tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13576198.post115001660598012330..comments2023-09-05T05:20:50.393-04:00Comments on second americano: don't forget polyandryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13576198.post-1150126887585292232006-06-12T11:41:00.000-04:002006-06-12T11:41:00.000-04:00I wonder if we might find the source of the myth o...I wonder if we might find the source of the myth of the nuclear family sometime just after WWII? The impetus to get women having babies again (after they worked in the factories through the war) and get men settling down led to tax reform and to folks valuing the suburban, isolated lifestyle. <BR/><BR/>But maybe it also has to do with the valuing of wealth, and the housing of that wealth in the single-family home separate from your parents. Multi-generational households are now seen as 'poor households' and so upward mobility dictates one eschews any kind of group living. Autonomy over interdependence. Capital is certainly a huge part of the culprit. As is, sadly, the reputation of the 'free love' movement in the 60s and 70s, which I think led to an elision of certain kinds of living situations into orgaistic spaces. It doesn't have to be that way. <BR/><BR/>but these are just guesses. and, some of these non-conservative families are, in fact, extremely old school. as in older than the nuclear family institution of marriage old school. that's what always gets me about the 'marriage from time immemorial' argument. it's a recent, geographically limited phenomenon in its guise as man + woman + kids.teknehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16958083980701375245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13576198.post-1150047149693286592006-06-11T13:32:00.000-04:002006-06-11T13:32:00.000-04:00I wholeheartedly agree with your commentary and ha...I wholeheartedly agree with your commentary and have also many of the same opinions. What I would like to question is the why of the ideal? That is, though there is an abundance of non-conservative familial structures in the west, why is the nuclear family still the ideal? Single moms are still faced with the stigma of such roles (and still search for a "good husband/father". Young adults who live in communal settings (i.e. group purchases of homes) are still extricating themselves if/when marriage allows. And my pet peeve, this question still arises constantly: "so, do you plan on having children?" My new answer is going to be -- I already do: I take care of three cats, a dog, a step-daughter in Australia, a 3-yo niece, a sister in Baltimore, AND my partner! Who cares if I didn't give birth to them -- I still love them and feel responsibility toward them.<BR/><BR/>I recently attended a catholic wedding and all the scripture that was being quoted was all about how the purpose of marriage was to make babies. And that's the only definition of family that a lot of people hold. It's so... BLOODLINE. It's all about property and lineage and individuality-ownership. Communal family goes against all of these issues. Blame it on capital?Tarnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14584470465321516765noreply@blogger.com