Family Feminism

Family, Feminism & The State Essay, Research Paper

.Family, Feminism, and the State:

Canada in the 1990s and beyond.

Marlee Minuk

Sociology

Prof. Stevenson

November 9, 1998

Family: a set of parents and children or of relitives; person.s children; members of household; group of kindred peoples, related objects.

From the time of infancy to death people belong to a family. That family may change over the years, going from a mother and father to a husband and children but non the less everyone belongs to a family. Most people do not choose their family yet there is a love between the members that no other love can compare to. This love is something called unconditional love. Unconditional love is a term that refers to a love that does not lessen or waver with troubles. A mother loves her child even if he is a theif. Unfortunantly not all families are perfect and in some families there is no love. In the past, families were regarded as a private thing with private occurences that should not be discussed but that has now changed. The family has become an important part on Canada.s social policy agenda in many ways. This term paper will explore that idea through the article by Susan A. McDaniel intitled .Families, Feminism, And The State: Canada In The 1990s And Beyond..

For anyone who explored the idea that of the family in the 90.s, it is quite apearent that there is a lot more concern for the family has increased. Sociologists have come to three reasons for the grate increase.

1. The family is import as a basic part of society. Stronger families breed stronger children.

2. A lot of blame is placed on the family for problems in society today. Perhaps this is done because it is a lot easier to fix a bad family than it is to fix bad government policies.

3. The feminist movement believes that in order to combat problems such as child poverty and violence within the family, the government must get together with the family.

The one thing that all three reasons have in common is that there is a problem in society today and something has to be done about it soon.

In order to determine whether the family is a problem in society today, we must first understand what social problems are. Social problems are anything which require a policy, afterall, what would be the point of a policy is everything was going perfectly. However, it is a little more complicated than that as not every policy issue is a social problem. A great example of this is the issue of a single-parent family. Most commonly, women run a single-parent family. In the past, the problem here seemed to be an economic one. Many single-parent families were forced to rely on welfare. No one seemed to realize that perhaps the blame should have been placed upon the deadbeat husbands and fathers who have better things to do then to pay spousal and child support. Coupled with no childsupport, the fact the childcare was not easily accessable did not make it any easier on a woman.

One approach to the family problem is called .the power and risistance perspective. . This perspective voices the idea that to solve the social problems one must first understand and address the bottom line of the problem. This veiw believes that the problems are cause by large, powerful groups. These same problems are stated in ways that protect the large groups, merely shrugging the blame onto someone

In order to begin to think where the future of the family is headed one must first eveluate what is known and what is unknown. This may seem simple to do but unfortunantley most of what is known and what is unknown about the Canadian family is biased. Myths and misconceptions about what a .real. family is supposed to be are put forth. Usually when research is done on the family, it is done by a male therefore causing an incomplete picture of the family to be painted. Another major bias is that reasearch done on what is called the .traditional family.. The traditional family is made up of a mother, father and two children. In using the “traditional family” as a model is it implied that the single-parent household is abnormal.

One thing that people must ask them selves when discussing the family, is whether is the family is a private thing or a public thing. Many people would conclude that it is a private thing. Few believe that the family is a public thing, shaped in someway by public institutions. Could it be that the family is actually just a way of satifyinhg the needs of cpitalism.

When trying to conclude on whether the family can be considered a social institution one must look towards the feminism movement for some insight. The family can be a good thing for employees. The family can be seen as a .conservation influence. for workers that may want to rebel against their employers. Three inferances can be made about the family from what is known about it.

1. Usually, when policy makers shift their concern onto the family it is because the family is not giving to society what it requires. Such an idea was seen after the Second World War

i.e: .Family Allouence. was given to families in order to boost the birth rate.

2. Family policy will not be effective if it is not relivant to people.s lives. Such policies will be ignored or people will even do anything to work around

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