Myths of Marriage and Family

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at "Debunking Myths about Marriages and Families" where the authors, Mary Ann Schwartz and Barbara Marliene Scott, argue against five specific beliefs that dominate American cultural views on the institution of marriage and the nuclear family. The paper goes through these five myths and posits that, with the exception of one argument, the authors present very persuasive arguments that are logically sound and devoid of any obvious logical fallacies, reliance on emotionally loaded terms, or any other apparent faulty reasoning.

Outline:
Introduction
Myth # 1 - The Universal Nuclear Family
Myth # 2 - The Self-Reliant Family
Myth # 3 - The Naturalness of Different Spheres for Wives and Husbands
Myth # 4 - The Unstable African American Family
Myth # 5 - The Idealized Nuclear Family of the 1950s

From the Paper:

"Schwartz and Scott (2000) take on the proverbial notion that the concept of family is necessarily defined only the way it has been presented in the U.S. mainstream culture. The authors suggest that family is more accurately defined much more broadly than by the image of one man and one woman married for life and raising children together. Instead, they argue that any survey of cultures worldwide would reveal very different expectations of what a family is and that the description commonly accepted in this particular part of the world represents only one of many models evident in human culture."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Branden, N. (1999) The Psychology of Romantic Love. New York: Bantam.
• Roberts, S. (2007) The Shelf Life of Bliss. The New York Times, July 1, 2007.
• Schwartz, M.A., Scott, B.M. (2000) "Debunking Myths about Marriage and Families" in Marriages and Families: Diversity and Change.

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