American Ideals of Family

     While at work yesterday I noticed something that reminded me of the chapter we covered discussing family. I work as a nanny for a little eight month old boy and while putting away diapers in the nursery my attention was drawn to the picture on the outside of the Pampers box. Although it was a really simple picture, many implications were presented regarding the type of lifestyle and family being advertised. A smiling baby wearing only a diaper was the focus of the picture and he was in the hands of his mother who was wearing a wedding ring. Although you could only see the hands, it was easy to tell that they were a woman's.
     Three details of this photo stood out to me as being particularly significant: the baby was smiling, he was being held, and his mother was wearing a wedding ring. The smile obviously implied that he was happy and in a joyful home, the presence of the hands implied support and loving attention from his parents, and the wedding ring implied commitment between his parents and a socially-accepted relationship. It is interesting to analyze the advertisements we are constantly surrounded by and try to figure out what we are actually being "sold".