Although most Americans have grown more comfortable with same-sex unions or bringing up children, they still see mothers as harmful to society, according to a new poll of attitudes towards the country's growing number of non-traditional families.
Most types of non-traditional families are broadly accepted or at least tolerated, including same-sex couples with children, single parents and childless women, according to a Pew Research Center Social and demographic trends. But two decades later Murphy Brown TV caused a furore public for having a child without a husband around, many people continue to draw the line when it comes to single motherhood.
The poll illustrates how dramatically attitudes have changed the not too distant past, when the typical family was a couple with children and virtually all other types of family was considered abnormal. Today, nuclear families comprise just one in five households in the United States, Census Bureau statistics. And almost four out of every 10 births are women, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
"People are embracing these changes, but they are accepting," said Rich Morin, a senior editor of the Pew Center and author of the report. "The days when people were made to wear a scarlet letter or were avoided after divorce are ancient history".
The survey asked about 2700 people for their views on the seven modern trends relationships that are upending what used to be considered the traditional family: unmarried parents raising children; gay couples, parenting. mothers. partners living together outside of marriage. working mothers. interracial marriage. and women who never have children.
The results suggest that Americans fall largely three fields of equal sizes.
Approximately one-third said trends have no effect on the company or are positive. People who had positive views of family change by an overwhelming majority were women, Hispanics and East Coast residents that rarely if ever attend religious services.
Another third considered most harmful changes to society. Only accepted trends were interracial marriage and fewer women have children. They tended to be older, white Republicans who are married and religiously observant. They also were more likely than South Midwest.
The third group tends to accept all changes except for the single motherhood. Virtually all of them said that the increasing prevalence of mothers without male partners to help them create children is bad for society. This group tended to be young, independent and democratic or more heavily minority.
Andrew Cherlin, a Johns Hopkins University sociologist studies families, said Pew Research underlines the widespread acceptance of the father of two families of almost any genre.
"Working mothers are acceptable to almost everyone," he said. "Two parents who are unmarried are tolerated or acceptable. But many people, including parents, parents. There is a strong belief that children need both parents. "
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