This paper is an examination of the economic and societal changes that are creating the latest changes in the meaning of family, home, and male and female roles within the family in America. These concepts have always been evolving in response to industrialization, technology, and economic forces within the larger society. Definitions and roles that are considered traditional are actually no more permanent than newer responses. The feminist movement and women's liberation efforts are as much an economic response as they are a societal realization that the sexes have an inherent right to equal treatment. Although sociologists disagree about the extent to which gender equality has been established or can be established, male/female relations within marriage have undergone fundamental changes over the last few decades. This evolution is certain to continue, irrevocably altering the nature of the American family, and economic factors are the principal force driving this evolution.
In a recent article in the New York Times Magazine, Peggy Orenstein describes a modern family that has attempted to invent a nontraditional family model. Originally an example of "the new traditional family" (Orenstein 42), Michael Scully and Doreen Lorenzo had established a two-career marriage with one child and another on the way. Scully's work "paid the mortgage, [and]
. . . kept the family afloat," while Lorenzo's income provided the money for extras (Orenstein 42). This has become a common model for middle-class American families, driven by two primary needs. The first need is financial, as more and more families over the last few decades have been unable to support their lifestyles on a single income. The second need is psychological, as women, encouraged by the women's liberation movement, have sought personal fulfillment beyond the limits of homemaking and volunteer activities.
These primary needs have fueled fundamental changes wit...