and changing trends that can be seen throughout our culture. Using the “sociological imagination” (Hammond, Cheney & Pearsey 2015), we can analyze our family as it plays into larger societal shifts. This paper sets out to investigate the Herring family and how it fits into the changing family dynamics seen in 21st century America.
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After 9 months of living together, we enjoyed a quiet, family wedding held at my parent’s home in Alabama. Straying from the U.S. trend of first marriages occuring later in life (Elliott, Krivickas, Brault, Kreider, 2010), my husband and I married at the ripe old ages of 22 and 20, respectively. Our decision to marry when we did, while colored by our ever increasing love and commitment, was spurred by my husband’s reentry into the United States Army. Having grown up a military child, I knew that his military service could take him to locations I could not easily follow, had I remained only his girlfried. A very pragmatic conversation was had, a decision made and we promptly wed two weeks …show more content…
It is now more culturally acceptable for women to enter the workforce (Rampell, 2013) and in harsh economic times, it is almost a necessity for women to become a secondary wage-earning in the family. In fact, 40% of households with minor children have a mother who is either the sole breadwinner and/or “the primary source of income” (Wang, Parker, & Taylor, 2013), 37% of which are married (Wang, Parker, & Taylor, 2013). This is a huge leap from the 11 percent of breadwinning mothers seen in the 1960s (Wang, Parker, & Taylor, 2013). Our society has shifted in such a way that not only do I believe it can be my place to financially provide for my family, but my husband is in agreement as
After 9 months of living together, we enjoyed a quiet, family wedding held at my parent’s home in Alabama. Straying from the U.S. trend of first marriages occuring later in life (Elliott, Krivickas, Brault, Kreider, 2010), my husband and I married at the ripe old ages of 22 and 20, respectively. Our decision to marry when we did, while colored by our ever increasing love and commitment, was spurred by my husband’s reentry into the United States Army. Having grown up a military child, I knew that his military service could take him to locations I could not easily follow, had I remained only his girlfried. A very pragmatic conversation was had, a decision made and we promptly wed two weeks …show more content…
It is now more culturally acceptable for women to enter the workforce (Rampell, 2013) and in harsh economic times, it is almost a necessity for women to become a secondary wage-earning in the family. In fact, 40% of households with minor children have a mother who is either the sole breadwinner and/or “the primary source of income” (Wang, Parker, & Taylor, 2013), 37% of which are married (Wang, Parker, & Taylor, 2013). This is a huge leap from the 11 percent of breadwinning mothers seen in the 1960s (Wang, Parker, & Taylor, 2013). Our society has shifted in such a way that not only do I believe it can be my place to financially provide for my family, but my husband is in agreement as