The Importance Of Family A Family

Family plays an important role in every society. It is the main structure that made up a good society. Samovar, Porter & McDaniel (2015) write, “families are instrumental in teaching young people about their identities, how they fit into their culture, and where to find security” (p.73). Family is the first school in one’s life. In the early stages of our life, we learn how to eat, speak, communicate, and behave from our family, consciously and unconsciously we imitate our parents. In my religion (Islam) there is a great deal of attention to the importance of marriage and making family. Prophet Mohammad said, “The best of you is the best to his family and I am the best amongst you to my family”. Moreover, Islam assign a role to each member of the family, as parents take care of their children and the children should respect and obey their mother and father. I totally agree with Samovar, Porter & McDaniel (2015) when they mentioned that “the three most influential social organizations are (1) family, (2) state, and (3) religion” (p.70). For me, I believe that my family shapes most of my identity.

I interviewed Lily Fontaine asking her a set of questions as well as questions I came up with about her family experience as well as her thoughts and beliefs about family. Lily considers her parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to be part of her family. She is very close to her family and communicates with them often. Everyone has their own definition of family. According to the Census Bureau (book pg 11) family is “a group of two people or more related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people are considered members of one family”

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).

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.

We have all seen the classic television scene, where a happy family consisting of one mother, one father, and two children is hovered around a table or a couch. Although still prominent, this scene is becoming less common nowadays as more families become non-traditional. More families than ever are consisting of one mother and children, one father and children, grandparents and children, and even two mothers or two fathers and children. These households, although not what most people consider a normal household, are becoming more common and regular in today’s society. Homosexual parents and families are indeed different from more traditional families, but not for the worse. This trend is not increasing

Family is an important aspect of society. Keeping a family stable is a hard task and the definition of family has expanded from what it used to be because nuclear families are not the norm nowadays. Throughout history the African-American family has had to face traumatic events such as slavery, the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. The racism, segregation, and discrimination that followed these movements have also played an integral role in developing the black family. It takes diligence, strength, and courage in order to be able to persevere through hardship. Society as a whole has tried to undermine the black family by implementing in them a false identity of inferiority. If there are strong nuclear black families today, that means that powerful people in history have been forced to step up in order to make a difference within their community. From the beginning of the play to the very end, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun displays the vital theme of family. In the play there are multiple generations within the Younger Family’s household. The different generations come to show how the African-American family has had to evolve over time. A Raisin in the Sun highlighted the difficulties that families have in order to be able to overcome poverty, aspirations, and the society.

In the last third of the twentieth century, the nuclear family formed around marital ties and a strict division of labor based on gender, has changed to a multiple types of kinship relations. The word that best defines today's family, is the diversity, since the family now has a unique and exclusive meaning, including single-parent families and families consisting of same sex couples (Walsh, 2011). This new (or as some argue , renewed ) diversity of family forms has generated numerous comments and controversies about the consequences of these changes in the production of basic civic values necessary for social order. The changes in the family in recent

Recent representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in mainstream media, exemplified by the long-running sitcom Modern Family, and the 2015 United States Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, may lead some to believe LGBT families are a recent phenomenon. Daniel Winunwe Rivers’ Radical Relations: Lesbian Mothers, Gay Fathers, and Their Children in the United States since World War II brilliantly uncovers the previously untold history of same-sex families.

One way to analyze this Family is with the Family system theory. This theory states that the family functions as a system Within this system are rules, power structures and different patterns of communication. In this theory the family is seen as a whole rather than as its individual parts. We also assume that the family functions off of circular causality and redundancy principle plays a role in the family rules. The concepts that I am going to use to describe this family will include; family cohesion, communication pattern, roles of a few of the members, the family rules and circular causality.

While a popular catchphrase states that “family is a circle of friends that love you”, from a legal standpoint, the word “family” requires definition. Traditionally, a family has been defined as a married heterosexual couple and their children, but as more and more states are legalizing same-sex marriage, new questions arise. Regardless of one's position about whether gay marriage should be legal, it is clear that the definition of family is changing and the legal system will need to address these changes. Whether it is determining who should be a custodial parent, clarifying adoption processes, or implementing legal protections in cases of divorce, family law must grow and change along with the definition of family.

In summation, the definition of family has had a drastic change in society throughout major movements in history. The feminist movement during the 1960s first began changing the feminine roles placed on women. It changed the economy and the state as more women began demanding equality in the work place, this demand of equality transferred over to the household as women demanded a more egalitarian relationship. The LGBTQ movement has broadened who is considered part of a family socially and legally. A family is no longer represented as a patriarchal ideology with the father having the power over the household, but an equal representation of parents without a large acknowledgment on gender. The study of homosexual marriages has presented knew

The word “family” is unique, special, and controversial among different cultures and ethnicities. As defined by Random House Western Dictionary, a family is “any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins” (Dictionary.com). Although the definition from Random House follows the infamous proverb of, “blood is thicker than water,” my definition of family does not. Family is not defined or restricted by blood relations. In my mind, a family is simply a group of people, who loves, supports, and helps each other unconditionally, and endlessly. Regardless of one’s sexual orientation or preference, all families embody these common principles. Thus, a family unites its members through the strong

Western households are a site for ‘traditional’ family values because they espouse rigid gender identities and compulsory heterosexuality (Erhart 2013). Lesbian and queer families are excluded from ‘traditional’ notions of family and reproduction which constitute the ideological locus of domesticity (Hammock 2009; Seidman 1997). Societal attitudes mandate lesbian compulsory childlessness (Parks 1998) because lesbians present a threat to heterosexual family values, and are distinctly non-procreative (Thompson 2002). This rhetoric is a dynamic/static binary of family. Dynamic family forms represent ‘traditional’ families which are White, heterosexual, and functionally procreative (Thompson 2002; Farrow 2014). Unable to fulfill the

The values that are most important to me are family, a strong work ethic, integrity, and respect. I am Hispanic, so we come from a very family oriented culture, thus making family the utmost significant value. We have a great sense of unity that goes beyond the immediate family (parents and siblings) and includes the extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) and close friends. Having a strong work ethic is a value I have inherited from my parents. From an early age, my parents have told me, “You never get anywhere unless you work hard for it”. That kind of mentality has stayed with me ever since. They believe if you don’t work hard at something then you truly don’t appreciate it. I have worked hard all my life to get to where I am now and I continue to work to get to where I want to be. Integrity and respect are values I keep near and dear to me. I believe that we should always do things with integrity. I believe one must have respect for others and themselves.

According to the textbook, family is a natural and fundamental group in society and is entitled to protection by the states and society (Sociology in our Times Diana Kendall p 331). Yet, this does not mean that the definition of family and the composition or needs of family are the same around the world. In some countries, family might mean only people related to you by birth or marriage. From my fellow Americans’ point of view and mine, family can be anyone that shares a deep bond or friendship, people who live together, someone who was adopted into a family and the general idea of family by birth or marriage. Whether the bonds of friendship or the bonds of family are more important remains to be seen. While some people religiously quote “blood is thicker than water,” which means that family is more important, others prefer the theory that “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” which means that bonds formed by choice are stronger. This year was a giant step for homosexual and transsexual people, gay marriage was legalized in more than one country, and people have been raising awareness for transsexual people. Now a gay couple can easily become a legal family, and because it is no longer a social stigma to the majority, it is easier for a homosexual couple to adopt. In countries where polygamy is legal one’s family may consist of only wives or husbands, while another person could have spouse, children, parents and a close circle of friends they