Public Discourse Relies On Tropes Of Motherhood, Parenting, And Family

In recent decades, there has been a shift in the definition of a family to better suit the new emerging alternative family arrangements in today’s society. A family is defined as the natural and fundamental group unit of society especially in relation to the upbringing of children. However, this Eurocentric, nuclear family construct has evolved as alternative family arrangements such as de-facto and same sex relationships as well as adoptive families have become part of the term ‘family’. The domestic legal system has introduced and amended laws to deal with these contemporary issues. Similarly, there are non-legal responses such as the media and various non-governmental organisations, which advocate for various changes to the law in order to achieve greater justice for these families.

Wilton refers to Monique Wittig, a French author and feminist theorist, who states “our survival demands that we contribute all our strength to the destruction of the class of women within which men appropriate women.” Thus, Wittig expresses that “heterosexuality is a social system” (Wilton 165). Why heterosexuality is forced upon the majority, however, is still unclear. Emily Martin, in her article, “The Egg and the Sperm: How Science has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles,” explains why this is so. Procreation can only occur upon the union of sperm and egg and their behaviors have created stereotypes which “imply not only that female biological processes are less worthy than their male counterparts but also that women

Traditionally, the U.S. family begins with a marriage, cohabitation and finally, children. However, the “typical” family is beginning to evolve very rapidly, just as in France and Quebec. In Quebec, it is more common to find couples living together that aren’t married than to find married couples living together. Surprisingly, only 3 in 10 families in Quebec are married couples with children under 25 living with them. In France, children tend to live with their parents until they’re in their early to mid-twenties. Quebec and the United States are generally evolving together. It is more common in present day to find couples living together that aren’t married, yet may or may not have children. However, in France, couples generally won’t marry until they’re in their thirties. My family is composed of the traditional American family: marriage, creating a home together, creating a family together. Although I was raised in an orthodox household, I was also raised seeing and learning from unorthodox living and parental situations. The role of family in the U.S., Quebec, and France nowadays are all transforming to purposefully cease all structure. Same-sex marriage is now legal in these areas, and this change has definitely produced the question of what is a “typical family” anymore. There is not a typical family anymore, there is only the family one was brought up in and one creates.

Society’s opinions are constantly, and rapidly changing, and consequently this poses significant challenges to the family law system in Australia. A family is a social unit containing individuals related by blood, marriage or other legally recognised relationships. Family law reforms have been implemented over the past three decades, entailing the recognition of same sex couples. Furthermore, a statutory presumption of shared parenting – as instigated by society’s transitioning values – displays the changing nature of parental responsibility. Not only are society’s views progressing, but surrogacy and birth technologies are

The family has always been a unit that calls for the belonging of the kin. It calls for more than blood relations, but also a relation with ancestry, history, ethnic origins, etc. It serves as the most basic political unit that many can relate too, however, the term family carries a more diverse and complex role that is seen to evolve throughout the years. With the modernization of the human civilization leads to an evolution of thought, morality, and ideology. What was once the idealized nuclear family, is now criticized by many modern day thinkers as it invokes a heteronormative that oppresses any other forms of family and sexual relationships. This concept can be seen in the given article by Bell Hooks. In Hooks’ document, she talks about the racist oppression of sexist domination towards back women. There is a focus on black women in reference to their place in the community, the home, and the home to which they are serving to (Hooks, 1990). Her views show the heavy responsibilities of black women as it reflects their privileges and lifestyle. The second document by Michelle Owen examines the normalization of queer as seen in the Canadian Legal Landscape, assimilation debates, and works to that aim to break the heteronormative family lifestyle (2001).

This cultural and societal shift has set forth us to question more than just marriage equality. We are now faced with redefining roles and most importantly the power and control these roles possess. Who will be considered the ‘bread winner’ in a lesbian marriage? Who will now take the role of the stay at home mom in a gay marriage? And furthermore, when considering a lesbian marriage, who then will become a greater financial contributor to the economy to help in maintaining the capitalist machine? Even further, how will this effect the gender wage gap?

Until quite recently, the traditional view of family that has predominated society has been comprised of gender roles. The “ideal” family in the past has consisted of a white, middle-class, heterosexual couple with about 2.5 children. In this heteronormative nuclear family, the father is the head of the household and the breadwinner of the family, while the mother is the one who cares for the children and completes household duties. Of course, most families do not fit into this mould and those who do not fit have been repeatedly marginalized due to their differences. It is no question that race, class, sexuality, ability, and many other identity markers intersect in how forms of family may vary. As explained by the concept of intersectionality, gender must be analyzed through a lens that includes various identity markers which contribute to how an individual experiences oppression. It is through the use of intersectionality, the discussion of patriarchy, and the deconstruction of “family” that bell hooks (1990) and Michelle K. Owen (2001) paint family as a site of belonging and contestation.

Natalie interpolates that the accusations are false.  “The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-sex Unions, and the Changing American Family, the children of same-sex parents are academically and emotionally indistinguishable from those of heterosexual parents.” This support can make the biggest change for American families. Support can create a future where same sex families are able to start a life without discrimination and prejudice every step of the way. Therefore the family dynamic of a same sex couple is often the same as a nuclear family’s dynamic.

This study was conducted in the Netherlands. First, the authors studied the association between “parental characteristics” and “child-rearing” factors. Second, they examined the “child adjustment” in planned lesbian mothers families and in heterosexual parents families. 100 planned lesbian mothers families were recruited through the Medical Center for Birth Control, homosexual parenting experts, the Dutch advocate group for homosexuality, and advertisement in the lesbian magazine. Compatible 100 heterosexual parents families were

In her essay titled “Compulsive Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Adrienne Rich claims that any alternative to heterosexual outcome is discouraged by society. The essay claims that Western tradition has used the heterosexual family model as the basic social

There is much debate on what constitutes as a family today. However, Ball (2002) states, “The concept of the traditional family…is not an immutable one. It is a social construct that varies from culture to culture and, over time, the definition changes within a culture” (pp. 68). There is a growing diversity of families today including the commonality of sole-parenting. In order to explore aspects of sole-parenthood objectively, I need to reflect and put aside my personal experience of growing up in sole-parent household. Furthermore, this essay will explore the historical origins, cultural aspects discussing the influences and implications of gender identity, and social structures of sole-parent families, as well as consider the

The ties of blood, of patrilineal descent, can never be severed, and they never weaken throughout a person’s life. This means that a woman, even though she marries into a different kin group, never ceases to be a member of her own paternal families … Whatever credit or discredit a woman earns reflects back on her own paternal families … her father and brothers become dishonoured also. Family honour can be restored only by punishing the guilty woman; in conservative circles, this used to mean putting her to death. (Patai 1973:

Over the last couple of decades, gay parenting and surrogacy has undergone a metamorphosis, from being a small ___ of potential possibilities, to becoming a pathway for a wide landscape of opportunity of diverse family forms. With its recent arrival into the society, not more than 30 years, surrogacy is allowing couples to explore new ways to grow their families when nature doesn’t allow them the chance of doing so (insert Reference). With the attention to gay couples and their involvement in reproduction despite significant barriers that they have to overcome in their journey of parenting, this paper will look at how a child can frame a couples life. Homosexuality does not mean being childless, in fact, with the proper steps taken it can lead to wonderful things. analyzing the benefits and drawbacks, reorganizing work and family, and ________ gay couples come to destabilize the notions of what a traditional “family” is,

Gay and lesbian marriages or partnerships have been increasing since the 1980’s (Macionis & Plummer, 2012). Moreover, in some countries such as the United States, gay couples are allowed to adopt children (Macionis & Plummer, 2012). Kimmel

As a naïve young girl, the idea of a perfect family comprised a biological mother, father, brother, grandmother, and grandfather. This beautiful family picture seemed nearly impossible for me while growing up considering the sad fact that one of my grandmothers’ rests in peace and the other, along with one of my grandfathers’ resided in another country. Due to that, I mounted all of my admiration on to the only grandparent figure I grew up with, my father’s dad. I held him on a pedestal since I could not with any of my other grandparent’s. I spent most of my weekends with him, listening to his jokes and poems. I thought the unsurmountable joy I received from holding a perfect family picture would never end, but it did. At the short age of ten years old, I witnessed that portrait crumble to pieces. The severity of his unspeakable act led me to forget him as my grandfather. I grew bitter and resentful, the thought of losing the only grandparent figure I held at my disposition crushed my tiny soul. As time passed, I grew forgetful of the meaning of a “grandparent.” Although I longed for the warmth of a second mother and father role model, I blinded myself to the reality that a grandparent does not necessarily need to stand blood-related. At the age of thirteen, Frédy, a senior fragile warm hearted woman pulled off the blindfold I carried around my eyes for three years and changed my definition of a “grandparent.” A true grandparent does not need your own blood as long as they