The Myths of Families Essay - 2209 Words

Question 1: In The Way We Never Were, Stephanie Coontz suggests that society romanticizes past generations of family life and points out that these memories are merely myths that prevent us from â€Å"dealing more effectively with the problems facing today’s families† (Coontz x). Coontz proposes that researchers can take empirical data and create misleading causality for that data, thus feeding cultural myth and/or experience. Coontz believes that â€Å"an overemphasis on personal responsibility for strengthening family values encourages a way of thinking that leads to moralizing rather than mobilizing for concrete reforms† (Coontz 22). She calls on us to direct our attention to social reforms, which can be accomplished by avoiding victim-blaming†¦show more content†¦Coontz calls on her readers to avoid victim blaming strategies and to try to ask questions that raise demands for social reform in order to decrease this conflict. In Fun Home, Alison Bechdel demonstrates how myth and stereotyping contribute to the construction of prejudice. Alison’s father, Bruce Bechdel, lived a false life by denying his sexual orientation and created the illusion of a â€Å"normal† family life. By marrying a female and creating offspring, he perpetuated the public illusion that he had the perfect home and family. Despite this myth of perfect domestication, the true private life of the Bechdel family could be described as dysfunctional. Bechdel â€Å"witnessed only two gestures of action between† (Bechdel 68) her parents, which consisted of her father giving her mother â€Å"a chaste peck before leaving on a weekend trip† (Bechdel 68) and one time when her mother â€Å"put her hand on his back† (Bechdel 68) as they watched television. Bechdel writes how on both occasions, she â€Å"was astonished and discomforted† (Bechdel 68) and suggests that both her mother and father preferred â €Å"fiction to reality† (Bechdel 85). Both Bruce Bechdel and his wife, lived in a world where they did not acknowledge reality; it was easier for them to live a lie then to come to terms with Bruce’s homosexual identity. The conflict within the family could be attributed to Bruce’s suppression of his sexuality, which in turn, could be attributed to growing up in a time period when it wasShow MoreRelatedMyths: Education and Family1664 Words   |  7 PagesInterpreting and understanding myths depend on an individual’s personal views, beliefs, and ideas. With that in mind, the myth regarding the nuclear family and the myth of education and empowerment are all interpreted differently and argued, for and against, in many ways. Both have been perceived negatively by society, yet they have not always been a harmful folktale. Rather, the myth that education can improve someone’s life has been used, year after year, to motivate the youth in order to improv eRead MoreModern Family Myth Essay1153 Words   |  5 PagesDebunking the Modern Family Myth According to Stephanie Coontz in â€Å"What We Really Miss About The 1950’s†, the 1950’s were symbolic in terms of the nuclear American family. The â€Å"typical† nuclear American family structure consisted of an unemployed stay-at-home mom, working dad, a child or two, and a suburban home. In her article, she refers to the 1950’s as being the optimal time period for family’s where the ideology in television shows such as â€Å"Father Knows Best† and â€Å"Leave It To Beaver† was notRead MoreThe Myth of Family and Education Essay1735 Words   |  7 Pagesof Maine. Throughout human history, as the most basic social unit, family has always played the irreplaceable role of the cradle of a man’s life and the first and irreplaceable school of social virtues. 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Seeking the difference between each evolution ofRead MoreThe Way We Weren t : Myth And Reality Of The Traditional Family Essay2131 Words   |  9 PagesStephanie Coontz in â€Å"The Way We Weren’t: The Myth and Reality of the Traditional Family† emphasizes that the traditional and ideal nuclear family widespread in media and textbooks are false and far from reality. In fact, it is common to see more similarities to the traditional family consistent of â€Å"male breadwinner and nurturing mother† (1) today than in the past. It is commonly taught in textbooks or shown in the media that colonial mothers are always taking part in childcare, but in reality theRead MoreDebunking a Myth: a Structural Analysis of Gerstel and Sarkisian‚Äà ´s ‚Äà ºthe Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement‚Äà ¹976 Words   |  4 PagesIn Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian’s published study â€Å"The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement,† which appeared in Stephanie Coontz’s American Families: A Multicultural Reader, Gerstel and Sarkisian present their professional opinions of the popular belief in America that White families have stronger kinship ties than those of minority families, namely Black and Latino/a. Gerstel and Sarkisian are professors of sociology at the University of MassachusettsRead MoreIn The Examination Of The Multitudes Of American Myths1085 Words   |  5 Pagesof American myths an d values, a common use and theme can be found uniting all of them. These myths and values, to one degree or another, are designed to make old white men feel better about themselves and as a cudgel used against the changing culture that challenges their privileged position. The myths I will be exploring today involve sanitizing their past, glorifying their actions, and answering challenges to their thrones. The first myth that helps sanitize their past are the myths developed about