The New Right Perspective and Feminism on the Family

The new right perspective on the family is that the traditional family setup- the nuclear family- is the way forward for society as they believe it is the natural and most efficient way of preserving and continuing society.
Supporters of the also believe that the 'traditional family' is the norm, but this is an untrue statement which is not backed up by evidence as less than 20% of families in Britain have a male parent who works; a female parent who is a housewife and children.
I think that although this family setup of the nuclear family clearly worked in the past, it is but that- the past. It is clear nowadays that this family type is not the only one which functions well. I am a prime example, I lived in a nuclear family for roughly the first 12 years of my life, then my parents separated, got divorced and remarried. I believe that this was a positive thing as it created a better atmosphere in my home life and has therefore made me a stronger and more well-rounded person.

As for feminism in the family, in the past, women were seen as dependant on the husbands, and I suppose this is true. Their job was to look after the house and children. This all changed during the war when the women had to take on what were seen as the men's jobs and realised that they should be able to do this all the time. Women grew in confidence and then voiced their opinions arising the idea of feminism.
I would say that I agree that men and women should be treated equally at home and espacially in the work industry, but I do not agree with radical feminism. Radical feminists believe that the family is a way of dominating women as this is a man's world. I think there is a chance that this may have happened in the past but I strongly believe that this plays no part in society today as women are nowhere near being dominated by males. Evidence to prove this for example is that the number of househusbands has risen dramatically, but this does not mean that the wife dominates the husband.
I personally feel that equality is very important, especially in a family situation but I also think that some feminist views are too negative and that feminists themselves are only focussing on the bad points and not taking into consideration the major changes that have taken place in the last Century. Therefore, I believe that all views should be taken into account but that society should meet halfway and not take things to extremes.

Families have little purpose nowadays

The statement 'families have little purpose nowadays' can be viewed in different ways, as some people may believe that they have no family. They do not mean that do not have a relative of any kind, they mean that from their personal experiences at home and in their lives that they feel as if there is nobody to relate to in a familial way. I think that such experiences could shape individual's perceptions and views on the family. For example, if someone was brought up in a lone-parent household but their parent did not like to spend time with them or regretted having the child, this can cause the child to try to learn how to take care of themselves resulting in them not being able to trust or rely on anyone in later life meaning they may not feel the need to have a family. Another point is that this example is quite a recent situation as single-parent or divorced parents is a very recent thing, therefore, a few generations ago, family was held as a huge priority as it may have been all they had. Women would not have been going out to work and therefore depended on the husband provide for her and their family. Also, back then, families were much bigger and therefore the family was a very important thing.
On the 0ther hand, I personally believe that the family plays the biggest influential role in a person's life, as child behaviour is shaped through the people who are closest to them which tends to be the family. I think that families have the obligation to try to influence a child into being a well-rounded individual with good values. I also think it can be said that alot of abuse cases are committed because individuals have not been shown the same amount of love as others have and therefore they may not feel an emotional connection to other people as they have copied a bad example in their lives. In this case, I can see why people would doubt that family is a positive thing, but I believe that the family has many purposes like, shaping behaviour, providing the child with care and more inportantly, showing a child how to love. Therefore, although types of family and perceptions have changed in recent times, I think that the vital reasons of having a family are still very much the same.