Our lives are inherently subject to economic, political, and sociological trends. Fortunately, the plasticity of human nature allows us to adapt to these ever-changing environments. Over the last 60 years, the United States has emerged as one of the quintessential examples of these fluctuating phenomena. This essay will analyze how my family, across three generations, has responded to major sociological trends. Overall, my family has varied in accordance with major trends over the three generations. The first generation of my family on my mother's side begins with my grandparents Ana Carreon and Charles Ramirez. Charles was a doctor during World War II and met Ana, who was local, while he and the US Army were fighting the Japanese in the Philippines. They married spontaneously at ages 24 and 22 and started a family in San Gabriel after the war ended. In 1947 they had their first son Ronald and over the next ten years they had three more. Their newly intertwined lives began in the midst of the first major trend relevant to my family: the Long Decade. This is the period from 1947 to the 1960s and is credited with creating the concept of the “traditional family.” ” This idea consists of a breadwinner husband and a stay-at-home wife living with their children in a single-family home. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The long decade was the result of drastic economic growth that featured rising wages and freedom for most citizens. In his book “Marriage, a History,” Coontz states that “more families than ever could achieve a decent, if modest, standard of living on the salary of a single male breadwinner” (74). In this sense, my grandparents were able to live in a house and raise their children. However, the Ramirez family depended on Charles who worked a day shift in a warehouse for a furniture company and a night shift as a nurse in a convalescent home. Additionally, Ana worked from home as a seamstress. Clearly, an income was not sustainable to support the family. Their family was subjected to racial discrimination regarding homeownership. Charles recalls being denied a $17,000 home loan for more than 10 years because of his last name. This was a common theme for Latinos during this time period, and in a larger context, people of color were denied the privileges afforded to white families. Maxine Baca Zinn comments on the origin of these feelings in the book “Social Science Theorizing for Latino Families in the Age of Diversity.” He explains that the twisted concepts of early 20th century sociologists influenced traditional thinking that Latino immigration caused socioeconomic problems in urban centers. The lives of Latino families experienced “the slowness to acculturate and adopt Western models of family development that left them behind, while other families in American society modernized” (231). My grandfather's family unit existed in the middle ground between the economic prosperity of the Long Decade and the historical limitations imposed on families of color. Social restrictions required both parents to work to achieve the lifestyle maintained by single wage-earning families. Charles held authority within the family and Anna took care of the children and major household duties. Raising your children with strict Catholicism and keeping strict supervision over your girls has brought out conflicting valueswhile growing up in an unstable social environment. Their children, now approaching adulthood, were put in a better position to start families of their own. In fact, finishing high school better prepared them for the unstable social environment of the 1970s. Overall, Charles and Ana's family had mixed adaptations to traditional social trends. Mass media and family experts in the mid-20th century were firmly convinced that the male breadwinner and female homemaker family model would stabilize over the course of the century. The increase in consumerism and appliances within the home has allowed women to complete daily tasks faster. With more time on their hands, women sought new responsibilities. Many of them have found meaning in their work. An increase in women entering the workforce to support their families was the result of an expanding economy in the 1950s and 1960s and a recession in the 1970s. Earning real wages and new progressive laws created a sense of independence and self-expression. Coontz says, “People started getting married later. Divorce rates have skyrocketed. Premarital sex became the norm. And the division of labor between the husband as breadwinner and the wife as housewife. What sociologists in the 1950s had deemed vital to industrial society fell apart” (247). My mother, Jacqueline, married her first husband in 1984 and started her first family with my half-sister Brigitte in the late 1980s and then in the early 1990s with my half-brother Beau. Like Ana, Jacqueline worked alongside her husband while raising their children in their West Covina home. My mother worked full time as a secretary and did all the cooking and cleaning around the house. Her husband worked full time as a karate instructor and rarely helped around the house. The influence of Catholicism was present when children were baptized, but was not emphasized in practice. Beau and Brigitte grew up with typical expectations of not participating in drug use, staying out late, being civil, treating others with respect, etc. Jacqueline and her sisters were raised with the expectation that she would not engage in premarital sex. He never had a conversation with his parents about this topic; it was “known that you would be ashamed in church and that you would not respect your parents' wishes.” There was a clear distinction in how Jacqueline approached this topic with Brigitte. She wanted a better relationship with her children that included meaningful conversations and an open environment. He reassured Brigitte that his only wish was for her to be safe and he knows how important contraceptives are. This was in keeping with society at the time as “in 1970, 60% of all adult women, both single and married, were using birth control pills or an intrauterine device or had been sterilized. ” (254) Their family also reflects the strong trend in divorce rates. Coontz says, “The divorce rate more than doubled between 1966 and 1979.” In 1996, Jacqueline divorced her husband based on the no-fault divorce law. She felt stagnant in her relationship and as if she was distancing herself from her husband. Even though she worked full time, she still expected the man of the house to take care of her and the family like Charles had done for Ana and their family. Her husband took a more active role in their children's lives, and Jacqueline was looking to start another family. This is rare as fathers usually disengage from their children and mothers take full custody of them. He workedtwo working days which included a full shift of work and all household duties. Having a separate income made the transition to her new independent life easier. The tendency towards divorce has also made its way into the lives of his brothers. Two out of three of his brothers have divorced, and his sister has had two. Shortly thereafter, Jacqueline married Daniel Paulos, who was previously divorced, in 1996 and had my brother Nick in 1997 and me a year later. We grew up in a house in Fullerton that my father purchased. My brother and I were both baptized, but we lost interest in religion as we spent our free time playing hockey. Daniel worked full time as a paper salesman and my mother began working part time as a secretary. My mother was able to stay home and raise Nick and me until the third grade and then went back to work part-time. My mother continued to spend two days taking care of cooking and cleaning inside the house. My father, however, emphasized that between him, Nick, and I, we would handle all outside matters. Our family embodies the man as the breadwinner and the woman as the model housewife compared to previous generations. My father has a strong patriarchal role as he manages all the finances. The exception would be that Jacqueline still works part-time, however, this is a deliberate choice she makes rather than an economic necessity. It is interesting to see how important it was for my mother to earn a real wage and how this cultivated her identity. This family resembles the one in which Jacqueline grew up and found a partner who symbolizes an anchor of trust and reliability. Fortunately, during his marriages, it was socially acceptable to divorce and focus on finding the right solution while earning a real salary. The next generation of families involves my half-sister Brigitte. This time period covers the early 2000s through 2010. During this decade, society reached the pinnacle of tolerance towards an indulgent structure of a family. According to the Pew Research Center, 86% say a single parent and child constitute a family; almost 80% believe that an unmarried couple living together with a child is a family. Marriage has lost its meaning in the lower reaches of the socioeconomic hierarchy. The Pew Research Center reports that the marriage rate among college graduates is at 64%, while those with only a high school degree is at 48%. Additionally, in 1960, 68 percent of adults ages 20 to 29 were married. In 2008, only 26 percent were married. Women's workforce participation and divorce rates continue to rise. The Pew Research Center concludes that 47% of the US workforce is made up of women compared to 33% in 1960. Referring to the statistics provided you can see why marriage has declined dramatically. The increasing rate of participation of women in the workforce creates difficulties in balancing work and motherhood, which ultimately delays marriage. The general consensus in contemporary society is that marriage is not necessary to obtain “family” status. Brigitte and John, aged 26 and 25 respectively, started their family out of wedlock in 2011 with the birth of Noah. They rent their house in Claremont and divide the housework between them. John has no high school education and works full time as a rope access technician. Brigitte recently graduated from nursing school and works full time as a licensed practical nurse. She felt the pressure of balancing work, education and motherhood and had to reject the idea of ​​marriage for almost ten years. Keep in mind: this is, 21(1), 1-21.