Gender Differences in Families:
Now and Then
The changes families and marriage have undergone are undeniable and apparent. The strong family values seen in the past are decreasing and a person who decides to be single or child free has become acceptable even encouraged (Knox 24). Also, gender roles in families and marriages seem to have reversed; women keep taking an increased part in the workforce and men spending more time at home(24). The greater question is why have gender roles changed and what type of effects will come as a result of this change.
I come from a Mexican family where strong family values are an essential part of life not to mention the clearly defined gender roles. In a sense, my family is an example of the typical traditional family in the 1950's. When I was growing up I began to criticize the things women in my culture were expected to do along with the various things that were unacceptable. For instance, my mom had to stay at home and tend to household chores, children, and prepare all the meals. Whereas, my dad went to work and was the one who made all the decisions including financial decisions. My mom had no voice in decisions and working outside of home was out of the question. I definitely did not want to be in my mom's shoes and preferred an egalitarian family structure. However, my family structure began changed when my dad's sole income was insufficient and my mom was encouraged to work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd2T_N0omC4(Video on Mexican gender roles)
According to an article in the Journal of Marriage and Family an increase of men's engagement with child care tasks has been linked to changes in the family's economy especially during the years of the Great Depression of 2007-2009. "What families looked like and how they formed continued to change,following trends set in motion decades earlier, by equal opportunity legislation and the expansion of women's employment, the implementation of no-fault divorce laws, increasing control over fertility and greater sexual freedom, and increased longevity"(Knop 284). Thus, it took various factors to shift the gender roles in families but the economic recessions appear to have greater impact on the family structure and this was exactly what happened in my family.
Men's increased engagement in child-care was a great benefit for families meet their "day-to-day responsibilities in the face of economic hardship "(Knop 291). In comparison to my family, my dad's contribution to child-caring helped our family's economy to grow as babysitting fees were avoided. The second question is what effects on the family do a change in gender roles have aside from the display of father's flexibility during economic instability. It is crucial to analyze the effects because traditional family structure have decreased from 65% in 1960 to 22% in 2012 according to a graphic provided by Deseret News.
Well, a study that promoted father engagement with children in Mexican American and European American families "showed positive effects on fathers'
engagement with their children, couple relationship quality, and children's problem behaviors" (Cowan 663) compared to families that only received limited intervention. This study makes a great emphasis that although father's play a greater role in child-caring compared to past decades, the positive effects of father's engagement can be dramatically increased if father's participate in an intervention program that helps them understand the implications and responsibilities of father hood. The findings in this study definitely echo what happened in my family as my mom was now working evenings and my dad would care for my siblings and me. Although, the time my mom worked was only for a short period, my dad's involvement in child-caring was a difficult and stressful adjustment for the whole family. If my parent's had assisted a parent's intervention program like the families in the study I believe we would have had greater benefits and a prolonged engagement from my dad even when my family was no longer going through economic crises.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtLx20dLXpg (Video on risks of father's lack of involvement)
References:
Cowan, P. , Cowan, C. , Pruett, K. , Pruett, M. , Wong, J. , et al. (2009). Promoting fathers' engagement with children: Preventive interventions for low-income families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), 663-679.
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