Speaking about my family and its members, I would like to stress that I grew up in a nuclear family. It consisted of my father, mother, brother and me. However, we were very close with my grandparents, uncle and aunt. I have been married for 12 years already. Since my husband and I do not have children, I consider him to be my family.
My image of family was created in the early childhood, as I saw the way my parents got on together. Therefore, family is not only people you love, respect and live with. Family is also a place where you want to spend all your life. In my family, I feel happy and secure. It does not matter how many people are there in your family. It may consist of only two people. The number does not matter much here.
As to the same-sex relationships, I do not perceive them like families. The reason for this may be the family I grew in. However, I have some friends who have such kind of relationships. Even though I disagree with the same-sex relationships, I respect my friends’ choice. Maybe I will change my mind in the future, but at present, it is like that. Thus, my definition of the family is as follows. Family is people you love and spend time with. Nevertheless, this definition is not consistent with current legal definition of families.
As to my classmates’ definition of family, I cannot be sure that it coincides with mine. There are seven billion people in the world. Each of them is different, with different views and opinions. I think that their definition of family depends on such factors as race, culture, and religion. The reason for possible disagreement on the definition of family may be based on the differences between cultures and their values. However, my view on family is a traditional one.
Speaking about most marriages and relationships, which attempt to recreate the “traditional form” of the family, I think that there is nothing bad in doing so. Nevertheless, working hard on changing social expectations is also good. Since life has changed, we also have to change. I do not mean complete change, but partial change can be beneficial.
People have many concerns about contemporary family change. The greatest one is its impact on children. Surely, families have some impact on children and form their personalities and characters. That is why the environment in which children are brought up plays an important role. Nowadays, when same-sex marriages are legally allowed in some countries, as well as adopting and bringing up children by same-sex parents, I think that the institution of family is declining.
I also think that marriage and family relationships should be approached scientifically. We live in the twenty-first century. Science has already made our life easier. Scientific approaches could help build relationships and enter into marriage. These approaches can help us predict many situations and suggest ways how to deal with those situations. I think that if science offers us some advantages, we should take it.
References
Hammond, R., Cheney, P., & Pearsey, R. Sociology of the Family: 01 Changes and Definitions. Freesociologybooks.com. Retrieved 3 July 2016, from http://freesociologybooks.com/Sociology_Of_The_Family/01_Changes_and_Definitions.php
Little, W. Chapter 14. Marriage and Family | Introduction to Sociology – 1st Canadian Edition. Opentextbc.ca. Retrieved 3 July 2016, from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter14-marriage-and-family/
