Ibelieve,in short,that we are witnessing the end of an epoch.Today's societal trends are bringing to a close the cultural dominance of the traditional nuclear family-one situated apart from both the larger kin group and the workplace,and focused on pro-creation.It consists of a legal,lifelong,sexually exclusive,hetero-sexual,monogamous marriage,based on affection and companionship,in which there is a sharp division of labor(separate spheres),with the female as full-time housewife and the male as primary provder and ultimate authority.Lasting for only a little more than a century,this family form emphaszed the male as”good provider,”the female as “good wife and mother,”and the paramount importance of the family for childbearing.(Of course,not all families were able to live up to these cultural ideals.)During its heyday,the terms family,home,andmother ranked extraordinarily high in the hierarchy of cultural values.