20. Traditionalism and novelty in family roles.

There are many different views on family life. Some people could not do without the support and love of their families. Others say it is the source of most of our problems and anxieties. Whatever the truth is, the family is definitely a powerful symbol. Turn on the television or open a magazine and you will see advertisements featuring happy, balanced families. Politicians often try to win votes by standing for “family values”: respect for parental authority, stability in marriage, chastity and care for the elderly.

There is no definition of a “normal” family. Broadly speaking, the family is a group of people related by blood or law, living together or associated with one another for a common purpose. That purpose is usually to provide shelter and food, and to bring up children. The nature of the family keeps changing: there are a number of types of family that exist in a society at any one time.

Sociologists divide families into two general types: the nuclear (среднестат) family and the extended(расшир) family, which may include 3 or 4 generations living together. In industrialized countries, and increasingly (в большей мере) in the large cities of developing countries, the nuclear family is regarded as normal.

There are people who say that the family unit is in crisis and that traditional family life is a thing of the past. This is of great concern to those who think a healthy society is dependent upon a stable family life. They see many indications (признаки) that the family is in decline, in such things as the acceptance of sex before marriage, the increased number of one-parent families, the current high divorce rate and what they see as a lack of discipline within the family. Some politicians blame social problems, such as drag taking and juvenile crime, on a disintegrating family life.

Men and women – two beginnings, two opposition. Who are we: the opposition or a unity? To our relations were devoted so many masterpieces of art: the greatest men of letters, artists and composers take that theme as the basement of their works of art. In some way we are two oppositions that strive to unite but in vain. But maybe that’s the reason why we all the time will strive to unite. During the latest centuries the relations between men and women changed greatly. Women are not anymore only the housewives who are sitting with children and preparing food at home; whose opinion does not considered and even listened. Women of the 21 century are equal to the men members of the society, and appeared the tendency to our superiority. Women of the 21 century finish high education, often even not one, we work and not seldom have the position higher then some men do, we give birth to the child and play the major role in his\her upbringing because not only spent more time with the baby, but also decide major questions in his\her life, and obviously manage the house, we find time for self-development going to the theatres and museums at the same time finding somehow time for ourselves, while all the spare time of contemporary men after coming home from work engaged with TV and computer games. It can seem sometimes that it’s impossible to combine the role of a good mother and wife combing it with making a successful career. But in my view we obviously can and we should strive for the better and find time for everything, anyway we bear the name of women of 21 century. We shouldn’t refuse from anything because the price of this can be too high, not realization of our potential, and as a consequence a feeling of regret about lost\missed opportunities. I’m sure that women of the 21 century much more strong then men. Usually not coping with their task they escape feeling subconsciously (подсознательно) themselves weaker, that’s the main reason why they are afraid of responsibility and afraid of serious relations. Men doesn’t leave us the chance to be the weak part or because of not coping with the role of the strong part of generation after which women became stronger, or because of not bearing the competition with striving for the better (стремящиеся к лучшему) women. Nowadays most of men don’t even try to be the strongest part – after going away from parental home they search not for the partner sharing life with but for the mother to be taken care of, the first and most flaring is that they do not give a sit anymore in transport no matter to whom to pensioners, pregnant women or passengers with little kids. In recent years that burst upon the eyes.