Topic: Change in Marital Roles in the US in Relation to Gender Expectations
Why it’s important: Shift towards less strict standards of marriage allows for more acceptance of non-traditional roles of men and women, and of same-sex marriage. This also changes/ lessens strict gender roles.
Residual: Traditional Man/ Woman. Very specific roles, different for mother and father. Mother expected to cook, clean, take care of children. Father expected to provide for family financially. Father is the “breadwinner” Age at which people get married/ overall frequency of marriage. Very strict path of life, not as many options.
Dominant: General acceptance for gay marriage. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in June of 2015. Still, most marriages follow traditional model. Pew Research Study: in almost 6/10 marriages, both man and woman work outside the home. Husband has highest salary 67% of the time. “More than six-in-ten (62%) survey respondents endorse the modern marriage in which the husband and wife both work and both take care of the household and children; this is up from 48% in 1977”
People getting married at later ages/ less marriages in general. Evidence: “In 1960, two-thirds (68%) of all twenty-somethings were married. In 2008, just 26% were.” Cohabitation is poular.
Emergent: Kids seeing balance of duties between parents leads to a less rigidly gendered society. Children are no longer taught that it is a woman’s job to take care of house and kids, and father’s job to provide financial stability. With fewer gendered stereotypes, equality between men and women will be furthered. Emergent values and actions.
Sources: http://www.americanbar.org/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/human_rights_vol36_2009/summer2009/the_evolution_of_the_american_family.html
I like the way that you split up the outline between the residual, dominant, and emergent philosophies related to traditional gender roles and the like. Perhaps you could also talk about how the expanse of education for all genders has led to this new divide from the traditional roles we have in society.
This is a very relevant and interesting topic. I think that you have a very good sense of direction as to where the essay should go. This topic lends itself very nicely to the use of facts and statistics which will strengthen your argument.
The topic definitely holds significance in each of our lives. My roommate is taking Sociology of the family and he likes it. That got me thinking, maybe you can look at the effect of this change on family lifestyle and family sizes. I don’t know if there is enough evidence to suggest that changing roles has an effect on family size or lifestyle, but it would be fascinating to see how the change in roles might affect family life and such.