Masters 110
8-14-2013

DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY

The definition of family has become a topic of heated controversy over the last few decades, and almost everybody has a different opinion about a family. According to a Life (1992, June 1) magazine article, 74 percent of Americans felt that a family is a group of people who love and care for one another. Only 22 percent of Americans thought that a family is a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. This means that the majority choose the emotional connection over the consanguineal connection. However, Ferraro indicates that a family includes both male and female adults—those who maintain a socially approved sexual relationship—and children, recognizing certain rights and obligations toward one another. I think we can all agree that a traditional family—with a mother, father, one or more children—and a comfortable income is a wonderful thing. It is better if all the people involved are good, generous, and moral. If the income is comfortable enough that one of the parents can stay home to keep the house in order and spend quality time with children, you have hit the jackpot! Unfortunately, what are our chances of hitting the jackpot? Barbara Kingsolver claims, “Arguing about whether nontraditional families deserve pity or tolerance is like the medieval debate over whether left handedness is a mark of the devil.” In other words, arguing about acceptance of nontraditional families is futile, and society should accept and support nontraditional families. Also, Kingsolver passionately argues that judging a family’s value by its superficial look is the same as purchasing a book by its cover. Each family has its own value without taking in consideration its composition. The family is the most important institution in society. Thus, whenever anything is wrong in society, the family is the