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The New Family The Fading American Dream. By: Emily Miscannon. Thesis.
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The New Family The Fading American Dream By: Emily Miscannon
Thesis • As the family dynamic in America shifts from a traditional two parent household to a more contemporary dynamic, the traditional American Dream changes as well. Instead of the 1950s stereotypical house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a happy family, people strive to be better than those before them, to be economically well off, and find true happiness.
American Dream in the 1950s • For Men: • “breadwinning career’ • Able to support family (wife can stay at home) • For Women: • Married to a successful man • Not all families could afford good life • Books, magazines, advertisements, etc, depicted women and men as homemakers and breadwinners, respectively • All is well on the home front
The Shift • Women’s movement • Equality, jobs, housework • Economic hard times • Can’t afford to have both parents not work • Change in order • Pregnancy comes first (typically not followed by marriage) • Only one parent homes, no marriage at all
Why? • Kids seen as inadequate in today’s society • Today’s generation is different than our parents • Not expecting “happily-ever-after” • House in the suburbs is no longer goal • All kids are problem (war on kids from adults); never good enough • Education hindering family life • More people go to college after high school instead of getting a job and settling down (college education required in most jobs now) • More people want to start career before starting family
Why? • New parental roles • American Dream required two parents, one breadwinner and one housekeeper • New family dynamic is not always two parents • Most families have both parents work; no fulltime housekeeper • Women expected to share more housework responsibilities no matter what kind of job (want men to have equal responsibility)
Conclusions • Changing gender dynamics within a family have shifted family life, which, in turn has caused the traditional American Dream to fade • Changing gender dynamics within a family have shifted family life • New future goals are shaping the way people see themselves in the respect of family