My Traditional Family Structure

Growing up, I lived in a very traditional-style family structured home, where gender roles and gender socialization played key roles in the development of my sisters and me. According to the lecture, a traditional family is one where two individuals who are legally bound together by marriage, share responsibilities in taking care of their direct offspring, with the mother in charge of the house and children duties, and the father as the provider (Cohen 2018). While both of my parents do a little bit of everything when it comes to contributing, it has always been the standard for my sisters and I that my father was the one who would work all day, while my mother stayed home, engaging in the housework and taking care of my sisters and me. My

Both grandparents, from my mom and dad’s sides hold rather strict ideals (in some aspects) about dating and marriage, with my parents having a more lenient attitude about it. For my family (direct and extended), ethnicity, race, and religion tend to be bigger factors to consider when dating, whereas age and social status or class are not so significant. To be concise, my mom and dad are both very “old fashioned” when it comes to dating, so interracial and interethnic relationships are not normally tolerated on a romantic level. Being raised of Christian morals and practices, religion is a key factor when finding a partner. My sisters and I are all expected to date/marry men who are Caucasian, Christian, and practices American customs and traditions, even if they are not American. When it comes to holding different relationships outside of dating, there are no specific “rules” that we are expected to follow. My sisters and I would not be criticized by my parents or elders for having friendships with others of different ethnicities, races, religions or cultures, but when looking to date or marry, we would be. For example, one of my best friends, Trevon, is black. My family is always very welcoming and accepting to Trevon, and there are no issues (interracially speaking) that my parents have with our relationship as friends. But, if I were to

As discussed before, my household consisted of traditional gender roles, with my mother as the primary care-taker and house-keeper, and my dad as the provider. In my future family, I want, and am planning on have dual-income between my husband and I, as well as equally-divided responsibilities at home. The family style that this would entail would be a nuclear family, which according to the lectures, is when a male and female are bound together and care for their offspring (Anon. 2018 “The Family is:”). The difference between a traditional family (household I grew up in) and a nuclear family (future household) is that within a traditional family, gender roles are more prominent, and within a Nuclear family, the stereotypical gender roles (the mother is to stay at home and the father is to be the provider) seem to diminish, which can help to alleviate conflict and create for a happier marriage (Anon. 2018 “The Family is:”). I am a firm believer for changing gender norms and roles, because I do not believe that either gender should be expected to be limited to certain