Feminism and the American Family Ideal.

This paper reviews the major contributions of feminist theory in rethinking the family, discusses ways in which the introduction of gender as structural category of social relations has transformed sociological understanding of family life, and suggests how transformations in gender are transforming family life. A central question asked is whether the development of feminism has altered the traditional family ideal. While there is no single feminist ideal for the family, the feminist movement in the US has encouraged and reflected major structural transformations that have altered family life across racial and class groups. Yet, ideologies about the family persist. This paper also examines how the persistence of family ideology in the culture blocks the development of effective social policies to solve family problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]