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Mother–Son Relationships
Throughout American history, relationships between mothers and sons have adapted to shifting constructions of masculinity. Mothers' ties to their sons have been both romanticized and criticized, depending on how Americans in various eras viewed the compatibility of this relationship with social and cultural ideals of manhood. The mother–son tie in American culture has thus been alternately a source of celebration and a cause for grave concern.
Mother–Son Relations and Colonial Patriarchy
In the premodern, patriarchal society of colonial America, social order was believed to require both respect for rank and hierarchy and deferential obedience to male domestic, religious, and political authority. Fathers acted as heads of households, and because they were viewed as more rational and more effective disciplinarians, they were considered to be better suited than ...
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