The Modern Family

This week in class we were discussing the trends that are common in family life. For example, divorce, birth rates, employed mothers, and delayed marriage. Over the years, these few trends have been increasing or decreasing in size. One day in class we had a guest teacher and he shared an analogy about trends in family life and how they have changed overtime. He related the trends to television shows over the decades. For example:

• I Love Lucy (1950), the trend was having a nuclear family: the mother stayed home and the father went to work. 
• The Brady Bunch (1960), the trend was not divorce: two families came together because the spouses died - they did not get divorced. 
• The Cosby Show (1980), the trend was to be an employed mother: by this time it was acceptable for the mother and the father to have a career.
• Friends (1990), the trend was cohabitation: the group of friends would date one another and live with them.
• Gilmore Girls (2000), the trend was unmarried mothers & premarital sex: the mom had her daughter when she was a teenager and raised her as a single mother. 
• Modern Family (2010), today most of the trends in television shows are about homosexual parents/relationships. 

When the teacher described the trends this way, it really clicked with me. It is crazy to think that in about 60 years the trends in the family life have changed so much, and unfortunately, they have changed for the worst.