Industrial Revolution and its impact on families
Industrial Revolution is most recognized as the catapult into a modern society. Manufacturing of goods boosted the economy, and factories and urban society drew families off the farm in search of better economic opportunities. Not much thought went into what this would do to family structure and how it would change roles within the family.
Most families at this time were farm community based, and isolated where the family, children included worked the farm. The family was a unit that depended on each other, and the social and emotional needs were met by each member of the family based on time spent together (Lynch, 2014). When families gave up farm living to converge on …show more content…
Marriages weren’t always recognized legally with cohabitation and common law being more prevalent, and if there was marriage it suffered higher divorce rates. Family structure was hard on children also, with some living in foster settings or with relatives. During the heart of slavery, families were often separated and because of this mothers were forced to step up and families became more Matriarchal. The lack of male role models made it hard to raise boys to be good providers, husband and fathers, and the black women had no choice but to show resilience and strength. After the civil war families tried to adhere to the traditional nuclear dynamic; dad at work and mom at home, but families struggled to maintain this due to men seeking work in larger towns that kept them away from the family. These jobs were dangerous and by the beginning of the 20th century 4/10 black women were widowed (Cohen, 2015). The search for better paying job brought families to larger urban markets, only to be segregated by race and left with no choice but to live in poverty stricken neighborhoods lacking necessary resources to combat …show more content…
“They are not attracted to the success, independence, professionalism and education”, of black women and are more interested in outward appearance; looks, figure and subdued personality” (Smith, n.d.). Black women have been stereotyped as being difficult to get along with, and have a tendency to overpower men and not let them be the head of the household. Black men do not see in women today what they admire in their mothers and grandmothers. Another reason for choosing to be single is a conscious decision by black women, maybe because of what was modeled for them growing up. The one factor that sociology and black women agree upon is the fact that black men struggle more than any other demographic with unemployment, law, crime and drugs (Smith,