Family By Frank Bruni: The Meaning Of Family

credibility, but he does have some open opinions that are present. He also makes it obvious that

In the article “What is a Family?” the author, Pauline Irit Erera discusses how families come in various forms through social, economic and cultural conditions. There has been an increase in diversity families within the 1960s. Babies were being put for adoption due to being a different race or ethnicity from their adoptive parents. Many women were put in jail because they were using drugs and didn’t have the ability to take care of their children due to the parents being infected with HIV. Children were being taken out of their homes and placed into foster homes. Grandmothers were willing to take care of their grandchildren with full responsibilities. Some women were giving birth and living alone as a single parent and offered greater satisfaction not being married.

A family is a group of people associated by blood relationships or affinity living in a similar living arrangement. (Brinkerhoff, White, Ortega, & Weitz. 2008) A family is considered one of the most important and universal social institutions because it is the first known human social system that has its characteristics and functions that affect the community, but what creates a family may differ from a culture to another.

In America the concept of the traditional nuclear family is forced on the population by means of the media, social media, and the educational systems. The idea or concept of this is ideal family is a fallacy and no longer is a norm compared to the 1950’s. “Only 48.4 percent of households have a married couple; 20 percent of all households contain married couples who have children living with them” (Caruso & Timmermann, 2013). This change means that the traditional family structure has evolved. America has a high divorce rate of an estimated 40 to 50 percent. Castelloe states, that within the last 50 years there has been an increase in divorce, cohabitation instead of marriage, blended families both gay and heterosexual, and children born out

Keating (2015) suggested that “the typical family unit in 1950s, where a husband goes off to work while the wife is the homemaker, was favoured as the most efficient family structure”. Keating (2015) however pointed out that “it was not only times that had changed but the family norm has changed as well”. Keating believed this was due to more women entering the work force instead of staying how and looking after the children. Mayntz and Ball (2003) believe that “the concept of the typical family that is the ‘natural reproductive unit’ of a mother and father and the children all living under one roof, is not an immutable one”. Ball (2002, p68) considers it to be a “social construct that varies from culture to culture and over time, the definition changes within a culture”. However Ganong (2004 p263-317) put forward that “family no longer refers to individuals in a group related by blood but family now includes people who form close bonds” It is believe that these can be “friends, lovers, or a community of some kind”. Furthermore Ganong (2004) suggests that “even the notion of a traditional family comprising a mother, father and children has changed, this being with the advent of gay marriage rights, traditional families could be two mothers and children, or two fathers and children”. Coleman, and Ganong (2004 p263-317) however suggest that “the idea of family is a social construct; therefore society can alter the definition as society grows and changes”. The structure of Jane’s family changed from the ideal traditional/typical family to being a single parent family. This was due to Simon’s

Defining family is a complex topic and so is the role of a family. I wasn't in class in the very first week when the topic of family was discussed extensively but, reading the textbook and having some prior knowledge on family academically, I believe I can reflect on the topic family comprehensively. Before thinking about what family is to us or to the world in general, we already know what kind of different families that are around and the three most popular are, nuclear family- a mother, the father and the kid/kids, single parent family- a parent and the kid or kids and also extended family which comprises of nuclear family but with addition of other outside family members. That being said, we also have other kind of families which can sometimes not be held in the same status as these big three like, Other (bi nuclear; cohabitators; gay couples) adoptive family- not your biological family, and step families-comprises of a biological parent and siblings maybe.

As time had progressed the definition of a family has changed drastically. What one would have considered a family in early centuries has truthfully changed from what one would consider a family in today’s society. During earlier centuries a family consisted of a father, mother and their children; however that is no longer the case for most families in American society today. In American society families are defined in many different facets such as the traditional family, blended families, single parent homes and homosexual families. Regardless of the components of the family, one must understand that a family is a unit in which there is an adult providing the basic needs and wants of the children in which they have been entrusted. As time progresses America will continue to define and enhance the definition of the term family. Although society may continue to change and enhance the definition of society the traditional family structure that America was known for is slowly fading away as the concept of blended, single parent and homosexual families become the new norm for lives of many Americans.

The definition of family also may

With that being said because of my beliefs I do not agree with same sex marriage or having children out of wedlock. I feel this way, not only because of my spiritual beliefs, but also as said before I think it can create an unstable environment for the children. I have seen this in the lives of several people who are close to me as well as life experience. I also feel this way about divorce, unless the marriage is abusive. I think God’s definition of marriage and family is what is best for us, and the model I hope to follow one day in my own marriage and family. Further, because of life circumstances that is not always the case, so I highly respect single parents who work hard to do what is best for their children and juggle work and their families without much help. I also hold in high regard extended family members who step in to raise children. Lastly, I think a family is designed to provide stability, emotional support, and love to its members. Ultimately a family should be a safe place, where everyone is loved and cared for. Sociologists have a much broader definition of family than I do, but at the same time a sociologist’s term is more technical in terms of the function of the

With our rapid and perpetually changing society, we find that with time everything changes. Many of these changes include: fashion, trends, communication, technology, and also family. It may seem as if family does not have the ability to change, but recent studies suggest otherwise. A family, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “is a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head.” This definition still holds true today; however, the parameters seem to be blurred due to rapid changes in our society. Since the mid-1900s researchers have been seeing a trend in that our idea of a family has been changing. With recent events such as the legalization of gay marriage, the term family seems to be evolving. Traditionally, a family is associated with: a father, who is the bread winner; a mother, who is the the caretaker for the family; and the children of the mother and father.

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni is a very popular opinion writer. He attracts much attention because of his unique style that allows him to inform the reader of the topic that he is writing about, while he also is able to make his opinion very clear in the article. Bruni is not afraid to state what’s on his mind even if the public might not agree with him. Most of his articles are written about current events from the presidential race, to supporting veterans, to the Olympics. Bruni is able to cover a broad range of topics, but he has a consistent style and tone to his writing. His articles consist of an introduction to the problem that he will be talking about. He then expresses to the reader his opinion on the topic, while also providing

These increasingly popular emerging variants of the modern-day family reflect the despondency with the expected assumptions of human progress and with the universality and the consistency of the laws of science; hence, lack of faith in the formerly traditional order. The detachment of economic forces concealing social conformity, for example, women getting married to secure financial stability and to ensure their children to gain their class status or the need for women to be married before having children to ensure the child gains the family wealth. Finally, the media influences family diversity by reflecting and legitimizing it.

The notion of being part of a family is a very important part of cultures around the world, and the idea of family itself is a common theme in a large variety of entertainment media, but what really is a “family?” In Richard T. Schaefer’s 8th edition of Sociology A Brief Introduction, the word family is defined as “a set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society (288). The idea of a nuclear family, in which a family consists of a married couple and their unmarried kids, fits in very well with this definition of a family, and is thought of to “traditional” family norm (Schaefer, 289). Alternatively, Urban Dictionary’s top definition of family provides a more broad view of the notion of family, defining it as “a group of people, usually of the same blood (but do not have to be), who genuinely

When it comes to family, there was no way to define such a word. Post-modern society has allowed for the diversification of the family structure, bringing today’s society further away from the idea of the ‘ideal’ family.

For most of us, the family is considered as a well-known and comfortable institution. The perfect model of the ‘ideal’ family is still mostly considered to be consisted from two different sexes’ parents, and one or more children. Until quite recently, the sociology of the family was mostly functionalist and just in the last few decades has been challenged from various directions.