FALLELL, Betty G., FAMILY: The Making of an Idea, an Institution, and a Controversy in American Culture

Abstract

FALLELL, Betty G., FAMILY The Making of an Idea, an Institution, and a Controversy in American Culture. Boulder Colorado: Westview Press, 1999,199pp., $22.00 softcover / $69.00 hardcover. LAURIE WERMUTH* The Norman Rockwell portrait of a Thanksgiving dinner feast on the cover of Family reminds us of the promise of togetherness and fulfillment and other powerful emotions that families engender. That many Westerners become depressed at the holidays reminds us that the Western nuclear family is capable of bringing warmth and belonging, but also pain and grief. a concise 165 pages, Betty G. Farrell summarizes contemporary and historical data on the institution of the Western family. She weaves together analysis of social history, sociology, demography, health data, social policy and cultural politics with a vision of the promise of family ties and also their vulnerabilities. Mixed in with this review are analyses of the family as a cultural icon and a gauge of social well being. A central purpose of the book is to bring the social history of the family into the realm of public discussion in hopes of clearing up the illusions of mythic family stability and harmony. While the size and structure of Western families has remained fairly consistent over the past several centuries, change in the meanings, sentiments and values applied to family life have been ongoing since Colonial times. Farrell's analysis appreciates both the public and personal aspects of the politics of the family: In reconstructing some of the patterns of family life we can begin to understand why it has continued to play such a central role in American culture, as an organizing social institution, lived experience, and a powerful metaphor. (15) Farrell frames Family s social historical analysis in life course stages, with chapters devoted to childhood, adolescent sexuality, marriage and aging. Key patterns and watershed changes are identified. For example, the separation of the paid work from the domestic sphere that became widespread during the nineteenth century had major consequences in the domestication and privatization of the lives of women and children. Of course, working-- class and immigrant women have always worked, but increasingly the working and middle classes sought to achieve the status of middle class domestic life. During the second half of the twentieth century, the large-scale movement of middle-class women into the labor force and the frequent substitution of television for human interaction as child care were major changes, fundamentally altering the child's world and family life generally. 'Who cares for young children and who supervises adolescents when full-time mothers are no longer the norm, even in the two-parent household?' (43) Deep ambivalence towards adolescents - their sexual experimentation, youth culture, paid work-has historic roots and continues to send conflicting messages towards youth today. Farrell offers an excellent social history and analysis of this often overlooked issue. Upon it we could build a more positive relationship to youth in our communities, supported by more humane social policies. Farrell's chapter on marriage is familiar terrain to those of us who have followed the literature over the past couple of decades, but she does a fine job of bringing together the various strands of history, policy, and demographics, linking them to the cultural battles over what the family should look like. …