1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因.
1950年代的美国家庭主妇
1950年代的美国家庭主妇
1/15二十世纪后半叶美国引领着世界技术的发展和经济的进步。
图片来源:旧影阁的凤凰号。
2/15整个美国的社会生产效率非常高,这样就保证了一个愿意参加工作并有能力参加的工作的美国人可以获得一份不错的劳动报酬。
3/15在美国,男女同工却未必同酬。
女人挣得工资比男人要低20%。
而一旦有了孩子,托儿费非常高,而且所付的是税后的钱。
4/15理论上美国一个人的工资收入可以养活好几个人。
因此多生娃,老婆做全职家庭主妇的就不存在什么现实困境了。
5/15因为历史的原因,美国社会对家庭妇女不低看。
美国男人一直对女人做主妇的接受度很高。
6/15美国女人都有一颗想做母亲的心,都把孩子和丈夫看得高于一切。
7/15美国女人夫妻感情再好,也不放弃享受个人空间的乐趣。
8/15结婚有了孩子也绝不会影响美国女人的个人空间。
9/15她们明白生命是个体的,只有对个体生命意义的自我重视,才能唤起别人的重视,所以美国女人结婚后常常会一个人出去和婚前的好友聚会。
10/15美国人喜欢做义工,家庭主妇也不例外。
11/15美国家庭主妇都选择和自己爱好利益相关的专业去做义工。
12/15做义工虽然没有收入,但能和社会的大循环合上拍。
13/15美国女人个个高高大大,但她们都会在丈夫面前装出小鸟依人的样子。
她们每天和丈夫见面就像久别重逢,热烈拥抱,帮丈夫换上休闲装,让美国男人有一种被需要的感觉。
14/151950年代的美国家庭主妇。
15/151950年代的美国家庭主妇。
二十世纪五十年代美国妇女生活的变化
环球智库019二十世纪五十年代美国妇女生活的变化郑彩云(西北师范大学 甘肃兰州 730070)摘 要:美国妇女生活在五十年代发生了反常的变化,五十年代前的美国妇女走出家庭,摆脱传统妇女形象,享受着独立和自由,走在通往经济等的解放道路上;五十年代的美国妇女,一反常态,女子结婚的年龄越来越低,生育率大大提高,教育和就业率也发生大变化,公众倡导妇女回归家庭,大量妇女成为传统家庭主妇;五十年代,美国妇女生活发生如此大的变化,与当时社会、经济、政治等的发展有密切关系。
关键词:五十年代;美国;妇女生活;变化在美国传统的观念之中,妇女的地位较低,其活动范围长期以来被限制在家庭之内,较少参与到政治、经济等涉外活动,妇女在西进运动中发挥了至关重要的作用,但学者对其研究往往忽略。
直到十九世纪中期妇女运动的兴起,一些有识之士开始呼吁社会关注妇女问题,号召妇女联合起来争取自己的合法权益,然而,对这一时期妇女的关注也仅仅局限于妇女选举权运动。
二十世纪六、七十年代,美国新社会史开始兴起,它的分支妇女史在妇女运动和新左派运动的影响下发展起来,关于妇女的婚姻、教育、就业等问题得到学者们的关注。
然而,在这两次兴起的妇女运动之间,妇女的社会地位出现过倒行逆施,在二战后的十几年间,妇女运动有短暂的停歇,这对妇女的社会生活有着直接的影响。
五十年代前美国妇女的生活状况五十年代前,美国妇女经过一个多世纪的奋斗,在经济、家庭等方面的地位都已经有了明显的提升。
大量的女性开始走出家庭,进入工作场所,在经济方面取得独立,早在1920年,美国妇女就取得了选举权。
大概从十九世纪四十年代开始,美国妇女就开始了争取自身权益的社会运动,逐渐获得财产权、子女监护权、离婚权、选举权、性自由权、生养权、经济权等权利。
殖民地时期,美国就出现了安妮·哈钦森这样倡导自由的女性人物,美国建国以后,伊丽莎白·斯坦顿和苏珊·安东尼等一些女性代表开始意识到为自己争取平等的权利。
第五章 美国人的家庭和家庭婚姻观
(8)群居(communal living)
1960年代性解放运动之后,婚姻家庭神圣性被扫 荡一空,男女性爱的秘密被揭露,对一切都显得无 所谓的西方年轻一代,其中有相当一部分再也不愿 意像父辈那样自我约束、小心谨慎地过日子,他们 从家庭里走出来,自发地聚集在一起,组成了一个 又一个现代人群居部落。 这种单身群体生活试验在70年代形成高峰,90年 代开始进入低潮,但是依然没有完全消失。 群居村试验者自己在面对情感、性爱、生育、子女 抚养,以及父子关系确立等一系列复杂问题时也是 束手无策。
(2)对妇女的影响
美国当代妇女确实争得了更多的自由和更大 的权力,但却并未得到相应的幸福。 从经济上看,研究显示,离婚会导致家庭的 收入减少和贫困风险的加大。 单亲家庭尤其是单亲母亲家庭的贫困率非常 高。 家庭和婚姻模式的变动对成年人的情感和生 理的影响也越来越多得到研究成果的证实。
四、当代美国人家庭与婚姻模式演变原因及 其影响
1、影响美国人家庭与婚姻模式变化的因素: (1)价值观的变化。 (2)物质至上主义与竞争性环境的影响。 (3)婚姻和家庭中性别角色的转变。 (4)社会的认同与法律的更改。 (5)房地产业的发展。
(1)价值观的变化
个人主义和享乐主义开始盛行,这些对美国 人强调责任、利他和自我约束的传统价值观 造成极大的破坏,也对美国人的家庭与婚姻 模式产生了巨大冲击。 个人主义和享乐主义是核心家庭减少、离婚 率和非婚同居等现象上升的重要原因。
第五章 美国人的家庭和家庭婚姻观
一、美国家庭的历史演变 二、现代美国家庭婚姻及家庭婚姻观 三、现代美国家庭结构和婚姻模式的变化 四、当代美国人家庭与婚姻模式演变原因及其影 响
一、美国家庭的历史演变
1、工业化前的美国家庭 农业社会里,农场家庭既是生产单位、生育单位 (繁衍后代)、生活单位,又是教育单位、分配单 位。 家庭结构:扩大家庭(extended family):几 代同堂、家庭人口众多、生育率高。 家庭成员之间的关系以父权为中心。 婚姻基础:主要是物质上的依赖、父母的意志、双 方经济条件和宗教信仰。(男女之间感情较少)
美国犯罪问题的深层次原因:家庭结构的变化
美国犯罪问题的深层次原因:家庭结构的变化近几年来,美国的犯罪问题一直备受关注。
无论是枪支暴力、毒品滥用还是青少年犯罪率的增加,这些问题都对社会秩序和人民生活带来了严重威胁。
虽然犯罪问题是多方面因素的综合结果,但家庭结构的变化在其中扮演着重要角色。
一、家庭稳定性下降过去几十年,美国发生了巨大的家庭结构变化。
婚姻率下降,婚姻离异率上升,单亲家庭比例大幅增加。
研究表明,稳定的家庭结构对于儿童的成长发挥着至关重要的作用。
然而,单亲家庭普遍存在着经济、情感和时间等多重压力,导致对子女的养育和监管不足。
这种家庭结构的不稳定性增加了孩子们成为犯罪分子的风险。
二、缺乏儿童的健康成长环境家庭是儿童成长的第一环境,直接影响其行为、价值观和社交能力。
然而,随着家庭结构的变化,一些儿童面临着缺乏稳定、健康的成长环境。
父母的离异、父母间的冲突以及对儿童的疏忽都可能对儿童的身心发展产生负面影响。
这些负面影响可能导致儿童缺乏道德观念、情绪不稳定、注意力缺陷和行为问题,进而增加了他们陷入犯罪的风险。
三、教育机会不平等家庭结构变化还加剧了教育机会的不平等。
在单亲家庭中,由于经济压力和时间限制,父母可能无法为子女提供良好的教育资源和机会。
而与此同时,家庭结构相对稳定的家庭往往能够更好地支持孩子的学习和发展。
教育机会的不平等使得一些家庭的孩子陷入了贫困和边缘化的困境,无法获得公平竞争的机会,这也会导致他们更容易将犯罪作为解决问题的途径。
四、社会价值观念的转变家庭结构变化还带来了社会价值观念的转变。
在传统的家庭结构中,父母往往扮演着权威和榜样的角色,对孩子们的行为和价值观进行塑造。
然而,单亲家庭的普遍增加和父母间的关系紧张,在某种程度上削弱了父母的权威性。
同时,媒体和社交网络也对孩子们的行为价值观产生了深远的影响。
这导致一些孩子在缺乏积极家庭环境的情况下,更容易受到负面影响,例如追求暴力、违法行为,进而滑向犯罪。
综上所述,美国犯罪问题的深层次原因与家庭结构的变化密不可分。
50年来美国的阶层分化
50年来美国的阶层分化我们现在的社会还能保持高度的流动性吗?我会从你非常关心的教育这个角度来谈谈社会分层。
我们接下来要一起读的书是哈佛大学普特南教授写的《我们的孩子》。
1.50年前的克林顿港让我们跟随这本书的第一章,回到50年前的美国,我们到普特南教授长大的地方看看。
普特南1941年出生于纽约州罗彻斯特市,但他是在俄亥俄州的克林顿港长大的。
你可以把自己代入到这段历史中去,想象如果你当时也在那里,你会如何看待身边的人,和你自己?20世纪50年代美国的社会阶层壁垒处于一个历史最低点,克林顿港可以称得上是美国的一个缩影。
那是一个人人都有“美国梦”的时代。
普特南上的是克林顿高中。
在学校里,来自各个社会阶层的学生混杂在一起。
有的孩子来自白领家庭,有的孩子来自工人阶级家庭,但富裕家庭的孩子并不觉得有优越感,穷人家的孩子也没有什么自卑感。
他们在学校里是一个班的同学,放了学在同一条街道上玩耍,周末跟着父母去的是同一个教堂,假期参加的是同一个童子军团体,孩子们自然而然地打成一片。
当时,无论是富裕家庭还是贫穷家庭的孩子,大多成长在健康的家庭里。
一般来说,爸爸赚钱养家,妈妈在家照顾孩子,每个家庭的收入有高有低,但家庭生活都比较稳定、完整,离婚率不高,每天下了班、放了学,一家人都会聚在一起吃晚饭,这是难得的家庭时间。
每个孩子都一样在家里得到父母的照顾和爱护。
那是一个社会进步的伟大时代。
当时,一个勤劳的人不愁没有工作,那一代人对自己的未来充满了信心。
在普特南教授的同学中,将近3/4的同学受教育的程度高于他们的父母,绝大多数人在社会阶梯上攀登得比父辈更高。
很多孩子不但是家里出的第一位大学生,甚至还是第一位读完高中的人。
底层的孩子占多数,但他们昂首挺胸,阔步前行。
顶层的孩子占少数,但他们也不是都能待在高处,有些人不进则退,最后的处境还比不上班上上进的穷人家孩子。
普特南是1959届毕业生。
他们那一届学生说,我们很穷,但我们不知道什么是穷。
美国四十年家庭观念的变化趋势——从20世纪60年代到90年代
美国四十年家庭观念的变化趋势——从20世纪60年代到90年代Thornton et al.对“家庭是否正在衰亡”的讨论已经旷日持久,近几十年来家庭行为和态度的重大变化使这一争论再次成为焦点。
一方面,有学者把这些变化解释为家庭衰落和解体的象征,认为这对个人和社会不利。
另一方面,有些人认为家庭只不过是在变迁,而不是衰落,认为那些变化既可以视为有利,也可以视为有弊,或兼而有之。
当然,很难评判谁是谁非,因为“家庭衰亡”本身就是一种很难进行衡量的象征性说法,评价它的好坏取决于研究者的价值观。
这些争论反映了美国人的态度和价值观的变迁,本文对此进行了记录。
我们关注于公众态度在具体家庭问题上的变化,在自由、宽容、平等普遍议题方面的变化,以及婚姻和家庭角色在人类行动和关系视野中的变化。
不评价这些变化是否象征了家庭的衰亡或者兴盛,也不评价它们的好坏。
一、方法本文的研究资料主要来自于五项大规模的调查:探测未来研究(Monitoring the Future)、社会综合调查(the General SocialSurvey)、父母和孩子代际的定组研究(the Intergeneration Panel Study of Parents and Children)、全国家庭与户的调查(the National Survey of Families and Households)和国际社会科学项目(the International Social Science Project)的美国子项目。
这些资料提供了关于美国家庭生活态度和价值观变迁的广泛的各种指标。
每一项调查都跨越了80年代晚期到90年代早期,其中两项有90年代晚期的信息。
有的还有更早的信息,这使我们考察近年来的变化有了分析的历史背景。
因为这五项调查各具特色,有不同的研究视角,所以每项调查研究得出的家庭观念趋势并不总是一致的。
美多元化家庭模式对妇女地位、经济及心理的影响-家庭社会学论文-社会学论文
美多元化家庭模式对妇女地位、经济及心理的影响-家庭社会学论文-社会学论文——文章均为WORD文档,下载后可直接编辑使用亦可打印——摘要:二十世纪后期的美国社会发生了巨大的变革,美国的家庭模式也产生了改变,对美国人造成了许多方面的影响。
本文从妇女的角度出发,论述了美国二十世纪后期家庭模式的变化对妇女社会地位、经济以及心理方面产生的影响,为研究家庭与妇女之间的关系与影响提供有益的参考。
关键词:美国; 家庭模式; 美国妇女; 影响;二十世纪六七十年代美国进入后工业时代,一系列的社会运动使得美国的社会价值观念开始发生变化,婚姻家庭也受到了一定的影响。
美国传统的核心家庭模式的比例逐渐减少,单亲家庭、丁克家庭、非婚家庭等多元化家庭模式的数量开始增加。
在核心家庭时代,大多数美国家庭角色的分工是男主外,女主内。
但在多元化家庭模式之中,妇女的意识增强,有不少女性选择外出就业,开始扮演着与传统家庭模式不同的家庭角色。
本文将对美国二十世纪后期多元化家庭模式的变化对妇女社会地位、经济以及心理方面产生的影响进行探讨,希望对美国二十世纪后期的研究提供一定的参考。
一、对妇女社会地位方面产生的影响二十世纪五十年代,美国的家庭模式绝大多数是由父母和孩子组成的核心家庭模式。
在二十世纪美国的民权运动之后,美国妇女的意识开始增强,离婚率也在逐渐增加,单亲家庭、非婚家庭以及独身家庭等多元化家庭模式开始在美国大量出现。
在核心家庭模式中,父亲需要负责养家糊口,而妻子则负责照顾家庭和孩子。
但在这些新型家庭模式之中,大多数妇女不再愿意遵循传统每日呆在家中照料内事,而选择外出就业、开始生活。
随着妇女在公共社会各方面参与度的提升以及在思想上的不断进步,妇女的社会地位也在逐步提高。
在二十世纪早期,外出就业的妇女拿到的工资往往低于同等岗位的男性。
肯尼迪在1961创立了妇女地位总统委员会,并通过了《同工同酬法案》。
《同工同酬法案》要求企业为从事同等工作的雇员提供同等的待遇并且禁止雇主对女性受雇者戴有性别歧视的有色眼镜。
美国妇女家庭地位变化的四个阶段
美国妇女家庭地位变化的四个阶段
王毅平
【期刊名称】《山东女子学院学报》
【年(卷),期】1992(000)001
【摘要】根据美国社会学家莱萨和约翰·斯坎佐尼的看法,美国的婚姻制度业已经历了四个发展阶段。
夫妻平等的程度都有所提高,妻子们在家庭中都获得了更多的权力。
第一阶段:男主女仆在十九世纪的美国,妻子要完全听命于丈夫。
直到1850年,几乎在美国的所有各州,殴妻还都是合法的。
尽管夫妻都负有家庭责任,但妻子在决定家庭事务方面,除了丈夫允许的以外,不具有任何发言权。
她的财产及所有收入都归其丈夫所有。
妇女在十九世纪没有投票选举权,这一限制,部分地反映出了妇女在家庭中的仆人地位。
【总页数】1页(P49-49)
【作者】王毅平
【作者单位】
【正文语种】中文
【中图分类】D669.68
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2.论建国以来我国婚姻制度的创制与变迁——《婚姻法》与中国妇女家庭社会地位
的变化 [J], 贾海薇;巩玉涛;关溪莹
3.20世纪20年代美国妇女婚姻家庭生活特点及其地位和角色变迁 [J], 周莉萍
4.从夫妻关系看华北抗日根据地乡村妇女家庭地位的变化 [J], 郑立柱
5.改革开放40年中国农村已婚女性家庭地位的变化——基于中国妇女社会地位抽样调查数据的分析 [J], 唐永霞
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The Evolution of American Family Structures
The Evolution of American FamilyStructures美国家庭结构的演变美国家庭结构的演变是一个引人注目的社会现象。
随着时间的推移,美国家庭结构发生了巨大的变化,从传统的核心家庭到如今多样化的形式。
这种演变反映了社会的变革和价值观的转变。
在过去,美国家庭的典型结构是由父母和他们的子女组成的核心家庭。
这种结构被认为是稳定和理想的,被视为社会的基石。
然而,随着女性解放运动的兴起和性别角色的改变,传统的家庭结构开始受到挑战。
女性开始进入职场,追求自己的事业和经济独立。
这导致了家庭结构的多样化。
一个显著的变化是单亲家庭的增加。
离婚率的上升和非婚生子女的增加导致了单亲家庭的增加。
单亲家庭通常由一个父母和他们的子女组成。
这种家庭结构面临着独自承担经济和教育责任的挑战。
然而,许多单亲家庭通过坚强的母爱或父爱成功地养育着他们的子女。
此外,同性恋家庭也开始在美国社会中变得越来越普遍。
随着同性婚姻的合法化,同性伴侣有了合法结婚和领养子女的权利。
这种家庭结构的出现引发了一系列的辩论和争议。
然而,许多研究表明,同性恋家庭与传统家庭一样能够提供稳定和健康的环境来抚养子女。
除了单亲家庭和同性恋家庭,跨种族家庭也在美国社会中变得越来越常见。
随着全球化的加剧和种族关系的改善,不同种族之间的婚姻和合作变得更加普遍。
这种多样化的家庭结构为子女提供了更广阔的文化背景和理解。
然而,跨种族家庭也面临着文化差异和身份认同的挑战。
除了这些明显的变化,美国家庭结构还面临着其他一些趋势。
例如,延迟结婚和生育的趋势导致了更多的年轻人选择独居或与伴侣共同生活而不结婚。
这种趋势反映了个人自由和经济独立的追求。
此外,多代同堂家庭也在美国变得越来越常见。
由于经济压力和老年人口的增加,许多家庭选择共同生活以分享经济和照顾责任。
总的来说,美国家庭结构的演变反映了社会的变革和价值观的转变。
从传统的核心家庭到如今的多样化形式,美国家庭结构不再被视为唯一的模式。
当代美国婚姻和家庭模式的变化及影响
当代美国婚姻和家庭模式的变化及影响The Changes and Influences of Marriage and Family Patterns in Modern AmericaAbstract: Family is the basic social institution and the bedrock of all societies.Family structure and family life can mirror the moral values of the society,its cultures, and its national characteristics. The American society haschanged a lot since the 1960s in material wealth. The enormous materialwealth and the development of science and technology have also pushedpeople to look for more self-fulfillment. As a result, people are more andmore concerned about individual rights. The society as a whole hasbecome more tolerant toward people who do not follow the traditionalcultural patterns. Meanwhile marriage and family patterns haveexperienced tremendous changes under the influence of these changes. Thechanges have tremendous influences on the American society, men, women,and children. Marriage and family patterns in our country have alsoexperienced changes these years. Studying the changes of Americanmarriage and family patterns can provide us some valuable information. Key words: American marriage; family patterns; changes; influences摘要:家庭是社会的基本单位,也是社会的基石。
1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因
1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因A Study on the Causes of the Changes in American Families Since the 1950s[Abstract] In the latter half of the twentieth century, great changes took place in America families. The bread-winner-homemaker family, which was popular in 1950s, no longer predominated in the United States, and the number of single-parent family, unmarried cohabit family and mixed family increased continuously. Meanwhile, divorce rate increased to a great extent, birth rate decreased noticeably and cohabitation rate has been climbing up. Thus someone believed that the America families were declining. Others thought that the family type of bread-winner-homemaker of the 1950s should be rebuilt. This paper points out that the nuclear family prevailing in the 1950s was only a special phenomenon in a special historic period. Its decline did not indicate the death of the family itself. And the American families turn to diversity in which none of the types predominates.The paper aims to provide a general description of the changes in America family since the 1950s, emphasizing especially the changes in nuclear family and analyze the causes of the changes.[Key Words] American nuclear family; family structure; family changes1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因浅析[摘要] 20 世纪下半期,美国家庭发生了巨大变化,五十年代男主外,女主内的核心家庭模式不再占主导地位,而单亲家庭,未婚同居家庭,混合家庭的数量却在不断上升。
美国人的家庭和家庭婚姻观
(2)继亲家庭(step-family)
再婚不仅是两个成年人的結合,而通常也包括前次婚姻中至少 一方的继子女,此种父母双方中至少一方结过婚,并带来前次 婚姻所生的子女,其所组成的家庭,我們俗称为「继亲家庭」 (step family)。 继亲家庭中,家人彼此互动关系之建立比一般家庭来得苦难。 通常继亲家庭由初期成员彼此认识、适应、调适到后期的逐渐 凝聚共识与正常运作,常需要经历一段时间。 父母再婚,使得子女成为“两个家”的成員。多数继亲家庭子 女,不仅与目前家庭有所牵连,也同時与未或监护权之父母有 往來。在此情況下,子女需在两种不同的情境下,扮演不同的 角色,且尚需承受两套不同的家规与期待。当亲身双亲产生冲 突时,子女会被夹在中间无所适从。
2、现代美国家庭
城市家庭成为现代美国家庭的典型形式。 家庭不再是生产和分配中心,而是生活中心。 家庭对孩子的教育功能也由学校取代。 核心家庭为主,出现了丁克家庭(Dink Family)。
二、现代美国家庭婚姻及家庭婚姻观
(一)大变动中的美国家庭
1、家庭类型多样化 传统的核心家庭一去不复返了。 核心家庭、单亲家庭、单身家庭、丁克家庭、混合家庭、同性 家庭、少年家庭。 2、家庭规模小型化 工业化前一般都是大家庭;工业化后家庭规模由扩大型向核心 家庭转变;60-70年代美国家庭规模进一步逐渐缩小。 3、家庭功能简单化 大部分家庭成员跳出家庭圈子,走向社会,家庭成员淡化了彼 此感情依恋,孤独感和疏远感增加。 4、家庭概念复杂化 5、择偶标准和方式的改变
(8)群居(communal living)
1960年代性解放运动之后,婚姻家庭神圣性被扫 荡一空,男女性爱的秘密被揭露,对一切都显得无 所谓的西方年轻一代,其中有相当一部分再也不愿 意像父辈那样自我约束、小心谨慎地过日子,他们 从家庭里走出来,自发地聚集在一起,组成了一个 又一个现代人群居部落。 这种单身群体生活试验在70年代形成高峰,90年 代开始进入低潮,但是依然没有完全消失。 群居村试验者自己在面对情感、性爱、生育、子女 抚养,以及父子关系确立等一系列复杂问题时也是 束手无策。
美国家庭-American Family
中国地质大学江城学院课程论文题目:America, Its Culture___Focus on American Family聚焦美国文化___浅析美国家庭学生沈锦霞学号**********课程主要英语国家概况A2教授郭萍二○一二年五月三十日声明本人呈交的课程论文,是在导师的指导下,独立进行研究工作所取得的成果,所有数据、表格、图表真实可靠,尽我所知。
除文中已经注明引用的内容外,本学位论文的研究成果不包含他人享有著作权的内容。
对本论文所涉及的研究工作做出贡献的其他个人和集体,均已在文中以明确的方式标明。
本学位论文的知识产权归属于培养单位。
本人签名: 日期: ______摘要想要了解一个国家的文化,应首先从它社会的基本组成单位家庭入手。
随着社会科学、经济的发展,世界各国全方位交流的不断加快、加深,人们对于它国文化的了解很大一部分来源于对它国民众家庭的了解。
家庭对于每个人来说都不陌生,它是人类社会的基本组成部分,每个人都生活在某个家庭之中。
基于家庭为基础的家庭文化逐渐为人们所普遍关注。
因为它可以说是了解它国文化的一个重要窗口,因此围绕家庭所产生的家庭文化成为一个世界性的议论热点。
这篇文章从传统的美国家庭结构入手,由浅到深,到1950年起美国家庭结构发生巨变的原因,再着重分析隐藏在美国家庭工作中的价值观,并对价值观的形成无发展做了初步的解析。
中间部分着着重讲了美国人对结婚与离婚的不同态度、孩子在美国家庭中扮演的角色和作用,美国人如何养育孩子,及家庭内部的平等的发展----孩子对父亲的由感情拘谨和恐惧发展到平等。
这凸显了美国人强调个性自由、人人生而平等这一精神主旨。
文章接着讲了婚姻关系发展的四个阶段,简要的阐述了上述精神主旨的发展过程。
最后总括全对文家庭在社会中的作用和家庭价值观做了高度概括。
关键词:文化价值观社会婚姻ABSTRACTI f you want to learn about a country’ culture, you should first learn its basic components of society --- family.Full exchange of social sciences, economic development, the countries of the world continues to accelerate and deepen the understanding of its country's culture. Large part is from the understanding of the families of the people of its country. The family is not strange for everyone, it is an essential part of human society, every one is living among a family. Based on home-based family culture is slow.The general concern. Because it can be said to be an important window of the culture of other nations, so the family around the family culture has become a worldwide discussion hot. This article is written from the traditional American family structure, from shallow to deep,to the reason of the change of family structure since 1950s, then it emphatically analyzes the values at work in the family, and show the development of the vslues. The middle part is mainly about Americans’ different attitude towards marriage and divorce, the role of the child, the way Americans raise their children, and the development of equality in the family----the childrens’ relationship with their father are from formal and fear to equality. And from all the above we can see the spirits of the emphasis on individual freedom and “ Every one is created equally”. Then the article is about four stages of marriage relationships, this paper briefly introduced the development process of the spirits above. The last paper is about the full text, it highly introduced the role of the family in society and the family values.Key Words: culture value society marriageCONTENTS1. Introduction (1)2. Family structure (1)3. Individual Freedom and Equality in the family (2)4. Marriage and divorce (3)5. The role of child (4)6. The Role of the Family in society (5)7. The impact of educational thought in American families and culture ofAmerican society (5)8. Conclusion (6)Acknowledgements (7)Works cited (8)America, its culture___focus on the American family1. IntroductionWhen we talk about Americans, the first word come into our mind is family. Americans take family as their most important part in their lives. So what is the typical American family? What is the family relationship, and how have the traditional American values affected it?It’s generally believed that before the 1960s, American families have experienced the evolution from the family to the nuclear family. Into the 1960s, that is, post-industrial society, with the rapid development of industrialization, urbanization, the values of Americans favor individualism and hedonism, coupled with the rise of anti-tradition and the feminist movement, the American nuclear family is under great impact. Divorce, cohabitation and homosexuality dramatic increase makes in the number of significant decline in marriage rates. The resulting single-parent families, following-parent families, dual-career families, single-parent families, DINK families, gay families, the American family patterns are showing a diversification trend.The divorce rate is gradually increased, the transformation of gender roles in the family, the growing requirements of the material economic and social recognition are impacted American marriage patterns generated tremendous changes in the main factors. We Can not deny that the modern American family patterns do make up for the deficiencies of the old family patterns. But for many women and children, divorce and remarriage is not really no harm. On the economic front, the mother as the guardian of the single-parent families met with great difficulty.2. Family structureTypical American familyIf Americans should name their family:Married Americans would say the name of their wife or husband and children. Their brothers and sisters are just single units.Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are extended family.Traditional familyThe American families were nuclear families which consumed of wife, husband and children and lived in a house or an apartment.Grandparents were rarely found living with their married sons or daughters. Anduncles and aunts almost never do.1950sThe classic American family where the father was the “breadwinner” and the family mother was the “homemaker” and the family had two children.Reality todayOnly today a small percentage of American families are living like “stay-at-home” mother, a working father and children under 18 years.25% Americans is living aloneStructurally, Asian-American families historically included split-household families, transnational families, extended families, nuclear families, and multiple nuclear family households. Evelyn Nakano Glen (1983) described Chinese split-household families as part production or income earning by men sojourning abroad, and part reproduction or maintaining the family household, including childrearing and caring for the elderly by wives and relatives in China. Split-household families were common for Chinese between 1850 and the 1920s. In the 1930s Filipino families also had split-household families since men far exceeded women on the mainland. Gender roles became reversed when Filipina women migrated to become domestic workers and nurses in the health care system, becoming family breadwinners with children and spouses in the homeland. Transnational (split-household) families grew out of economic necessity, and transcended borders and spatial boundaries to take advantage of the lower cost of living for families in a developing country (Zhou and Gatewood 2000). Filipina women preferred having kin, rather than strangers, provide childcare, especially during infancy, even if that meant living away from their children. But this arrangement was considered a broken home because the ideal family was the nuclear family, and there was an emotional cost of not being able to supervise one's own children. These kinship patterns reinforced the cultural value of familism, or mutual cooperation, collectivism, and mutual obligation among kinIn the 1950s, man who had fought in Word War II had returned home, married, and began starting their families. There was a substantial increase in the birthrate, producing the “bab y boomers.”A second demographic factor is that today young people are marrying and having children later in life. Some couple now choose not to have children at all. A third factor is that people are living longer after their children are grown, and they often end up alone. And, of course, there is further factor---the high rate of divorce3. Individual Freedom and Equality in the familyThe belief in equality has had a strong effect on the family. As Alexis de Tocqueville said in 1830s, in aristocratic societies inequality extends into the family, particularly to the father’ relationship to his children. The father is accepted as ruler and master. The children’s relations with him are very formal, and love for him isalways combined with fear. But in America, there is less formal respect for, and fear of the father. But there is more affection expressed toward him. In fact, some Americans are worried that there is too much democracy in the home. Some parents seem to have little or on control over the behavior of their teenage children, particularly after they turn 16 and get their drivers’ licenses. On the other hand, they give their children a lot of freedom because they want to teach their children independence and self-reliant. Children are given a lot of freedom and equality in the family so that they can grow up independently. Traditionally American children have been expected “leave the nest” at about age eighteen, after they graduate from high school. By their mid-twenties, if children still living with their parents, some people will suspect that something is wrong. Today however, a number of young people are unable to find jobs that support the lifestyle they have grown up with, and they choose to move back in with their parents for a time. These young people are sometimes called “boomerang kids”.Americans view the family as a group whose primary purpose is to advance the happiness of individual members. The result is that the needs of each individual take priority in the life of the family. This means that in contrast to many other cultures, the primary responsibility of the American family member is not to advance the family as a group, either socially or economically. Neither is to bring honor to the family name.The American desire for freedom outside control clearly extends to the family. Americans do not like to have controls placed on them by other family members. They want to make independent decisions and not want to be told what to do by grandparents or uncles or aunts. What would be best for the family is not usually considered to be as important as what would be best for the individual. What would be best for the family is not usually considered to be as important as what would be best for the individual.4. Marriage and divorceMarriages are not arranged in the America. Young people are expected to find their husband or wife by their own; their parents do not usually help them. In other words, they will never tell those parents their marriage plan until they decided to marry. Parents have little control over their children marry. Americans believe that young people should fall in love and decide to marry some one they can live with happily with. Of course, in reality this does not always happen, but it remains the traditional ideal and it shapes the views courtship and marriage among young Americans.In Americans value, marriage is determined largely by how happy the husband and wife make each other. So if the couple is not happy, they may choose to get a divorce.A divorce is relatively easy to obtain in most parts of the United States. Most states have “no-fault” divorce. To obtain a no-fault divorce, a couple states that they can no longer live happily together, that they have irreconcilable differences, and that it is neither partner’s fault. The divorce rate rose rapidly in America after the 1950s, but it has decreased by the 1990s. Today, one out of every two marriages now ends indivorce, children are often involved. The majority of American adult believe that unhappy couples should not stay married just because they have children at home. It is significant change in attitude since the 1950s.5. The role of childAmericans affect their children in a contradictory way. That is mostly because they are emphasis on the individual, rather than the group. It may cause them to get more attention and even have more power than they should. What’s more, because most children have mothers who are working outside the home, they may not get enough attention from their parents. In general, American families tend to place more emphasis on the needs and desires of the children and less on their social and family responsibilities. Most American parents choose to learn how to plant children from books that made many books on how to raise children became the best sellers. Although Americans may not agree on how to raise children, they still hold the basic belief that the major purpose of the family is the development and welfare of each of its members as individuals.American children from an early age living in the environment of the "love" they are the love of many parents and families. Every parent is trying to create the best growth and educational environment for their children. Children in the very young, was sent to preschool and kindergarten, where there is specialized in research work in early childhood education teachers for the children arrange courses and activities. In choosing a primary school, the conditions of the parents should send their children to the relatively high fees of private schools, these schools have better teachers and equipment, and the class is relatively small. In family life, parents love their children and it is also reflected in the respect for the wishes of children, understanding and support of children's ideas. Parents usually try to meet the reasonable requirements of the child when the child's request can not be met, or the children have parents of different ideas, parents can patiently explained to speak the truth to persuade, never forced, but few have beaten children phenomenon. Americans in the speech of their children are to use polite language. Their children to help work with to discuss the tone, such as: "......" or "you can help me?" When the children finish afterwards, the parents never forget to say "thank you!" the child does something wrong and the parents of his critics, parents of the children said: "Thank you!" The children grew up in this democratic atmosphere, feel the respect of others, also felt a personal value, which formed they ask others to respect, but also respect other people's concepts.6. The Role of the Family in societyAccording to Letha and John Canzone, two American sociologists, the institution of marriage in the America has experience four stages of development:Stage 1: Wife as servant to husband. It happened during the 19th century. American wives were expected to be completely obedient to their husbands.Stage 2: Husband-hand, wife-helper. It was during the late 19th and early 20th century. The wife’s power increased, but the husband remained the head of family. Stage 3:Husband-senior partner, wife-junior partner. It was during 1960s. More and more wives had jobs outside the house, but they had lower priority than their husbands.Stage 4:Husband-wife equal partner. Husband and wife share their family duties equally; power over family decisions is also shared equallyWe have seen that only one in four households consists of a traditional family—a father, mother and their children. Many of these are actually stepfamilies or blended families. Since most divorced people remarry, many children are living with a stepfather or stepmother. In a blended family, the parents many each have children from a previous marriage, and then have one or more children together. Blinding families is not easy, and, sadly, many second marriages fail.In addition to traditional families and blended families, there are a number of single parents, both mothers and fathers, raising their children alone. Many of the single mothers are divorced, but some have never married. In deed by the mid-1990s, one-third of all new babies were born to single mothers, and this trend continues.In recent years, lesbian couples have created family units, sometimes adopting children. Some states are considering same-sex marriages, and others may recognize them as civil unions. This is a very controversial issue. There is no doubt, that the definition of family has become much broader in the 2000s. The majority of Americans would now define a family as “people who live together and love each other.”7. The impact of educational thought in American families and culture of American societyAfter 200 years of development, the United States eventually become the world's only superpower, the strength of its various aspects of living in the world. A centuries-old country only a short reason why we can obtain such a brilliant achievement, there are many reasons, but I think the unique family culture in the United States, especially in the field of education plays a particularly important role, their family culture democracy, freedom and equality thinking, independent and opening up the spirit of adventure, to a large extent, to stimulate the economic development of science and technology in the United States, its performance in three areas.First, relying on this family culture, the United States each year attracts thousands of immigrants from all over the arrival of a large part is to learn a director or a certain skill that immigrants, they become an important part of the U.S. technology professionals. Such as Silicon Valley in the United States, 3/4 of its engineering and technical personnel come from China and India. Such immigrants can be said to promote the development of U.S. technology can not be ignored. Secondly, the adventure and the spirit of exploration in the American family culture encourage social progress. Not opposed to American society and culture of personal adventure, and even appreciation of personal risk-taking behavior, never ridiculed for losers ridicule. Because of this attitude in the scientific, economic and other fields of the United States, there is often a lot of unexpected invention to create. From the Nobel Prize winners in recent decades, nearly half of the winner from the U.S., this phenomenon is fully illustrates this point.Third, American family is focus on the individual development, democracy and social development. Performance in a single family as parents, children can freely express their views, opinions, everyone can express their views on a problem from their own point of view is manifested in social life, so that the same problem can good to know and analyze, from which to select the most appropriate and reasonable solution to the problem, to avoid the detours taken the wrong road. This is why the United States there are a large number of advisory bodies of the important reasons.As to the family values in America, Daniel Yankelovich has already reported it by 11 points, which is agreed by majority of Americans. He classifies 6 of them as clearly traditional. They are respecting one’s parents, being responsible for one’s actions, having faith in God, respecting authority, married to the same person for life, leaving the world in better shape. The other 5 are giving emotional support to other members of the family, respecting people for themselves, developing greater skill in communicating one’s feeling, respecting one’s children, living up to one’s potential as an individual.8. ConclusionAspects of American family culture can be said that the basic connotation of American families and culture, develop profiles and educational influence have a preliminary understanding, especially in contrast to the family culture in Sino-US educational differences, and further deepen our impression of the American family and culture. Family culture as a new type of culture, to some extent,it becomes us to understand American society and culture, a window, but also comprehensive and profound knowledge and understanding of the influence of educational thought in American culture has a positive effect.AcknowledgementsIt takes a long time to select subject and finalize a manuscript. During this spell, I have learned a lot and I would like to thank my teacher and those who give me a hand on this paper, especially my teacher Guo Ping. This paper is dedicated to my teacher’s guidance; she gives much information about the culture of American family and main direction for my paper, without which I would have never finished this article by myself.Trough the study of the American family, I have learned how to do the research work, how to use valuable resources and how to be a distinguished person.To all of these I owe a profound debt of gratitude, and to my classmates who offered me much help in the proofreading of this paperWorks citedMaryanne Kearny Dates man, The American Ways, Beijing, World Publishing Company, 2002.Shiva Zhu, Modern American Culture, Beijing, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2001.Xiangtan Kong, the Western Culture, Xi’an, Northwestern Polytechnic University Press, 2007.Inland Xia, Modern American Family Law, Beijing, China Politics and Law University Press, 1999.乔安.克兰德尔2008 《美国文化背景第3版》世界图书出版公司。
美国家庭形成的渐变
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他们的渴望是: 现实的和可实现的 并且我们要让他们与婚姻成功的夫妻建立联系,以从他们身上学习如何实现这些人生目 标。 具有讽刺意义的是,在我们今天了解了更多关于如何维护婚姻家庭关系的知识的时候,却 有更多的婚姻家庭正走向失败的结局。由此我们知道,问题不在于是否有知识,而是在于意愿 和应当如何应用那些知识。 谢谢大家1
美国家庭形成的渐变
美国爱家协会家庭形成研究室Glenn T.Stanton
在此我要向中国教育学会家庭教育专业委员会致以诚挚的感谢。感姑他们邀请我与你们 共同来参加在家庭教育方面如此重要会议o
家庭的健康状况是一个国家健康状况最强和最有活力的指标。它标示着我们人类作为一 个族群是否有能力照看自己身边的人和对他们负责任。
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…的确,如果20世纪是“向往有孩子的世纪”,那么21世纪,N,71il可能成为“无孩子的世 纪”o
David Popenoe和Barbara Whitehead,国家婚姻项目 与已婚父母一起居住的孩子的数量持续下降,但仍然在美国社会中占大多数。 当然,与单亲父母居住的孩子的数量不断增加。 同居家庭中的孩子:我们发现与fkfr]未婚的父母亲居住的孩子的数量急剧增加,但大多 数未婚母亲的同居伴侣并非孩子(们)的父亲。 婚姻和福幂U 我们已经有三十年的时问为社会学家提供研究这些家庭变动所带来的福利方面影响所需 要的资料: 1)大量的,不同背景的人口 2)较长的时问 研究结果是有说服力和前后一致的。 正如我在我的著书《为何婚姻非同小可》中所谨慎述说的: 在单亲和同居家庭中的儿童和成人,相较在子女与婚姻完整的生父母同住家庭中的儿童 和成人,大约可成就一半左右的福利——这反映在身体、精神健康、学历、贫富、整体幸福程度、 受无毒品侵犯保护、犯罪和家庭暴力等所有重要的衡量标准上。 该领域的一位主导学者阐释道: “研究明显证明,与维持持续婚姻的父母长大的孩子比其他孩子较少机会出现各种认知, 情感和社会问题;不仅在童年期问如此,到成年后亦然。 虽然我们无法证明家庭结构是产生这些差距的原因,但研究…表明事实就是这样。”—— Paul Amato,宾州州立大学社会学家 这样的趋势使得象詹姆斯?可曼这样杰出的社会学家都禁不住想,我们是否可能是“第一 个忘记其种类应当如何适当地培养其下一代的生物种群”。 婚姻差距 随着这些在婚姻和家庭上的巨大改变,社会学家们开始意识到一个新的差距正加入已存 在的教育差距。 “有幸的”(成人和小孩)生活在婚姻以内,而“不幸的”生活在婚姻之外o“有幸的”却比“不 幸的”生育率要低很多。如此一来,非常不幸,破碎家庭一群在整体人口中的比例将增长。 过去几年中,破碎家庭成长的两个最重大的趋向是: ·未婚同居的持续急剧增加,及这些家庭中孩童的增加 ·二三十岁未婚母亲生育的增加 我想以向大家解释这些趋向是与对婚姻的消极态度和怀疑主义息息相关的来结束我今天 的讲话。 在过去二十年中一直有报告显示,对青年人而言,拥有成功的婚姻和一个愉快的家庭是他 们的一个最重要的生活目标,甚至排在有好的收人和成功事业之上。可是,发生于周遭的失败 婚姻,让他ff3x,-]-于实现这些目标产生了深深地恐惧和担忧。由此,他们认为这些目标是难以达 到的,于是索性不婚同居并在婚约之外生儿育女。 对美国“爱家协会”这样的机构,我们认为我们有责任对这一整代的年轻人说…… 对在我们冈家历史上数量最多的一代人说……
当代美国人家庭与婚姻模式的演变及其影响
当代美国人家庭与婚姻模式的演变及其影响一、美国人家庭模式的演变一般认为,20世纪60年代以前,美国人的家庭经历了从大家庭(extented family,指至少由三代人组成的家庭)到核心家庭(nuclear family,指由已婚夫妇和未满18岁的孩子所组成的家庭)的演变。
①大家庭是北美殖民地开发初期到19世纪工业化这段时间的主要家庭模式。
19世纪中、后期,随着工业化、城市化的迅速发展和人口流动的加速,核心家庭如雨后春笋般地出现,逐渐取代了大家庭的主导地位。
进入20世纪60年代后,美国人的价值观偏向于个人主义和性开放,加上反传统、反权威、反理性风潮抬头和女权运动的兴起,美国核心家庭受到巨大的冲击,家庭模式趋向于多元化,具体表现在以下方面:――双亲家庭(即核心家庭)比例下降。
以前作为主体的双亲家庭在所有家庭类型中的比例在近几十年里急剧下降。
具体地说,亚太裔和白人中的双亲家庭所占比例较高,西班牙语裔(以下简称“西裔”)、印第安人与阿拉斯加土著(归为一种类型,后同)中的双亲家庭所占比例次之,黑人中的双亲家庭所占比例则最低。
――单亲家庭数量增多。
单亲家庭尤其是女性单亲家庭数量明显增长。
在各族裔中,黑人单亲家庭比例最高,其女性单亲家庭比例高达45.1%;印第安人与阿拉斯加土著、西裔次之;亚太裔和白人单亲家庭比例最低。
――单身户增多。
自20世纪60年代以来,美国单身户数量不断增加,40余年间增长了3.27倍。
1960年,美国的单身户为689.6万户,占总户数的13.1%;到1980年和2003年,美国的单身户分别增长到1829.6万户和2943.1,万户,分别占总户数的15.4%和17.7%。
其他家庭模式还包括非婚同居家庭、同性恋家庭等,详见本文第二部分。
另外,当代美国人的家庭户和非家庭户的规模也在日益缩小。
1970-2000年间,5人及5人以上的住户所占比例从20.9%减少到10.4%,而1人和2人的住户所占比例却分别从17.1%和28.9%增长到25.5%和33.1%。
二十世纪六七十年代美国婚姻家庭的发展变化的开题报告
二十世纪六七十年代美国婚姻家庭的发展变化的开题报告【摘要】二十世纪六七十年代是美国婚姻家庭的转型时期,伴随着社会经济发展和文化价值观念变革,美国家庭结构、家庭角色、婚姻模式等方面都发生了深刻的变化。
本文旨在通过分析婚姻家庭中的性别角色、家庭结构、离婚率等问题,探讨二十世纪六七十年代美国婚姻家庭的变化与发展。
【关键词】美国;婚姻家庭;转型时期;性别角色;家庭结构;离婚率【正文】一、背景二十世纪六七十年代是美国社会迅速发展的时期,它是美国大规模现代化的时期,也是美国文化转型的时期。
在这个时期,随着社会经济发展和文化价值观念变革,美国家庭结构、家庭角色、婚姻模式等方面都发生了深刻的变化。
这种变化不仅影响了个人家庭生活,也给整个社会带来了巨大的影响。
二、性别角色在这个时期,传统的男女行为模式和家庭角色分工开始受到质疑。
女性开始追求自我价值和职业生涯,并开始充当家庭的经济支柱。
男性也开始逐渐接受在家庭中扮演更为平等的角色,参与家务和子育。
这些变化催生出了新型的家庭模式和性别角色分工,也为后来的性别平等运动创造了条件。
三、家庭结构在这个时期,婚姻模式也发生了变化,单亲家庭、同居伴侣和未婚生子等新型婚姻模式开始普及。
细分来说,美国的单亲家庭主要指单亲母亲家庭,而且单亲母亲的比例不断上升。
同时,同居伴侣的数量也在增加,很多人选择在婚姻之前同居试婚。
未婚生子也开始普及,这种模式的个案数目成倍增长,既有因各种原因没有结婚的待嫁女子还有因感情因素疏远的夫妻出现。
四、离婚率在这个时期,离婚率也在不断攀升,尤其是1960年代初期,美国的离婚率呈现出一个突然上升的趋势。
这个时期,离婚的主要原因是性格不和、婚姻外的第三者和经济问题。
同时,随着女性地位的提高,女性也不再依赖婚姻生存,因此,对于不幸福的婚姻也更愿意选择离婚。
五、结论二十世纪六七十年代是美国婚姻家庭的转型时期,这个时期,美国家庭结构、家庭角色、婚姻模式等方面都发生了深刻的变化。
美国50年婚姻家庭变迁
1950年
2010年
家庭关系价值观
极其看中婚姻和家庭。单身或者不要孩子被视为异类甚至是变态。妻子和
丈夫不能因工作或事业而分开
单身或不要孩子为社会所理解甚至鼓励。单身或无子女不再被视为异类和变态,而是有强烈的为工作和事业献身的自我激励者。妻子和丈夫可以因为工作和事业而分开并过一种通勤婚姻。大量已婚妇女从全职母亲和主妇角色里抽身而出加入劳动力市场
性别角色
严格的性别角色,男人在外挣钱养家,女人在家照顾孩子
可变的性别角色,很多妻子进入劳动力市场,甚至是在生完孩子以后
性观念
在美国中产阶级中,结婚被认为是性行为唯一可接受的前提。同居是不被接受的,非婚生育是一种耻辱,处女贞节被当做婚姻承诺的条件
对许多人来说,性行为的安全性比婚姻前提重要。处女贞节不再是什么条件。同居不但被人接受而且有时被认为比婚姻更好。对有些人来说,未婚单身父母算是一种生活方式。其耻辱感大大减弱
同质性婚姻
强烈的社会压力要求人们与自己同种族、同民族、同信仰、同社会阶层的人进行约会或结婚。感情和法律纽带深刻影响着人们对父母子女的义务
约会和婚配越来越具有异质性,同与自己非同种族、民族、宗教和社会地位的人交往变得更自由。选择性加大
对亲密关系的文化静默
亲密关系不是媒体报道的适当主题
脱口秀、访谈和杂志社调查步入性和私人关系
离婚
社会强烈反对。家庭主义价值观鼓励夫妇为子女维持婚姻。强硬的法律带把夫妇绑定在一起。婚姻是永久的
离婚取代丧偶成为婚姻走向终结的主要形式。离婚带来的耻辱在减小。个人主义在引导夫妇追求个人幸福。不寻求亦不判断过失的离婚形式使离婚变得简单。婚姻变得脆弱。离开其他亲属而由单亲家庭抚养的孩子数量在增加
美国黑人家庭模式的转变与发展
作者: 沃野;王朔柏
作者机构: 安徽大学社会学系!合肥230039
出版物刊名: 安徽大学学报:哲学社会科学版
页码: 85-89页
主题词: 美国黑人家庭;母权式家庭;父权式家庭;双亲式家庭;迁移
摘要: 研究美国黑人家庭的模式转变 ,有助于察看当今美国黑人在生活观、价值观等方面的发展趋向。
美国黑人家庭的发展、演变经过三个阶段。
在作为奴隶身份被卖到美国的第一阶段中 ,其家庭结构表现为或是女性统治为主心 ,或是不稳定的、一种杂乱亲属关系的共同体 ;在从奴隶转为自由民的第二阶段中 ,传统式的家庭结构渐渐消亡 ,真正意义上的现代家庭模式开始发展 ;从 19世纪末到现今的第三阶段中 ,以父权为统治表征的双亲式家庭已成为发展主潮。
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1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因A Study on the Causes of the Changes in American Families Since the 1950s[Abstract] In the latter half of the twentieth century, great changes took place in America families. The bread-winner-homemaker family, which was popular in 1950s, no longer predominated in the United States, and the number of single-parent family, unmarried cohabit family and mixed family increased continuously. Meanwhile, divorce rate increased to a great extent, birth rate decreased noticeably and cohabitation rate has been climbing up. Thus someone believed that the America families were declining. Others thought that the family type of bread-winner-homemaker of the 1950s should be rebuilt. This paper points out that the nuclear family prevailing in the 1950s was only a special phenomenon in a special historic period. Its decline did not indicate the death of the family itself. And the American families turn to diversity in which none of the types predominates.The paper aims to provide a general description of the changes in America family since the 1950s, emphasizing especially the changes in nuclear family and analyze the causes of the changes.[Key Words] American nuclear family; family structure; family changes1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因浅析[摘要] 20 世纪下半期,美国家庭发生了巨大变化,五十年代男主外,女主内的核心家庭模式不再占主导地位,而单亲家庭,未婚同居家庭,混合家庭的数量却在不断上升。
同时,离婚率大幅度上升,人口出生率下降,未婚同居的比率一直在攀升……。
一些人就此认为美国家庭正在走向衰亡,另一些人认为应该重建20 世纪50 年代男主外女主内的核心家庭模式。
而本文则认为五十年代核心家庭模式的普遍流行只是特殊历史时期的特殊现象,它的衰落并不代表家庭本身的消亡。
美国家庭的趋势是走向多样化而并非一种模式占主导。
本文旨在描述1950年以来美国家庭变化的总体情况,重点描述核心家庭的变化,同时分析其变化的成因。
[关键词] 美国核心家庭;家庭模式;家庭变化1. IntroductionIn the second half of the twentieth century, a diverse range of family types has replaced the breadwinner-homemaker family that once predominated in the United States in the 1950s. Significant trends occurred to the family life in the U.S. Divorce is much more common. Young adults are postponing marriage and often living with a partner prior to marrying. A growing number of children are born to mothers who are not married. And many more married women are working outside the home. Some people predict that the family is in the process of disappearing entirely. Others lament recent family changes and think that family pattern was rooted in unusual historical period, and its decline cannot be seen as a sign of disappearance of the family.A family is indeed in the midst of a major institutional transformation, and then the current level of family instability is temporary. The main trend of the American family is toward diversification of family forms rather than a single standard form.The paper aims to provide a general description of the changes in American family since the 1950s and emphasize especially the changes in nuclear family and analyze the causes of the changes.2. Definition of family“A family is defin ed as consisting of two or more persons, related by blood, marriage, or adoption, living in the same household.‖ [1] P112 But to understand families and the specific relations they represent, we must r ecognize that the term ―family‖ is socially constructed; that is the meaning of family changes in response to a wide variety of social and cultural conditions. To reflect this understanding, we often refer to familiesin the plural. Multiple meanings of family are reflected in the historical and cross-cultural record. For example, in ancient Greece, ―family‖ referred to the household economy, including the land, house, and servants. In medieval Europe, peasants who lived on feudal estates were considered pa rt of the lord‘s ―family‖ and he was called their―father‖ even though they were not related to him by blood. In some cultures, non-kid adults are treated as family members and act as co-parents toward children. Similarly, in contemporary Native American families, the terms used to describe family relationships are more meaningful than narrow English usage would imply: a ―grandmother‖ may actually be a child‘s aunt or grandaunt, and ―cousin‖ may have various meaning not necessarily based on birth and marria ge. However, sometimes we also make generalizations about families by referring to ―the family‖ as a social institution—many expectations and activities embedded in a larger number of social, economic, legal, political and cultural practices. In this paper, it places the term ―family‖, as a social institution in the latter half of the 20th century in the United States.3. Changes of American family“A careful look at what did and did not happen to America families in the postwar period would be helpful for us to avoid any misleading notions about the trends and to examine its underlying causes.‖ [2] P203.1 A changing nuclear familyA nuclear family, in which father acted as breadwinner and mother as homemaker, consists of a conjugal couple and their children. In the1950s, it was very prevalent. But now it has evolved. The paper shows the changes on the marriage, divorce and birthrate in American family since the1950s.3.1.1 Marriage and divorceOne of the key changes in American family is that marriage rates have fallen significantly since 1950 despite a small ascent from 1960 to 1970. It went up moderately in 1980 and then went down in the following years. As the marriage rate went down, the divorce rose, with its peak in the late 1970s.The rising trend in the divorces has been going on for a long time since the 1950s, and we see a slow drop-off in the 1980s and 1990s. During the 1980s and early 1990s, five of ten marriages ended in divorce. In the coming decade, we can expect continual high levels of divorce, perhaps dipping down a bit so that four of ten marriages will dissolve.Another significant change in family union formation process has been the postponement in marriage since the Baby Boom. Chart 1 shows the median age at marriage among American women and men over the past century.As chart 1 shows, for women, age at marriage hovered around 21-22 years between 1890 and 1950, declined significantly during the Baby Boom, and began rising thereafter, reaching slightly over 25 years old in 2000. Patterns for men are somewhat different, with a general decline in age at marriage between 1890 and the Baby Boom. Like women, however, age at marriage for men began rising after the Baby Boom, and in the year 2000, was higher than at any time in the past century (nearly 27.Chart 1[3] p353.1.2The shift in marital and non-marital fertilityBetween 1960 and 1990, marital fertility rates—births to married women between the ages of 15 and 44—declined sharply, while non-marital fertility rates—births to unmarried women of similar ages—increased gradually. Together, these married andnon-married trends represented a reduction in over all fertility while increasing the proportion of children born outside of marriage. Beginning in the mid-1970s, maritalfertility rates stopped declining, non-marital fertility rates begin to rise, and the age at first marriage continued to rise. After 1975, the rise in the illegitimacy ratio was due to increase in non-marital fertility as well as to increase in the number of women at risk of having a non-marital birth. chart 2[4] p20Changes in marital and non-marital fertility altered family life in two major ways: they reduced the prevalence of parenthood overall and they increased the proportion of families headed by single mothers.3.1.3 CohabitationAt the same time marriage is being postponed, unmarried cohabitation has increased. Chart 3 shows the number of opposite-sex cohabiting couple households. In 1960, the number was estimated at less than half a million; at the 2000 Census, there were nearly 5 million such households.Cohabitation, that is living with someone in a sexual union without a formal marriage has become increasingly common. Three million households in 1991 had cohabiting couples, nearly 60 percent of who were under age 35.“Cohabitation has increased six folds since 1970wh en only 500,000 households had cohabiting couples. Only opposite-sex couples are counted in these figures, so these data underestimate the extent of cohabitation in the United States today ‖ [5] P27. About one-third of all cohabiting, opposite-sex couples in 1991 had children under age 15 present in their homes, but far more cohabiting couples are parents. Where once non-marital birth was a relatively minor phenomenon, it has now reached co nsiderable proportions. ―By one estimate, almost half of cohabiting couples have children either living with them or living elsewhere with a custodial parent.‖ [6] P913 Cohabitation is often seen as prelude to marriage. Only 5 percent of women ages 15 to 44 were cohabiting with a male partner in 1988, and one-third had done so at some time in the past. One-quarter of white women, one-quarter of Hispanic women, and nearly one-third of black women had lived withtheir first husband before marriage. Among single persons who plan to cohabit in the future, more than 80 percent said that cohabiting allows couples to make sure they are compatible before getting married. ―At least one of the partners expects the arrangements to result in marriage in 90 percent of cohabitations. Respondents may be overly optimistic, however;55 percent of first cohabiting unions of white women and 42 percent of those of black women resulted in marriage‖ [7] P487.Chart 3[8] p60It is important to note that the rise in cohabitation has helped to offset much of the fall in marriage rates. If we expand o ur notion of ―marriage‖ to include legal marriage and cohabitation, there has been little decline in the institution of marriage in the United States.3.2 Variants of family structureThe new family system we are now seeing differs from the older one in several ways.With the increase in premarital sex, cohabitation, and non- marital birth, a good deal of what used to be reserved for legal marriage is now taking place outside of it. These illegalized sexual and parental activities are not chaotic but exhibit a pattern that has social significance.Cohabitation could actually be perceived as conventional marriage. Cohabitation then should be seen as new variants of family structure rather than phenomena that have nothing to do with a family system. At the same time, we should bear in mind that the conventional nuclear family is still here. Many households still have a father, mother and minor children living together, although this makes up only about one fourth of all households—a significant drop from 1970 (chart 4. As chart 4 shows, the family structure in the United States is becoming more complicated because there are different kinds of families and household types existing at the same time. For example, since 1970 the rateof households composed of married couples with children has decreased, whereas rate of households composed of single persons and single parents has increased.3.2.1 Married couples with childrenTwo–parent families declined substantially in the period 1960 to 1998, from 91 percent to 73 percent. Not all of the 73 percent of family households with children in 1998 had two biological parents in the household. Using data that allow identification of biological relationships, we can estimates that 12 percent of children who live in two-parent families are actually not living with both biological parents and thin that only 88 percent of the two-parent family households with children include bothchart 4[9] p133biologica l parents, and 64 percent of family households with children are ―intact‖ two-parent families. The trend suggests the decrease of the two-parent family.3.2.2 Married couples without childrenAs chart 4 shows, married couples without children has become the most common type of household, with the stable proportion of all households from 1970 to 2000. And that forty-two percent of all families in 1991 consisted of married couples without children. Among married couples without children in 1991, about 15 percent of the women were under age 35, suggesting a possible delay in childbearing. Indeed, over half of all married women younger than 35 who were childless in 1990 reported that they expect to have a child at some point in the future.3.2.3 Single-parent familiesThe one-parent family is usually described as an "incomplete" nuclear family, and there is a general assumption that it is socially undesirable. However, with the rising divorce rate, this family type has also become increasingly common in the white middleclass. Chart 4 shows that single parent household keeps increasing through 1970 to 2000, although there is stagnation in the1990s.Women were five times more likely than men to be raising a family alone in 1991, and African-Americans were almost three times more likely than whites to be single parents. Single-parent families represented with children, one in three Hispanic families with children, and one in six white families with children. Changing patterns of marriage, divorce, remarriage, and the rise in births to unmarried women have contributed to the growth of single-parent families. Demographer Larry Bumpass writes: ―About half of today‘s young children will spend some time in a single-parent family, most as a consequence of divorce… Fu rthermore, this is not just simply a transitional phase between a first and second marriage. The majority will reside in a mother-only family for the remainder of their childhood‖. [10] P 4853.2.4 Blended familyThe family form created in a remarriage that involves one or more children from the previous marriage of either spouse is called a reconstituted family or a blended family. Each has lost a spouse through divorce or death. One or both of them have children from their previous marriage. They form a new stepfamily that includes children from one or both of their first households. Because of constant flow in and out between divorce and marriage in the modern U.S. society, there is going to be a fair number of people in single parent families or families of remarriage. In the United States, remarriage has been the traditional answe r to many of the problems faced by single parents. ―Remarriage improves the financial situation of a divorced mother and provides another adult to share the household tasks and responsibilities. In addition, remarrying is a way to end the loneliness and is olation many divorced persons experience.‖ [11] P80One interesting result of all this divorce and remarriage is that the kinship structure is becoming more complicated. In the tradition of the nuclear family, each child has one father and one mother and lives in a single household until he or she is old enough to leave home and establish another household.With a high rate of divorce and remarriage, though, many children have two sets of parents and two households or sometimes even more. Instead of merely having one set of brothers and sisters, they have two or more sets, living in different places. It is said that there is a whole new problem of etiquette at receptions today; for when children of divorced people get married, a quite complicated set of families may have to be invited to the reception.In this sense we may actually have more family types than before. ―One of three Americans is now a stepparent, a stepchild, a stepsibling, or some other member of a stepfamily in 1991 ‖[12] P360. Without suffic ient guidelines, each remarried couple must work out for themselves definitions for the obligations of each role. They must learn how to reconcile competing claims for time and resources from their own children, the children they are raising who have an absent natural parent, and the children being raised by an ex-spouse. The complexity of these problems that each couple must work out through trial and error means that many things will fail. Family unity will not be achieved, tensions will mount, feelings will be hurt, and relationships will be strained. The consequence is that remarried divorced couples, especially with children from precious marriages, have an increased probability of redivorce when compared to first marriages.4. Causes of family changesThe issue of the causes of changes in family has engaged scholars for centuries, with continuing debate about the particular sources of changes, its direction and consequences for society and individual well being. Some consensus think that cultural and economic changes, such as the effects of industrialization, rising ―individualism‖, women‘schanging roles in the labor market, and more proximate factors (e.g. increasing acceptance of sex outside marriage, the rise of feminism, and increasing control over reproduction all constitute sources of changing family patterns.4.1 Economic transformation in American society since the 1950sEnormous social and economic changes radically altered life for Americans during the second half of the 20th century, partly because that condition was so unique at mid-century. After World War II, the United States experienced an economic boom characterized by rapid growth and expansion of the economy, full employment, rising productivity, higher wages, low rates of inflation, and increasing earnings. A man with a high school education in the 1950s and 1960s could get a good–paying job that would enable them to support a family and join the swelling ranks of the middle class.The following two decades were quite different. There was an economic shift from manufacturing toward services, stagnating or declining wages for less educated workers, high inflation and a slowdown in productivity growth.The period of the 1990s was characterized by economic turnaround, sustained prosperity, and low unemployment.Not surprisingly, when the economy is on such a roller coaster, family life often takes a similar ride. Marriage was nearly common in the d ecades after World War II.―There was an great increase in births between the end of World War II and the early 1960s, an increase which we now call the post war Baby Boom. In 1957, at the peak of the boom, 4.3 million babies were born in the United States, compared to 2.4 million in 1937. Thus the small generation of parents in the 1950s gave birth to a much larger generation—the baby boomers.‖ [13] P10 When those Baby Boomers reached labor market age in the 1970s, the economy was not nearly as hospitable to them as it had been to their parents. They postponed entry into marriage, delayed childbearing, and had difficulty getting established in the labor market.Many of the Baby boomers‘ own children began reaching labor force age in the 1990s. The economic conditions of the individuals who failed to get higher learning became much poorer compared with those who continued on to college. And the differences in economic conditions led to obviously different abilities to attain independence and self-sufficiency.Under these economic circumstances, changes on American family life have been under way since the 1950s.4.2Working-class influence and family-centered values in the 1950sIn the 1950s, the breadwinner-homemaker family was prevalent. In this era of influence, working-class people and younger, some members of the middle class were more able to do what they preferred to do, to marry as soon as possible and to raise a large family. Early economic constraints had kept them from doing these things; early in the century, the age of marriage was much higher simply because most people couldn‘t afford to set up housekeeping on their own until they had worked for a number of years. In the economic boom that followed World War II,workers were finally able to indulge their feministic concerns more than ever before. Therefore, the working-class influence was an important factor that contributed to the typical family pattern of the 1950s.Yet working-class influence alone couldn‘t have caused the baby boom; in the de cade after World War II Americans‘ standard of living also increased, although more modestly, but the birth rate continued to fall. It seems quite likely, consequently, that the spread of family-centered values played an important role in the baby room. According to European historical studies, the spread of family-centered values and ideas can bring about rapid changes in birth rates. In European countries, birth rates often remained high, even after the growth of wage labor, until the spread of new ideas and values triggered a rapid decline. The declines occurred piecemeal, province by province as values diffusedacross local language barriers and trade markets. But in the contemporary United States, with its common language, national media, and integrated market, it is reasonable to think that a change could be triggered simultaneously throughout the country. When the economic situation improved—culminating in the postwar boom, As Scott Coltrane and Randall Collins wrote:Suddenly there were two groups of people who had a chance to get married or to go ahead and have children if they were already married. There were those who put off getting married or put off having children in the 1930s and soldiers returning from the war. Along with this, the generation just coming of age began to marry extremely early and to have children quickly. Feminism had become something of a new cultural movement, and everybody was jumping on the bandwagon. [14] P1404.3 Feminist movement and family changesOne of the main manifestations of the feminist movement at home appears to be an increase in the amount of dissatisfaction that women are showing with traditional domestic roles. Feminists of all ideological persuasions argued that gender equality could not exist as long as women alone had to shoulder virtually all domestic and child-rearing responsibilities within the non-waged institution of the family, subjected to a set of obligations that interfered with their ability to function as full and equal participants in the rest of social, cultural, economic, and political life.Most feminists also asserted that men for their own benefit ran family and that for women it constituted a major locus of oppression, rather than the protected haven of mutual benefit and intimacy it was purported to be. Right to reproductive control, including the right to abortion was asserted as a means by which women could take control of their own bodies and their own lives. Feminists called for child-care centers along with anti-discrimination legislation, for the same reason.By the late 1970s, ideas about gender and the family that had been regarded as radical only a decade earlier were receiving widespread support in the United States. By 1985 more than half of all Americans regarded the best for m of marriage is ―the husband and wife share responsibilities more--both work, housekeeping and child responsibilities‘‘. By the mid-1970s, 52 percent of women wanted to ―combine marriage, a career and children‘, a figure that jumped to 63 percent in the mid-1980s. The percentage of those who did not want a career after marriage declined from 38 to 26.Moreover, 71 percent of mothers who were not in the labor force in 1985 said they would prefer tobe in it, and 82 percent of employed mothers indicated they would choose to continue working even if family finances were not an issue.Employed mothers had apparently changed their definition of good maternal behavior from one focusing on the quantity of time spent with children to one emphasizing the quality of time. By a three to one margin they agreed with the statement: ―I may spend less time with my childre n because I work, but I feel I give them as much as non-working mothers because of the way I spend my time with them.‖In 1960 fewer than half (47.4 percent of the women expected their husbands to help with housework, but by 1980 more than two-thirds (69.2 percent did. These data indicate how American people—especially women—are increasingly changing their notions of the husband-father and wife-mother roles, whether or not their behavior within marriage is changing. I hereby agreed with Chafetz‘s argument that ―these attitudinal changes were significantly magnified and hastened by the rhetoric of feminist Change‖. [15] P2154.4 Increasing labor force participation by women and family changesSince 1960, the rise of women‘s participation in the labor force ha s been dramatic. ―The large-scale entry of women, and especially of married women, into the labor forcehas several effects on family structure and functions, effects that are independent of any impact that might be due to the emergence and growth of a fem inist movement.‖[16] P63 People argued that as jobs in advanced industrial nations have become increasingly technical, younger cohorts of both women and men have had to acquire considerable more formal schooling than did earlier generations. Women‘s univer sity attendance rates have increased noticeably from 1960–1990 in the U.S. By remaining single and childfree during their late teens and early twenties, women are able to maximize their educational credential.When the demand for women‘s labor has increase d significantly, many are more motivated to continue their education because the potential, long-term returns to their educational investment markedly improves. Once college-educated women enter the labor force and begin to accrue experience, skills, promo tions, the potential ‗opportunity costs‘ of marriage, and especially of children, increase. The energy and commitment required by a family are seen as significantly reducing such women‘s career opportunities, given that traditional definition of women‘s ob ligations to husbands and children persist.Able to be more selective in their search for a spouse because of being independent economically, women are likely to take a longer time before making such a commitment.A number of researchers have examined data from studies of married women who were followed during the 1970s. ―Most of these analyses show that, other thing being equal, married women who worked outside the home were more likely to divorce or separate in the next few years. The studies also showed that many other characteristics of the wife and her husband affected the probability of marital breakup, including age at marriage and whether th e husband is stably employed. ‖ [17] P7555. ConclusionThe United Sates went through a particularly tumultuous period in the latter half of the 20th century, which resulted in rapid changes in family behaviors. The once dominant family pattern—breadwinner-homemaker model with husband-wife raising their own biological (or adopted children has been replaced by a diversity of family forms: single-parent families resulting either from unmarried parenthood or divorce, unmarried couples, step-families, foster families, extended or multigenerational families, and blended families. The nuclear family, which was prevalent in the 1950s, has been shrinking as the percentage of household and its distinct and its specialized roles between men and women have been undergoing significant changes with the increased participation in the labor force among women.Yet this change of the nuclear family cannot be seen as a sign of disappearance of family formation, as some conservatives claim. The conservatives who lament recent family changes and talk about recreating older patterns of family life that were popular in the 1950s seem to overlook the fact that changes in American family life beginning in the 1960s were consistent with long-term historical trends. Nuclear family, which is the only typical family pattern, declined obviously. With the dramatic increase in labor force participation among women, the gender-differentiated division of labor in the job market and home is fading. The main trend of the American family becomes more various rather than a single standard form. The prevalence of the nuclear family in the 1950s and itsla ter fall have its underlying economic and cultural causes. The 1950s‘ version of family, characterized by the ―baby boom‖ in birthrates and t he dominant breadwinner-homemaker family form was historically rooted in unusual times.The once predominant breadwinner-homemaker family pattern in the 1950s, however, began to decline in the 1960s and dramatic changes occurred to family life thereafter. The increasing mobilization of women through higher education and their shift into full-time careers were the major factors of the changes in the structure of the modern。