The "Traditional Family": My Thoughts on Patricia Hill Collin's Thesis

I truly found Patricia Hill Collins' paper to be very interesting as I was actually able to connect many ideas to the way my family functions. I believe that I grew up in what Collins would consider a non-traditional family that actually taught their children traditional "family values." What I mean by this is that in my household, my mother seemed to work almost harder than my father to provide for the family. However, interestingly, my grandparents almost taught my sister and me to embrace the opposite of our own family's dynamic. I was taught that it is better for the male to be the family "money provider" and that the female should be the one to take care of the family. In addition, I was also taught that the success of a family is almost dependent on how obedient the children are. Therefore, when reading Collins' paper, I felt as if I could truly dive into the topic of resistance to intersectional inequalities. 

When thinking of traditional families, I believe that many other people, not just my grandparents, think of a “typical” family portrait which includes a male as a working husband, a female as a housewife, and a few children. This idea of a traditional family has been passed down between generations and so there are definitely many people that believe that this "ideal" should never change. However, this does not mean that the idea should not be questioned. In fact, I believe this gives us an opportunity to challenge traditions and to maybe even reject some. When Collins states that “reclaiming notions of family that reject hierarchical thinking may provide an intriguing and important cite of resistance,” I believe that she was talking about the different examples of families that do not meet the “picture-perfect family standards.” This could be a family with two wives or even just a working wife and a house husband. Whatever the difference is, I truly agree with Patricia Collins in that these types of families bring about a type of resistance that can change our society. 

Breaking gender norms within families first is how I believe we will effectively be able to change our society. By having more and more women in high money-making, working fields, I believe that those who want to hold onto the "traditional family ideal" will slowly begin opening up their minds. I truly believe that the more women that are allowed to educate themselves, the better our society will become. Change may be slow, however, change will be good.