Coontz, The American Family

I thought this chapter was quite eye opening. For me, when I call my boyfriend and I traditionally am always thinking of the 1950s- where men worked and women were house wives; as the ideal time. But as this chapter pointed out, a lot of things were swept under the rug then. We seem to focus on the bad now and forget how bad it has been in the past. I think now most families are trying the best they can but as it mentioned- it’s hard to with such an out-dated system. In my case, our gender roles may be similar to the 50s but our passion and communication that we have is even past what some couples still today struggle with. For this chapter it really sums up how it’s just as hard to explain a family or marriage from the inside as it is from the outside.