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.