Everything changes with time, and the American family model is no different. Ever since the Mayflower landed people were trying to decide on a family model, and that definition is constantly changing. Who should the family include? What relationships need to be present in a family? How many children should there be? Who should take care of the children? And as with everything else, there were always opponents to the changes in the family model. There were opponents of the women's rights movement, there are opponents of gay families and there will be opponents of other family models. But who should be the deciding factor in the family model, who should be responsible for maintaining this ever-changing model? It's the society as a whole that projects the image of the dominant family model, if enough individuals change their minds about a family model then the society as a whole changes.
English: Watt's steam engine at the lobby of the H...
Created by the previous uploader using a popular O...
Photo taken by me as an example of a stay at home ...So why is the society's opinion the way it is? Why should mothers be the primary caregivers in the society's view? Are there any physical or psychological deficiencies of males that prohibit them from being the primary caregiver in a family? Can a family have a female breadwinner and a male breadwinner? Yes, I think that even though the society still stereotypes the family model, the parenting roles are actually interchangeable - women can be as good breadwinners as men, and men can be as good caregivers as women.
Back in the 1800's the family included everyone living under the same roof. Both males ands females did various tasks around the house and worked on the farm. When the Industrial Revolution took place, the family model gradually changed to the nuclear family model. Under this model only the parents and children were included. When men started working away from...