Break The Mold: Deconstructing Conventional Narratives of Home

When we think of typical American homes, we think beyond the 2 story house with white picket fence. American society has a very firm idea of what kind of people have to be in a household in order for it to be considered home. In class, when asked about what makes a home, most people thought not only the physical structure, but the people inside the home. Most people imagine a two-parent household involving a mother and a father, and maybe a pet. In the media, the ideal families and households are usually white. We are seeing a shift in how families are being portrayed in media. In recent years, there has been a rise in recognition of  “unconventional” households in media , like LGBT, minority/interracial households, and apartment living. Even though families are being shown as functional outside of the “ideal mold” a lot of shows still portray these preconceived notions on what makes a household proper by American standards. Our project is going to discuss how media is representing these different kinds of households, but still support traditional American standards of what home should be.

Culturally produced meanings of home:

2 parent household

1. 

Kohl's advertisement

2) Google page if you google “prefect family”

The ideal American household has a mother, father and children. It was not until recently that interracial families have been represented in media and advertisements. If you simply google “prefect family” every picture has the mother, father and child unit. These are all portrayals of how American society feels families should look and operate. Even though a family like this is what most people strive for, it does not mean that they operate or are any better than a single, LGBT, or any other household outside of this model.

3) Single parent households

While the two parent household narrative has been commonplace for decades single parent households have become increasingly accepted within American culture.  Single parent households are often the result of a divorce, a parent abandoning the family, or a parent death.

LGBT homes

4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytXd7ljLhg8

5)

In recent years, the media has started to portray same-sex couples in a more positive light. Same-sex households and couples still face judgement when it comes to roles in the home. It is still expected for one partner to take on the masculine role and the other take on the feminine roll. We chose to use a clip from Modern Family to depict how same-sex marriages are shown in media. This is a great clip because it also shows the dynamic same-sex couples face within the family unit. Mitchell and Cam adopt a baby and the clip focuses on how uncomfortable Mitchell’s dad, Jay, is with their relationship. Jay even says “You two shouldn’t adopt a baby, babies need a mother.” This comment perpetuates the idea that in order for a family unit to be successful you have to have a male and female. It also enhances the idea that men can’t take on traditionally female roles and be a caregiver/homemaker.

Different race households

6) Blackish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2oHMze7RwY

7) Fresh off the boat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KhRKkLS_4I

8) Precious  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ZF3zw1gHs

Both of these sitcoms address how minority families navigate being middle class. Both shows mention “the American Dream.” The dream is to conform and live in the suburbs. The Blackish trailer focuses on how being middle class as a black family has made his kids lose their cultural identity. Fresh off the Boat plays to some stereotypes that Asian-American families face, a strict mom, a family that owns a restaurant, etc. Both of these shows reveal the social struggles minorities family face when living amongst middle class white people. An issue with shows like these is that they sustain the idea that white is better and you have to have a husband/wife dynamic. Everyone strives to live on the same level as white people even though there is not anything wrong with not conforming to that way of life. However, shows like these are important because they allow us to address issues and stereotypes. I think showing minority families in this light is better than showing them in the usual ghetto or abusive households like they are usually shown. The movie Precious is a great example of how the majority of movies portray black families, especially mothers. It is important to represent the violence that happens in some poor, minority families, but for people who only encounter minorities on screen these depictions can be detrimental to the race as a whole.

9) The role of class in home dynamics

Connotations of a typical home often involve a two-story property, with a front yard surrounded by a white picket fence.  These are most commonly observed in of rural and suburban areas.  The value placed in stereotypical ideas of homes are reaffirmed by television shows, movies, and other mediums of entertainment.  TV Sitcom The Goldbergs portrays a conventional 1980s American family in the suburbs.  In these suburban environments, children have ample space in which they can be outside with friends, explore their surroundings, and gain a sense of independence from their parents.  

The Goldbergs

However, this condition is not the case for all children.  Families living in high rise apartments within urban areas are faced with the challenges of raising children in a tight, limited amount of space, which in turn makes it more difficult for the children to develop autonomy.  These families are often lower middle class, reflecting the correlation between position within access  One survey revealed that most children living in high rises in New York City are not allowed outside by themselves until they were 10.  The confined space of an apartment completely isolates children from the outside world – they can either remain inside under their parent's supervision all the time, or play outside all day and away from home.

Although there are many different types of homes, it has long been the case that a white, heterosexual, family with children has been portrayed as the ideal. Media representation plays a critical role in establishing the traditional monikers of success. It also reinforces the notion that anything that deviates from this ideal is inferior. Cahill, argues in, “The Fed-Up Honeys” that representation can subjugate a group to discriminatory practices by playing on the pre-conceived notions of others and capitalizing on their confirmation biases.

Cahill states that young women of color have been portrayed as being a “burden to society” and “While it operates in a similar fashion to representations of the underclass or the culture-of-poverty thesis in terms of conflating behavioral and economic characteristics” (351.) This practice has essentially been extended to all groups by conflating a certain lifestyle with a certain set of behaviors. In the past, LGBT families have been represented as not being able to provide a fulfilling home life for their children. People of color have been portrayed as living in impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods. These stereotypes are created and reinforced by the media, and they are part of a society that systematically makes it more difficult for disadvantaged groups and minorities to reach social equality. These toxic and inaccurate perceptions of their home perpetuate and encourage social injustice.

Despite the harm that the media has done, Cahill focuses on an ad campaign that tries to combat the stereotypes of young black women. This type of thinking is being practiced more frequently in modern media as tv shows and advertisements have become increasingly diverse over the past few years. In this sense, the media can be viewed as the problem and the solution.

Different types of homes are separated in people’s minds as being “good”, “bad”, “safe”, and “dangerous”. This immaterial distinction is manifested in the physical location, separation, and exclusion of some of these households. This is evident in the racial configuration of neighborhoods and communities. This has also led to the emergence of LGBT communities, and other areas that foster community and belonging for groups that are frequently excluded from communal spaces.

Lemanski and Oldfield provide an example of this deliberation separation. They state that, “An alternate vision of the Southern city is represented through gating, whereby the middle classes and elites erect walls and privatise security to ameliorate fears related to insecurity stemming from crime and `difference', often perceived as emanating from
`slums'” (636). The physical separation of these groups of people is indicative of a societal paradigm that seeks to continue the perceived norm of living with people who share a racial or cultural identity.

These differences in location allow for some communities to have privileges that others do not, and this can affect the long term economic development of the residents. Location can also determine the political agency and influence of a group and can result in policies that may or may not advantage them. This emphasizes the consequences of failing to integrate communities and the ways this can lead to the continued discrimination of disadvantaged groups.