Conceiving of gender as a social construction rather than a biologically assigned identity helps explain historical fluctuations in male and female practices and culturally bound definitions of appropriate male behavior and feminine. Hansen argues that an individual's gendered behavior is influenced by culturally constructed notions of what it is appropriate for good mothers, good fathers, or good people to do when caring for children (Hansen 7). The perception of American families as “small, self-sufficient units, led by a breadwinner father and cared for by a stay-at-home mother” (1) has a notable influence on family life. This cultural construction influences everything from raising children to networking to the workplace, and individuals must consciously make an effort to detach themselves from these roles. Both attachment and the attempt to break away from these roles can have significant effects on one's family experience. For at least the last two centuries, the tasks of raising and caring for children have been assigned primarily, though not exclusively, to women (Hansen 6). Arlie Hochschild presents the idea of ​​a gender strategy as “a plan of action through which a person attempts to solve the problems at hand, given the cultural notions of gender at play” (7). This is something that is necessary for “not so nuclear” families to function and move forward. Women are "situated in the structural nexus between domestic work, raising children and paid work, yet they exercise a certain discretion over how they act and interpret their situations" (7). Many women consider whether it is appropriate to take a stand for equality or when they should back off for the sake of the marriage or to avoid arguments within the family. Men and women... at the center of the paper... shaped people's mentality. The idea is so ingrained in our minds that complete change may never happen. In any case, the most important factor in changing the family dynamic will be time. Works Cited Cherlin, Andrew J. Public and Private Families: An Introduction. 6th. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.Hansen, Karen V. Not-So-Nuclear Families: Class, Gender, and Care Networks. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Print.Johnson, Michael P. A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Couple Violence. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2008. Print.Tichenor, Veronica Jaris. “Gender Contract: Why Wives Can't Trade Their Money for Housework” from Earn More and Get Less: Why Successful Wives Can't for Equality. 2005. Rutgers University Press. Press.