20th Century American Family Trends - 1539 Words

The 20th century observed extraordinary changes in the structure and dynamics of American families. The remarkable shift began with the Progressive Era, which spearheaded the emerging concept of marital happiness, an idea that marriage should be composed of emotional ties between the husband and wife. The Industrial Revolution further reinforced these rising ideals with economic and technological transformations that encouraged people to choose partners based on emotional attraction than financial stability. In the 1960s, compassionate marriages gave way to individualized marriages – the formerly rigid familial roles that entrenched the father as the breadwinner and the mother as the caregiver evolved to more flexible and negotiable†¦show more content†¦Both my grandmothers held jobs - my grandmother on my dad’s side helped my grandfather at his factory while my grandmother on my mother’s side worked as a nurse in a local hospital. Education, which h ad long been a source of social mobility and respect in Taiwan, but previously only limited to the wealthy, became more attainable as Taiwan was industrialized. As a result, both my parents are well-educated and received college degrees in Taiwan before immigrating to the United States to pursue their Masters degree. Another similarity was the postponement of marriage and childbearing for couples during the late 20th century. My parents married in their late twenties and had me in their early thirties, which is far later in comparison to both my grandmothers, who had their firstborn before the age of twenty-one. While late 20th century Americans pursued their individual satisfaction at the cost of a more fragile relationship with their family, the Chinese family in my parents’ generation continued to be a crucial center of authority despite the changes in Taiwan’s social and economic environment. Loyalty to the family chain is a unique Chinese characteristic that drives individual men and women to value their linkages to their parents and children even when they have the luxury to pursue personal satisfactions. Unlike American culture, whereas attaining individual expression comes at a cost to existing relationships,Show MoreRelatedThe Freedom Of The Free Love Movement Essay1582 Words   |  7 Pagesideology at that time and pushed boundaries of religion and politics. Marriage during the colonial period was closely linked to reproduction due to the heavy influence religion had on European settlers. However, as they became introduced to Native American cultural practices of marriage their once held beliefs shifted. This shift correlates with the change in a consumer/ industrial society. Religion moved out of the bedrooms and people began to enjoy sex for pleasure and not procreation. 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