EVOLUTION OF FAMILY STRUCTURE IN THE 20TH CENTURY

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The 20th century has seen to it that many family structures have been revolutionized bringing into existence changes and variability in which traditional roles and relationships take place. Formation of single –person households has been on the rise with many people opting to remain single This is a result of the desire to have more independence or freedom to accompanied by either educational or work-related reasons. Singlehood has been accelerated by separation or divorce especially among the older adults being caused by increasing sexual differential in their life expectancy. Continued increase in divorce has led to rise of one-parent families with majority of them being headed by women. In such scenarios, women become the sole-breadwinners of their families with the whole burden of raising their children being upon them. Households headed by single parents have also been brought about by the growing number of mothers who either find themselves in such situations either by choice or accident. Single-hood by choice is not quite clear since many of the women live with partners who may or may not be the fathers of the children. On the other side, single-hood by choice has been fuelled by many mothers having acquired higher levels of education securing them well paying occupations in the job sectors. One -parented families may also be a result of widowed-lone parents. This is a result of passing on of their marriage partners.

In the recent decades, acceptability of same sex couples has been legitimized. This is whereby people identify themselves as homosexual or having a homosexual relationship. Single-families, consensual inions and reconstituted families have brought about changes in the recent family structures .There has been increased dissolution of two two-parent families. Single motherhood prevalence by choice or chance has elicited concerns about the declining fatherhood in modern families (Burghes &Clarke, 1997). In such situations, the increasing number of fathers has less contact or support less or none to the children they father. Relational contents, dynamics and processes have brought about changes in family structures (Deven, 1996). Changes have been noted in the parent-child relations for example from submission to self-development, from paternal power to authority from the parent and also from unilateral towards bilateral transmission of values and knowledge. The rise in different forms of cohabitation and in single parenthood has increased the proportion of births outside marriage. Births out of wedlock thus have been on the rise.

Measures to control population growth rate have taken a modern direction with the contraceptive profile continuing to evolve. This has been marked by contraceptive transition from traditional and mechanical methods to highly effective methods which include hormonal methods, sterilization, and intra-uterine devices. Abortion has also been a controversial issue in the recent days with different states having different opinions on it. Some have been for the legalization of it claiming that it is a security to health issues in the sense that one terminates unplanned pregnancies. Others are fiercely against it putting forward claims that it is a major threat to one’s life and that death may occur during abortion.. According to (Grundy, 1999), most people nowadays aim for long lives for their parents and close relatives hence are out to provide care for them when it is needed. A major characteristic of modern living circumstances of fewer siblings, greater family participation in labor and geographical mobility often hinder an extended family setting.

Courtship is characterized by a certain process of rituals that eventually leads to marriage. Initially is developing attention to each other using different means such as posture, modes of dressing, facial expressions, and non-verbal communications. Attracting attention is a major phase aimed at combining attention and behaviors of two different people. Reading positive body language from others brings a close proximity of courtship meant to notice who responds to you. It is majorly based on non-verbal communication. Verbal communication is geared towards expressing your interest to the one you’re attracted to. This is majorly comprised of one expressing great pickup lines verbally. It also includes physical touch which can be triggered by accidental contact to ones part of the body. Response of the other person determines whether the couple can solidly move together. This is strengthened by use of romantic ideas and increased intimacy through sexual touch. The last stage of courtship involves intimacy and sex involving cuddling, holding each other stroking, kissing one another and other affectionate movements. Increased intimacy is brought about by sexy games, sexy gifts and testing of the partners chemistry.

Courting in the 20th century has been characterized by many changes as opposed to the earlier days when young suitors would invite their suitors at home and spend time with their families. In the recent days, courtship has been put in the public domain. In the older days, marriages were arranged by the families of the betrothed and at relatively young age. Such was made for economic purposes and to benefit the family. In the recent days, the role of parents in courtship has dramatically declined with courting moving towards individual freedom and out to the public. This is because people are able to choose who they want to date. Individual freedom has also increased due to the fall of conventions leading to increased responsibilities since people can no longer fall in on the set standards guiding them in their courtship process. Thus community and power of family faded giving individual freedom power to dominate. The sexual revolution of the 1960’s has been the sole of impacts of romantic relations in the current situation .It brought a balance in the traditional gender roles ,empowered women in claiming their own sexual independence It also laid a firm foundation to most of the current approaches used in finding love and marriage.

REFERENCES

Anthony, G. (1992). The Transformation of Intimacy, Stanford University Press

Eleen, I, Rothman, (1984). Hands and Hearts: A history of courtship in America, New York

Inglehart, R. (1990), Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society.Princetown: Princeton University Press.

Gough, K. (1971). The Origin of the Family. Journal of Marriage and Family.

Leon, K. (1997). The End of Courtship ’’The public Interest.

Kirk, M. (1986), Low Fertility, Change in the Family, and Shifting Values: A New European Situation. Wassenaar.

Kiernan, K., M.Wicks (1990), Family Change and Future Policy. London: Family Policy Studies Centre.

Norval, G. (1999), Courtship and Marital Choice, New York.

Willward, W. (1938).The Family: A Dynamic Interpretation, New York