In order to discuss and evaluate any changes which may have taken place within the structure of the British family after the Second World War, it is first necessary to examine the structures of the family unit prior to the Second World War. Only then will it be possible to make comparisons between the two. In this essay I shall look at overall family structures, more specifically the gender roles played out by men and women within the family. Before considering these, I shall begin by exploring what is meant and understood by "family" and whether the definition of family can include households composed of single parents and their children, childless and cohabiting couples and same-sex relationships.

Definitions are always crucial in discussing social issues, because a word such as "family" is almost inevitably laden with value-based meanings. As society has changed and attitudes and values have influenced sociological thinking, some theorists have redefined the terms in which family is studied and discussed.

The Oxford Dictionary definition of family is: "members of a househo

During the post-war period, married women - who, according to tradition, should be supported by their husbands - became increasingly involved in paid work. Just after World War II, in 1951, just under 22 per cent of married women were "economically active" - that is, involved in paid work outside the home. By 1977, this figure had risen to just over 50 per cent. (Elliot, 1986, p.86) Alcock (1997) shows that both married and single women are now much more likely to be in employment: 66 per cent of working age women by 1995 (DEE, 1996).

· 'Conjugal family': used to refer to "a family system in which the nuclear family unit is more or less independent of kin and in which the main emphasis is on the marital relationship" (Goode, 1963, quoted in Anderson, 1980, p.400).

· A labour shortage created by the expansion of the service sector of the economy and by the growth of the Welfare State in the 50s and 60s

"Recapturing the traditional family is a non-starter...when rightist critics speak of the traditional family, they don't in fact mean the traditional family at all, but a transitional state of the family in the immediate post-war period - the (idealised) family of the 1950s." (Giddens, 1998, p.92)

Society in the 21st century now has a very different set of attitudes and values from pre-war Britain. According to HMSO figures on population trends, births outside marriage rose from 54,000 in 1961 to 236,000 in 1991 (Lees, 1999, p.60). However, 58 per cent of illegitimate births in 1981 were registered by both parents, indicating an unmarried two parent family (Elliot, 1986, p.152, data source: Social trends, 1984, p.40) The social stigma attached to unmarried couples has reduced significantly. Divorce is generally accepted and reconstituted families are increasingly common.

Some common words found in the essay are:
II Victorian, Abercrombie Warde, War II, World War, Action Network, Oxford Dictionary, Attitudes Survey, National Statistics, Divorce Reform, According HMSO, family structure, world war, definition family, world war ii, war ii, family unit, parents children, significant changes, nuclear family, cent 2000, elliot 1986, changes family structure, family structure world, structure world war, ii world war,
Approximate Word count = 2863
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)