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Emily Long31 October 2014CAS 137HParadigm Shift

Breadmakers to Homemakers Braiding hair, cleaning up the house, pushing around the grocery cart, and fixing dinner exemplifies a list of jobs that fathers now put on their resume as a stay-at-home dad. The title stay-at-home dad is becoming integrated into American culture, but decades ago this term, defined as any father who is the regular primary caregiver of his children (Statistics on Stay-At-Home Dads), was unknown and the roles of these fathers were strictly thought of as womens jobs. During World War II, women began joining the work force, beginning the shift in roles played out by the family. The father was no longer the only source of income, creating the duel income family. During the first decade of the 21st century, the economic plunge of the Great Recession caused the number of stay-at-home dads to leap again as fathers lost their jobs. As gender specific roles begin to fade and the percentage of standard nuclear families decline, society begins to accept the increasingly active role of fathers in the hands on upbringing of their children and the encompassing role of the stay-at-home dad. This paradigm shift resonates through working women, fluctuating economics, active politicians, and reflective movies. Before World War II, it was very rare for a married woman with children to be in the workforce, but when the men headed off to war the women headed to the workforce, initiating the shift of social expectation in the workforce. In 1945, the number of women in the workforce jumped to 36%, and half of those women were married (Thomas, W.). As the men returned home from war, the women were expected to return to their roles as housewives because society in the 1940s believed the womans place was at home with the children. However, some employers accepted their new women workers. Curtis Wright Corporation stated, By the time we enter the post war period womens eligibility in special job classifications formerly open only to men within this organization will be established (Brewer, F.M., 1944). Although the corporation went against social beliefs of the times, this signifies the beginning of a shift in gender roles. Many women did return to their household chores, but the women who stayed in the workforce created the modern dynamics of the duel income family. Throughout the 20th century, more and more women followed the lead of the working women of World War II. Families benefited from having two sources of income, making this trend very appealing to families. To maintain a comfortable living style, more and more women took off time from their unpaid jobs as stay-at-home moms to earn more income for their family. While the mothers time increased in the workplace, more fathers had to spend a little more time away from the office at home to compensate for the womans absence. As this trend escalated throughout the 20th century, so did the fathers corresponding role in the household.The idea of a nuclear family with a stay-at-home mom and a working father was not only shaken by increase in duel income families, but also by the peak in divorce rates in 1966 that led to a new family dynamic, the single parent home (Shiono,P., Quinn, L.). In the early 1900s, courts supported maternal custody because the most common belief was it is most important for children to be with their mom. However, this belief started to receive backlash. Men were falling out of their kids lives and gaining the name deadbeat dads. Many people did not believe this was in the best interest for the broken families, and politicians and fathers began working together in what was called the Fatherhood Movement to crack down on the trend of deadbeat dads. In the 1970s, correlating with the peak in divorce, the court practice of giving the children to the mother began to lose support, and judges began looking at the best interest for the child, instead of automatically giving custody to the mother. Joint custody is now becoming popular because children are raised by both parents before the divorce, so this normalcy should remain in the kids lives. With these changes in the court of law, fathers began gaining primary care of their children.Politicians went beyond the custody battles to improve the image of the father figure. In 1995, Bill Clinton declared that the trend of deadbeat dads is one of the most important social issues of the day, and called many governors to take statewide action (Koch, Kathy, 2000). Statewide movements began calling fathers to become more involved in their childrens lives, even if they were divorced. The movements wanted fathers to be seen as more than a source of childcare. They wanted them to be seen as care givers. Congress began to explore the causes of fatherless households and to search for initiatives to stop this common absence. On November 10, 1999, Congress agreed to spend $140 million dollars to help fathers find jobs, so they could support their child, and classes were established to assist in marital conflict (Koch, Kathy, 2000). The government places an influential role in the lives of their citizens, and fathers are no exception. Economic troubles leading into the 21st century led to women not only working alongside their husbands in the workforce, but sometimes becoming the sole source of income while the father stayed at home. During the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the rapid increase of stay-at-home fathers was reported because the economic hardships of the Great Recession led to many unemployed fathers. This number continues to rise in direct correlation with the weakening economy. In 2012, twenty-three percent of men stayed home with their children because they could not find a job (Livingston, G.). When their wives earned the higher income, the fathers took the role of primary caregiver. Although this form of stay-at-home dad is due to unemployment, the father still assumes the role of primary caregiver. Since the Great Recession, the shift towards a heavy paternal presence in the upbringing of the family has not slowed down. To obtain a comfortable lifestyle in todays grueling economy, many women join their husbands in the workforce. With the wives in the workforce, they have less time to actively raise their children and complete all of the household chores. This calls for a redistribution of jobs. No longer does the mother juggle all of the jobs that were believed to be for women. The men join in. Depending on the schedule, the father may take on the majority of the jobs, including cooking breakfast and taking the kids to school, or staying at home with the kids as the mother works her night shift. According to a report by the Pew Research, the time fathers spend doing household chores has doubled since 1965 (Johnson, M., 2013). Fathers in duel income households are sharing the loads with their spouse and sometimes taking over the primary care of their children, which places them under the category of stay-at-home dad. In some households, fathers choose to become stay-at-home dads not because of necessity, but because they want to be a large presence in their childrens lives. Why should the mothers be the only ones who experience the exciting little moments in their childrens lives? Many fathers say mothers shouldnt be the only ones with that privilege. The largest increase in stay-at-home dads is due to the number of fathers who stay at home for the sole purpose of caring for their children. In 1989, only 5% of stay-at-home dads took on the role solely for the purpose of taking care of their children. This number leaped drastically to 21% of stay-at-home dads in 2012, and this number continues to increase (Livingston, G). Dads are standing up against past social norms of the working father, so they wont miss the precious moments of their kids childhood because they are sitting behind a stuffy desk in a stiff suit. Not only are the average Joes taking on this new role, but the box office is reflecting this societal change by taking the new fatherly role to the big screen. In the 1940s and 1950s movies, such as Miracle on 34th Street and Its a Wonderful Life, showed fathers coming home from work to their families, while the mother had been at home with the kids all day. From the 1960s to the end of the 20th century, like society, movies began integrating the working woman into their scripts, giving the men a little more screen time with their children. Movies, such as Kramer vs. Kramer and Back to the Future, exemplified this shift. By the 21st century, movies reflected societies mix of families and fatherly roles into their plots. The 2007 Disney movie, Game Plan featured a big time NFL player who was living up the bachelor lifestyle. Everything seemed like the dream life until his daughter knocked on his door. By the end of the movie, football was no longer number one in his life. Instead, his priority was making up for the years he missed of his daughters life, and learning to become her primary caregiver. In 2010 and 2013, Grown Ups 1 and Grown Ups 2 hit the box office. This series featured four different types of dads: the unemployed stay-at-home dad, the famous hands on dad, the white-collar dad, and the deadbeat dad. In the movies, all of the dads realize how important family is in their lives. The white-collar dad starts spending more time with his kids, and the deadbeat dad builds a strong relationship with his son. The underlying message from the movie to fathers everywhere is nothing feels better than spending time with your children and knowing you took part in raising them. Each character was drawn into the current tidal wave of change to the role of an involved father. Many fathers are still the main source of income for families, but the United States culture is in the midst of the paradigm shift to the more active father who takes on the role of primary caregiver. Most fathers have always played an active role in their childs life, but now they are picking up more household responsibilities and are becoming more involved. Society no longer sticks to the mold of men being the primary source of income. Now, men have the option to step into new shoes that allow them to become more involved in the upbringing of their household. As gender roles shift, the idea of a nuclear family fades. The normal family no longer includes a working dad, a stay-at-home mom, and two kids. Society and the economy are tweaking the family mold, creating a new need for active fathers. Work CitedBrewer, F.M. "Women Workers After the War."Editorial Research Reports 1944.Vol. I. Washington: CQ Press, 1944. 283-300.CQ Researcher. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.Johnson, Michelle. "Women and Work."CQ Researcher26 July 2013: 645-68. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.Koch, Kathy. "Fatherhood Movement."CQ Researcher2 June 2000: 473-96. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.Livingston, Gretchen. "Growing Number of Dads Home with the Kids."Pew Research Centers Social Demographic Trends Project RSS. Pew Research Center, 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. .Shiono, Patricia, and Linda Quinn. "The Future of Children, Princeton - Brookings: Providing Research and Analysis to Promote Effective Policies and Programs for Children."-The Future of Children -. The Trustees of Princeton University, 1994. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.."Statistics on Stay-At-Home Dads."National AtHome Dad Network. National At-Home Dad Network, 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. .Thomas, William V. "Two-Income Families."Editorial Research Reports 1979.Vol. II. Washington: CQ Press, 1979. 501-20.CQ Researcher. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.