BLOG VI: FAMILY

"The power of the traditional family lies in its dual function as an ideological construction and as a fundamental principle of social organization” - Patricia Hills Collins. In Collins paper  It's All In the Family: Intersections of Gender Race, and Nation , she writes about gender and race in the sense of the “logic of the traditional family ideal”. More specifically, that rejecting  hierarchical structures of the family may provide resistance. When people  think of the “traditional American family” most think of a white, heterosexual, married couple with two biological  kids. Usually the male is the financial provider, while the female stays at home performing domestic duties. Collins writes that the “traditional family” serves a dual function of an ideological construction and as a fundamental principle of social organization. This means that the characteristics of this “ traditional family” are at the top of the hierarchical social organization. If you are hesitant in accepting this claim, take a moment to look at what kinds of families are expressed in ads, movies, children’s shows, and books.  

The problem with this ideology is that in a heterogeneous country, like the one we live in, anyone who does not fit  into the ideal “traditional family” is seen  at a lower level of the social ladder. These identities include; anyone who is not white, heterosexual, or particularly in regard to this corse, not  male. Collins further establishes her points by talking about the intersectionalities of gender, race, and a nation. Intersectionality is how social and political identities intersect and result in either discrimination or privilege. To provide an example Collins writes “ Women of subordinate racial groups deter to  men of their groups often to support men’s struggle in dealing  with racism” ( Collins, 1998). Combining the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality and “ logic of the traditional family ideal” , it is evident that identities different from the “traditional family” are subordinate. To combat this ideology, Collins offers the rejection of hierarchical thinking  as an important cite of resistance. 

Rejecting hierarchical thinking may in fact provide resistance to the “traditional family” framework. Resistance can look like normalizing  different characteristics and intersectionalities from the “traditional family”. Currently, we use resistance by incorporating these characteristics into books, ads, and other media outlets. I think this is a good step because part of the normalization process is rejecting the status quo and putting in place diverse characteristics that resist the “traditional family”  framework. To further explain, normalizing a same-sex Black affluent family, or any other intersection of identities, resist the “traditional family” framework. Like any other social issue, gradual change is expected to fully resist the "traditional family" framework.

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