Jasmine Khalil
Cultural Anthropology
“Culture, Society and American Families”
Dr. Lataianu
05 May 2014 What is the traditional “American” family like? According to urban dictionary the “all-american” family is considered to have children “who often come from good middle and upper class families. The boys are often macho football playing jocks who guzzle tons of nasty domestic beer constantly. The girls tend to be stuck-up cheerleader types who wear Abercrombie & Fitch.” Now that was a very stereotypical statement that is not true. According to wikipedia their definition states “the traditional american family structure in the United States is considered a family support system involving two married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring”; that sounds a lot more accurate. A lot plays into a family like, religion, values, gender roles, marriage and family, and education, etc. Religion is “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs” (dictionary.com). In my household religion does not play a big role. Yes, everyone has their own beliefs but we are not pressured into believing one specific thing. My father believes in the Muslim culture and my mother believes in the Christian culture and we all live under the same roof. Sometimes it is hard to lean about both but in a way it is good. There are many beliefs in the Muslim culture that I do not agree with but there are also many things I do agree with but do not agree with Christianity. My older sister practices Christianity with her family and my older brother also practices Christianity; me on the other hand is still in decisive. Values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work. As parents their job was to teach us right from wrong and guide us into the right path. My parents are very big on “family time”. Every sunday we all get together and have dinner and talk about our week. We value family and the time we spend together as a family. Once we turned 16 my parents told us to go out there and find a job because they wanted us to learn out to balance school, work, and life. Their goal was to teach us to value life, work, and school. What are “gender roles”? Gender Roles “are the social and behavioral norms that are generally considered appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship” (dictionary.com). Basically this means if you are a boy you take out the garbage and walk the dog and if you are a girl you clean the kitchen, make dinner, mop the house, etc. In my household we do not believe in “gender roles”. If dinner needs to be made then whoever is home will make the dinner. Both my parents work so they split up the housework, grocer shopping, or driving us to where we need to go. My mother goes to school and has a full time job so most days my dad is in the kitchen making dinner for us. Marriage and family is very big in my family. My