Family As An Institution of Power

The American cultural norm of family acts as an institution of power by being able to program certain views and perspectives into our heads from such a young age. We are taught specific lessons that stick in our minds and shape the way we act and decide on things as we get older. For example, we have always seen the father as the most important figure in a family. He sits at the head of the table, he brings in the money, and all the decisions are run down by him. This is not the case for every family, especially for the century we live in now but that has been the father figure for years. As we grow up, our family installs in us various ideologies of how men and women are expected to be. We are encouraged to think on our own and explore other cultures and views, but that really isn't always what happens. Each culture has its own set of expectations that they have of their future generations. We live according to what we learned from our parents, even though we may not agree with them, but those lessons have been imprinted in our heads for so long, that we know nothing else. This is how family acts as an institution of power that leads the way of how and why we do the things we do.