University of Virginia Library

Mead Analyzes Decline
Of Modern Nuclear Family

By MICHELE FAISON

CD/Saxon Holt

Mead:

"There Really Is No Such Thing As A Classical Family In America."

Standing on a stool to see
over the podium, Margaret
Mead spoke last night about a
new kind of revolution that has
evolved in the last decade-one
against the manipulation of
"terribly good" people that has
led to a decline in the
American "classical" family

"In the past, most
rebellions have been of badly
treated people against those
who were knowingly
mistreating them," Miss Mead
said. "Now we don't know
what to do with a revolution
that is good. It's a problem
that everyone wants to to run
the show for themselves."

"There really is no such
thing as a classical family in
America–what we call the
'classic' family has only really
evolved over the past 50
years."

Nuclear Family Is Dying

Speaking in McLeod Hall
to a crowd that filled up more
than 30 minutes before the
lecture began, Miss Mead
continued, saying that our
form of nuclear family is
dying.

"The nuclear family is the
easiest medium for managing
social change." she said. She
claimed several factors have led
to our present system. An
independently oriented family
system has evolved partly
because only the most able
colonized this continent. She
said in our country, as in most
others, the best colonists were
young couples with no
children.

Miss Mead said the second
factor that led to our nuclear
family system was the
depression. "There were no
new houses built, so everyone
had to live with parents-in-law
or in a one-room apartment."

"After World War II,
preference was given to
builders who designed one-class,
one-style, large
communities," Miss Mead said.

Also with this idea came the
"all-purpose marriage of the
50's", the marriage in which
each partner was "everything
to the other" creating a burden
of over-dependence.

"Now the first marriage is
like the colt of a high-bred
mare. The first marriage, like
the colt, dies. Then, the second
may survive by experience,"
she said.

Pressure Taken From Everyone

Miss Mead said that to solve
these problems and to salvage
what is left of the family
system, the pressure to marry
and procreate must be taken
from everyone.

"This nuclear family did
not come about as a result of
totalitarian activity, but by
accident." Miss Mead finished,
saying that now we know what
we have done, we know the
conditions to correct it.