Family is one of the most profound social groups we belong to as we grow up and become part of society. Without families, we would not be the same people we grow up to become. The word family has various meanings. A family is defined as a union of two adults, who love and care about each other, raise and educate their children. This paper, therefore, seeks to elaborate on the definitions of the family from personal experience, experiences of others as well as from current theoretical and statistical perspectives on the family.
Personal definition of family
From my perspective, I define family as an interactional system. This definition may vary by family but in my case, I depend on my family not only as a place of origin but as a constant support system that has supported me throughout my life. From my point of view, I do not think there is a true definition for the family because everyone is different and ever-changing. For instance, changes may happen when both men and women postpone marriage until a later time to allow time for life experiences, personal change, and travel. The other changes include common family size getting smaller, an increase in the number of unmarried couples living together, or more positive changes like women having more employers and income. The above examples show that the definition of family is always changing and it is difficult to define for everyone collectively, particularly if one family is different from the other.
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I believe society should widen the definition of family to concentrate on what family means rather than who a family comprises of. Family definition ought to include any unit that is sharing resources, in a supportive relationship, or leaving a legacy behind for society. While the definition of family may not be inclusive and universal, it is critical to look at the family based on a particular situation involved, particularly legal reasons. A true family is therefore any unit that makes sacrifices for its members, looks for the best opportunities for its members, and offers unconditional support to its members.
Most individuals think of a family as a component of the society. They view a family as one of the institutions in the society such as religious, educational and economic institutions. They attribute the qualities of love, support, and friendship as qualities necessary to form a family bond. According to Miller (2016), some people say that families serve social functions such as providing labor force, the transmission of property and education of children as well as preparing children to begin their own family. Support is the most valued quality in a family. Support simply implies that almost every aspect of people’s lives involves a term known as family. The family is therefore in every step of the way and can provide the support that a person can never get from another place. Even if a person is experiencing difficulties with health or financial issues, the family can support that person and assist him or her in dealing with the problem. It is significant to know that with a family, no one is alone because it helps a person to deal with a certain situation.
Another quality that defines family is love. Love is a feeling that no human can live without. The love a family member gives to his or her wife, husband, cousin, or child is a love like no other. However, not every person feels love in the same way. In some families, loved ones can be judged on their actions and they are not shown love when they need it. Apart from love, friendship is another quality that defines family. Friendship is an important quality of a family because it helps people to build a close family bond. To build a close family bond, family members need to confide and trust each other. As life and people evolve, the main bases and values of the concept of the family ought to remain the same.
Most people consider family to be just blood relations but in reality, a family is a bond that is shared with people we care for the most. Therefore, a family is a completely necessary segment of every individual’s life because it assists people to pass through a tough time and provide the needed support to get through life. Family members care about life-changing events that occur to each other and are there to support, love and bond with them
Definition of family in Canada
In Canada, many people derive a significant deal of pleasure from their families. Canadians view as a context. This simply implies the individual is foreground and the family is background. According to Statistics Canada, a family is defined as a now-married couple, a couple living common law or a lone parent of marital status with one or more never married daughters or sons living in the same house. Even though numerous Canadians live in census families, a significant portion of them do not live in the census family. Some people live in households made up of a single individual an others live in a family that of consist of people that are either related or not unrelated. This has made the universal definition of family in Canada difficult because the foundation of this country is based on diversity widening the definition of family.
Essentially, a conventional family is that one that comprises a man and woman, who are married and bear biological children. As Canada evolves its population changes so as the definition of what constitutes a family. According to the 2011 Census of Population, there are a total of more than 9.4 million families in Canada and these families are increasingly complex. Of these families, more than two thirds include a married couple and common-law couples are on the increase accounting about 17 percent of the census family. As of 2019, the number of divorced people in Canada is around 2.68 million and 1.71 million single parent families (Cano-Rubio et al., 2017). The increasing statistics of single-parent households together with escalating divorce rate confirms the theory that Canada is moving from the conventional composition of the family and embracing a liberal definition of family.
A typical family in Canada
As much as the family structure is moving, the family functions in the society are fundamentally still the same. As indicated in the article ‘What is Family’, the family is defined as any unit where there is economic property and resources sharing, caring and supportive relationship, commitment or identification with other family members as well as preparing children born or raised by members to become adult members of the society (Hammond et al., 2016). This definition of family does not rely on the conventional family structure. The above definition permits non-traditional families such as homosexual couples or unmarried heterosexual couples, single parents, or any user of reproductive technology to be included in the family definition as long as these families meet the criteria.
Technology development and the reduced gender roles in the society has permitted non-traditional groups such as unmarried heterosexual couples, single parents, married or unmarried homosexual couples as well as users of reproductive technology to execute more tasks that society relies on family to do. Since the role of women has changed in society, more women have started joining the different workforce and they are now becoming financially independent. This has made households with single mothers to provide financial support than ever before. On the other hand, reproductive technology has permitted infertile couples to widen the definition of family. Of late, infertile couples can complete all tasks that the society expects them to do such as providing emotional or financial support, bearing children, socializing children as well as maintaining control in the family. Additionally, couples that make the decision not to bear children should not be excluded from the definition of the family because these couples can meet all the basic criteria of the family except the criteria of getting children. The reason for these couples not having children may emanate from religious beliefs, personal obstacles, and health issues.
Current theoretical and statistical perspectives on family
Apart from personal experience and the experiences of others, the family can also be defined from the theoretical and statistical perspectives. Various theoretical and statistical perspectives define the family. Some of the perspectives include the functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, symbolic interactionist perspective, and many more. The functionalist perspective views the family as a construct that satisfies significant function and keeps the society running smoothly. Structural functionalism is a system that views society as a dynamic framework whose parts coordinate to foster stability and solidarity. In this way, society is regarded as an organism and each aspect of it is like an organ that functions together to maintain the entire functioning efficiently (Kaakinen et al., 2018). This perspective also views society through an extensive orientation, which is a wide focus on the social structures that shape the entire society. Functionalists identify several functions that families can perform which include socialization, reproduction, protection, care, emotional support, and sexual behavior regulations through social norms. In this perspective, a family is defined as a unit that establishes well-integrated members of society by instilling the culture of society into children.
On the other hand, the conflict perspective views the family as a vehicle that maintains social as well as gender inequality in society. This perspective elaborates on the inequalities that are in the global society and consider the aspects of the society as ways for those with status and power to maintain control over scarce resources. The conflict paradigm of this theory states that every society has various inequalities that are based on social differences that exist among the dominant and all other groups in society. According to conflict theorists, a family is a unit that works toward the progression of social inequality within the society by both maintaining as well as strengthening the status quo. Since inheritance, social capital, and education can be passed through the structure of the family; people that come from wealthy families can be able to maintain their privileged social positions for their members while people from poor families can be denied similar status. Conflict theorists also define a family as a social arrangement that benefits men as compared to women, permitting men to maintain significant positions of power. For instance, conventional roles and responsibilities of men are more valued than those roles performed by their wives.
Another perspective that defines family is the Symbolic Interactionist perspective. The Symbolic Interactionist perspective views the family as a social reproduction site where meanings are negotiated and maintained by family members at the same time. This theory concentrates on analyzing communication patterns, its interpretation as well as an adjustment that exists between people concerning the meaning of the symbol. The symbolic interactionist perspective also indicates that the verbal and nonverbal responses of a person can be constructed in expectation of the way the initial speaker can respond. This perspective explores the evolving means that are attached to the family. Symbolic interactionists claim that shared activities assist family members to build emotional bonds and family relationships are created on negotiated meanings. The interactionists further emphasize that families strengthen as well as rejuvenate bonds that are caused through symbolic rituals such as holidays and family meals.
Likewise, the feminist perspective views the family as an institution of history that maintains and perpetuates sexual inequalities. The first wave of feminism theory mainly concentrated on legal equality such as employment, marriage laws, middle-class women, and voting. Second-wave feminism sought equality in employment, sexuality, family, and reproductive rights. As much as these perspectives ensured great improvements with representations and perceptions of women throughout the world, the movement was not unified and several forms of feminism such as liberal feminism, black feminism, and social feminism emerged.
Indeed, the definition of family has several meanings. Over the recent past, a decline of the traditional family has been noted and many structures of the family are emerging. Some of these family structures include cohabitation, childless couples, one-parent households, and same-sex families. The prevalence of single-parent families is one trend that demonstrates the changing nature of families. Some of the factors that have contributed to this kind of family structure are death and education. The increased levels of education among women, with most of them earning more than expected, has positioned women to survive economically without the support of the husband.
Cohabitation is another family structure that involves couples living together without the benefit of cultural, legal, and religious sanctions. Same-sex families have become increasingly common among American households and it is expected to increase by the next Census. A childless couple is another family structure that has changed the traditional family. In this family structure, a woman of childbearing age who is fertile decides not to have children. The above illustration of different family structures reveals that the definition of family does not only applies to families that have a father, mother, and children but also applies to individuals that show commitment, love, friendship, and support regardless of the kind of relationship they are in. This reveals that there is no distinct definition of family and as the world changes, it is important to broaden the definition of family to accommodate every member of the society.
References
Cano-Rubio, M., Fuentes-Lombardo, G., & Vallejo-Martos, M. C. (2017). Influence of the lack of a standard definition of “family business” on research into their international strategies ☆ . European Research on Management and Business Economics, 23(3), 132-146.
Hammond, N. L., Pearson, A. W., & Holt, D. T. (2016). The quagmire of legacy in family firms: Definition and implications of family and family firm legacy orientations. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 40 (6), 1209-1231.
Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research. FA Davis.
Miller, L. R. (2016). Definition of family. Encyclopedia of Family Studies , 1-7.
