Favela 1

Santana Favela

Professor Susie Huerta

English 1S

1 November 2017

Understanding The American Family Today

People of color deal with oppression day by day, even if civil rights have progressed over

time. In articles we’ve overviewed, What We Really Miss About The 1950s, The Color of Family

Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement, and Mass Deportations Would

Impoverish US Families and Create Immense Social Costs, give a more prominent understanding

of the importance in family values. These authors provide analysis as to why times are

problematic in regards to racial and gender injustice, from the 1950’s to today. In our country,

family values revolve around cultural myth. Without deeper thought, we let cultural categories

dominate our critical thinking, it’s an easier way to interpret the world. US families face the

injustice of gender roles, stereotypes, and cultural myths. Data cannot emphasize enough how

not everyone can be the “nuclear” family, we are all different in regards to our values.

Even if people have nostalgia for the 1950’s, no one can say they want to go back to this

era. This was a time where it was financially simpler, agreed, but gender roles were taken

seriously, and women were treated poorly. In the article, What We Really Miss About The 1950s,

Coontz says, “When I talk with modern parents, even ones who grew up in unhappy families,

they associate complicated choices for kids or parents to grapple with, when there was more

predictability in how people formed and maintained families, and when there was a coherent

‘moral order’ in their community to serve as a reference point for family values.” In other words,
 Favela 2

people would idolize references that show people the “myth” was who they needed to be. For

example, Coontz mentions how television shows are this reference. Leave It to Beaver

demonstrates the way gender roles were believed to be. Throughout the episodes, they show how

the father is in control of everything, and he is the one who calls the shots, and he is in charge.

The show portrays his masculinity, yet has a formal approach because of his attire and

presentation of himself. The wife shows no authority, and has to ask for permission from her

husband for anything. This relationship is suggests this is what the nuclear family looks like

because of the way these characters played their roles. We can say this is the visual interpretation

of the “myth.”

Reading the article further, Coontz then claims “ People didn’t watch those shows to see

their own lives reflected back at them. They watched them to see how families were supposed to

live -- and also to get a little reassurance that they were handed in the right direction.” It gave

guidelines on how to control the household, and raise kids. In comparison to today’s

advertisement, we could say there is a tremendous contrast. We have shows that give more

insight on different class, race, and genders who have characteristics of the today’s realities.

There is more spill, action, or even drama. Shows like this grab more of an attention, it’s what

families can relate to. One of my favorites is Shameless, stereotypes are turned around because

it’s a white family that is a lower class who are extremely dysfunctional. Each character has their

own scandalous issues that it can draw a viewer all throughout.

Cultural myths dominant everyone’s critical thinking, society does not associate with

understanding others people’s ethnic values and only wants to fix them. This is an argument

commentators like to emphasize, says Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian in the article The
 Favela 3

Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement. “This argument

misunderstands causal connections by focusing on the family as the source of problems.

Specifically, it ignores the link between race and class and attributes racial or ethnic differences

to cultural values.” Resources are required to support families who need the help to shape them

as a class, rather than making attempts to shape them as a culture. For example, it is often said

that commentators will promote marriage to be an option if someone is in poverty, specifically

women. If most women in poverty were to do so based on the order, it implies that the women

who don’t marry are a risk and can only hope for support from extended families. With Gerstel’s

and Sarkisian’s research, “ Our finding suggest that, if we really want to support families, such

policies must be broadened to include adult children, needy-grown up brothers and sisters,

cousins, aunts and uncles. Similarly, Medicaid regulations that only pay for no-familial care of

ill, injured, or disabled individuals implicitly discriminate against Blacks and Latinos/as who

provide significant amounts of care to extended kin.” Income shouldn’t be a reason to have to

rely on a spouse or family in the first place. We grew up being told marriage was made for a

passion we had for one other individual, not to get married for financial issues. The economy

must better opportunities for people of color, in order to shape social class.

Furthermore, cultural myths target people of color specifically. They are regularly

stereotyped and known for being outside of the “nuclear” family. Many people assume that they

are unorganized, lazy, and lack family commitment, however, it is proven to be a false claim.

People of color do help extended kin, more than whites. Gerstel and Sarkisian give data tables of

ethnicity and extended kin involvement among Whites, Blacks, and Latinos, provided by Nation

Survey of Families and Households. The following leads them to claim “These data suggest that
 Favela 4

if we only consider married couples or parents and their young children, we are missing much of

what families in general and families of color in particular do for eachother. A focus on nuclear

families in discussions of race differences in family life creates a biased portrait of family life.”

They want the audience to have knowledge on family involvement whether it is race, class, or

gender. We are all different individuals, and society should not make it seem like we are all put

into categories.

I know how it feels to be stereotyped and be categorized. I am a latina, who is part of the

LGBTQ community. Writing those lines are easier than speaking them aloud, because of how

society may react. I am thankful to have friends that support me, but coming out to my family

had to not be the best decision at the time. I was 14, and told my parents I need to tell them, and I

remember that day like it was yesterday. The uneasy feeling, I was extremely anxious and scared.

I had high hopes for my Mom to accept me, but it was the complete opposite reaction. It was the

gut feeling that I knew was to be true. They gave me every reason why I wasn’t who I am, and

threw religious context to me when they aren’t strongly religious themselves, they haven’t even

been to church in years. They put me down on who I was, shamed me for believing who I am. It

took a toll on my life. I felt like an outsider, felt so distant. They were the reason why I don’t like

labels, so I only identify as part of the community. It is fearful, truly my mentality was if my

parent shamed me in all sorts of ways, this was how I would be identified as to other people. It

came down to the point that I put myself in situations I never really wanted to be in, to make

myself someone that I was not. Over and over it could playback, I would repeatedly tell myself,

“I am doing this for my parents, I am doing this for my parents.” They categorized me as

someone who is confused and seeked attention, and I hated those words ever since. Belittling
 Favela 5

someone can affect them mentally, make them do unconscious decisions, and make them not

want to even be themselves. Telling people of color how unorganized, lazy, and how they lack

family commitment is discrimination. Politicians constantly reminding them how they can be

“fixed” is not a solution. The solution is putting a stop to giving shame to one’s own values.

This factual article, Mass Deportations Would Impoverish US Families and Create

Immense Social Costs, includes statistics on the undocumented population in the US with

conditions of households with mixed-status. The following article says, “ 6.6 million US-born

citizens share 3 million households with undocumented residents(mostly their parents). Of these

US-born citizens, 5.7 million are children(under age 18).” You would think that the economy

would have improvements in their opportunities after knowing that there is a good chunk of our

population in crisis. This why it is very important for people to collect this knowledge of

understanding on how everyone cannot be “nuclear” or “fixed.”

The other “solution” to resolve ending non-nuclear families was the idea of creating a

mass deportation program, created by the same man to claim “Make America Great Again.”

Based on this data, he should reconsider, since he will be the one to suffer from drastic

consequences such as “Removing undocumented residents from mixed-status households will

reduce median household income from $41,300 to $22,000, a drop of $19,300, or 47 percent,

which would plunge millions of US families into poverty.” That is almost half of incomes that

will be dropped. This would affect 5-7 million children that have undocumented parents. With

that being said, because these children were born here and are legal, the parents and children

must choose the heart breakng decision of not being able to raise their child. They must consider

the opportunities they have staying in the US, but will not have enough financial support because
 Favela 6

of the loss of their parents. To conclude the article, “This report demonstrates that the social and

economic status of millions of US citizens would be substantially jeopardized by a massive

deportation program.” “ Policymakers and advocates would be wise to consider the wide-

reaching repercussions of enforcement for individuals, families, and communities both in the

short and long terms.” In making this comment, Warren and Kerwin urge us to believe that the

following data is relevant to the entire economy. It will affect mothers, fathers, children, every

human by the massive drop of income. Not everyone grows up from the same roots and it can’t

be fixed or evacuation to a place they haven’t seen in years or don’t remember sighting.

Society should not base matters on cultural morals but on class involvement. The three

articles, What We Really Miss About The 1950s, The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender,

and Extended Family Involvement, and Mass Deportations Would Impoverish US Families and

Create Immense Social Costs gave clarity to the readers that there are different values in ethnic

groups. People must acknowledge all involvement on race, class, and gender. When US families

do face cultural categories, they are often discriminated and belittled which is unfair. This is

because people of color are stereotyped as unorganized, lazy, and lack family commitment. The

importance of these harsh realities are the reason people look at ethnic groups a certain way and

assume who they are as individuals. Not everyone can be the “nuclear” family that politicians

like to emphasize if we come from different cultural backgrounds and have different morals.

Instead of pushing people of color to change their behaviors, politicians can use their authority to

speak out on the situations revealing the “myth” on the model family. We may come from

different cultures and background but deserve equality today.

Favela 7