Sociology Family

2 Pages 455 Words

Many people have been socialized to believe that the definition of a
family looks a lot like an old fashioned telivision sitcom, consisting of a
nuclear family, which is "a family group comprising only the wife, the husband,
and their children However, a family is a
relativist concept, meaning it varies from place to place and through
time.
One detail of families that is definite is that they are extremely
varied. Conventional kin is the definition of a family that the government
and society uses [for social benefits, etc] people related by blood or law.
Discretionary kin are people related by blood or law at some point, but whom
the individual may or may not recognize as family. Fictive kin are people or
pets that have no blood or legal relation, but whom the individual recognizes
as family. Political, economic, legal, religious and
emotional interests are all factors that help shape this definition. In
contemporary society, families are labeled as nuclear, single-parent, blended,
adoptive, foster, extended, non-traditional and gay/lesbian. In many cultures
a family can include multiple spouses. A family of procreation is created
through marriage [and] a family of orientation is the one in which a child
grows upA functionalist perspective would define
family based on the functions it performs such as; to raise children
responsibly, provide economic support, provide emotional security and to
control sexual activity.
I have come to the conclusion that a family is a unit to whom an
individual feels ties of obligation. This may include blood relatives,
husbands, wives, adopted children, friends, mentors, teammates, pets, etc. On
the other hand, I believe that marriage in our culture, is defined by solely
legal aspects, the authorized binding of two persons. It may seem unreasonable
to distinguish marriage as exclusively a legal matter, however as I expressed
...