Lonely family

In 1980, the Census Bureau found that San Francisco "by the number of single people" took the first place among the cities of the United States. This means that among the 679 000 inhabitants of the city, the majority( 53%) live in "non-standard" families - alone or with people who are not their relatives. In this respect, San Francisco took the leading place throughout the country. It is followed by Seattle, where the number of lonely people is 48 percent, Washington( DC) is 45 on the third place, then Auckland is 44, Los Angeles is 39 and New York is 37 percent. Overall, 27 percent of Americans do not have a normal family.

The huge number of "non-standard" families in San Francisco is mainly due to trends that affect the whole country:

1) a significant increase in the number of divorces and gaps;

2) an increase in the number of young people who are not in a hurry or refuse to marry at all;

3) an increase in the number of elderly people living alone after the death of one of the spouses.

At the same time, some features of San Francisco help explain the exceptionally large number of non-standard families in this city. In San Francisco, where there has long been a tolerance for non-traditional patterns of behavior, there are many homosexuals, their approximately 100,000 people, one-sixth of the total population of the city.

Cohabitation of homosexuals, probably, can not be considered a normal family life, regardless of whether they live apart or together. Entrepreneurs who take into account the specifics of housing demand in this situation have invested heavily in the construction of condominiums - housing complexes more convenient for those who live alone or with their partner than for family people. Real estate agents offer lonely homes: "To buy a house, you do not need to be married.", And financiers are more willing than ever to lend to lonely people and people who are not related.

In addition, the lifestyle of "single" and "unmarried" is likely to facilitate the relocation of families to the suburbs. The boom of condominiums, apparently, deprives family people of the opportunity to purchase comfortable houses. In her speech on the "state of the city" in 1982, the mayor of San Francisco, Diana Feinstein, said: "If we intend to keep families in our city, we must redouble our efforts to provide them with comfortable housing and take other measures to attract them."

Whatever the reasons for San Francisco becoming a "lonely city", this has led to certain consequences. Not only the housing market has changed, the development of restaurant business and the creation of new cultural centers have gained momentum - single people and those who are not married, eat more often and spend time outside the house than family people.

The trend toward creating non-standard families has had an impact on another aspect of San Francisco's life. In 1982, the Board of Inspectors decided to provide homosexual employees with leave on the occasion of the death of a partner and provided cheap insurance policies for partners. In the past, these benefits were granted only to employees who have families. This action provoked heated debate - some religious organizations and medical institutions opposed this decision, while members of the homosexual community and other groups supported it. The decision was rejected by the mayor of the city, which tried to explain its position not by moral reasons, but rather by the ambiguity and illegitimacy of the decree. Nevertheless, some observers considered that, having vetoed him, the mayor of San Francisco risked his future political career.

The example of San Francisco is the exception rather than the rule, but it found a vivid embodiment of the trend towards the disintegration of the traditional family, observed throughout the country. For a deeper understanding of this trend, let us begin with an analysis of the concept of "family", whose members are linked by the community of residence. According to the 1980 census, 97.5 percent of Americans live in normal families, while the rest live in student dormitories and military barracks, serve time in prisons or are in other "state" institutions. According to the census, there is a clear distinction between "standard" and "non-standard" families. A "standard" family consists of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption. The most common type of family, including a married couple with or without children. In "non-standard" families are two or more people of any gender who are not relatives, as well as people who live alone.

Although traditional families still prevail in the United States, new forms of family life are developing and, apparently, the family institution is now undergoing radical changes.

In 1981 there were approximately 73 percent of "standard" and 27 percent of "non-standard" families. But in 1970 these numbers were 82 and 18 percent, respectively. During this period, the number of single men increased by 105 percent, single women by 60 percent. In addition, the number of families with one parent has significantly increased. In 1981, it reached 21 percent compared with 10 percent in 1970. Since 1970, the number of families with one parent who never married has increased by 349 percent, this is an amazing fact! At the same time, the number of families with one divorced or abandoned parent increased by 11 percent.

Indeed, these changes seem incredible. They testify to the radical transformation of the family structure, the relationship between parents and children, as well as intimate relations in general, taking place in American society. Deep anxiety about the future of the family is expressed in the media;recently one of the reviewers directly raised the question of whether we will not have to simply say in the future: "Good-bye, family!".