Idea of progress: how does the evolution of society influence family structure?

Thème: Idea of progress

I'm going to talk about the idea of progress. This notion can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change, scientific or social, an advance which would permit people to have better life condition and to feel happier.

We can ask: How does the evolution of society influence family structure ?

1. Traditionnel family

The traditional family is a family consisting of a couple and children. The vision of the couple and the family was not like today. It was the man who possessed the authority, that is to say, he made all the decisions and was the only one to work to meet the needs. The woman, as for her, took care of the children and the house. In no case did she have the right to make decisions or work. The divorce didn’t exist or in any case was very badly seen.

It was impossible for a couple to settle together if they were not married, the same for the children, they could not have if they were not united

2. The evolution of the family

From the period 1950 to the present, the family is subject to several evolutions. In fact, the family is no longer necessarily composed of two parents and children, there are more and more single-parent families and blended families. Because of this, divorces are becoming more common. As well as remarriages are as common as traditional marriages. Women also take a different place in the family, have much more autonomy and claim equality with men. More recently, a new kind of family has emerged, homosexual families, but they can not yet adopt in all

countries.

To conclude, The family of today has undergone many evolutions before being the one we know. We can say that today there are no longer one, but several family models. The father has lost his status as head of the family, he shares his parental authority with the mother who asserts herself and now has the same rights as her husband.

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