How have gender roles changed in the family, society, and industry?
The social and cultural norms of society describe gender roles. Modern life has changed families in most cultures dramatically, and gender roles have deviated from ancient roles and success directions. Both parents now work and earn the family money. Both the father and the mother have an equal social status and financial freedom. The gender gap has decreased, and a whole equal society and equal families have been established. Gender roles are less stringent; both share responsibility equally.
Why is it difficult to develop a single definition of the word family?
As stated by Eshleman & Bulcroft (2006), our cultural definition of a family does not generalize to other societies. Our behavior expresses our values and morals to be dependent on culture (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2006). Accessing different cultures through our own is not only subjective but also judgmental. The family is probably one of the most ancient institutions around, yet it is still open to influences of changes that occur over time. New definitions of the family have been brought by social, political, and technological factors. Today it is common to speak about different definitions of the family as opposed to the term family. Eshleman & Bulcroft (2005), for example, speaks of 'recombinant families'; families that separate and reform into units that barely resemble the nuclear family as it was called in the sociology of the 1950s and 1960s. These changing family definitions and concepts are a potential challenge to accepted norms. According to Eshleman & Bulcroft (2005), the family is a social construct. Hence, it is evident that economic as well as cultural factors have resulted in the varied definitions of a family. For example, these changes to society have led to the development of public discourse about descriptions of the family.
References
Eshleman, J. R., & Bulcroft, A. R. (2006). The Family, (12th Ed). Switzerland: Pearson.
Eshleman, J. R., & Bulcroft, A. R. (2006). The Family, (11th Ed). Switzerland: Pearson.
