➔ What is a family?
◆ Textbook Definition
● Any sexually expressive, parent-child or other kin relationship in which people –
usually related by ancestry, marriage or adoption –
1. Form a practical unit and care for any children or other dependents
2. Consider their identity to be attached to the group
3. Commit to maintaining that group over time
◆ Postmodern Definition of Family
● A group of people related by biology, marriage, adoption and/or choice
○ Empathizes that families as varied and constantly evolving
○ No set way to “be a family”
○ No necessarily bound by law or biology
➔ Adventures in Saying Yes
◆ What did the storyteller learn about family?
● Adopting her children wasn’t about just giving them a new family, but also
gaining an extensive family network through the adoption
◆ What did you learn about family?
◆ How did race and gender place a role in this story?
● Never knew that boys were less adopted than girls are
➔ Why study families?
◆ Family provide us with a sense of meaning
➔ Family Structure
◆ The form a family takes
● How many adults
● Connections between adults and children
● Connections to broader network
◆ Varies according to the social environment
● Environment
● Culture
◆ Extended Family – whole kinship group
◆ Nuclear Family – parents and children
● Married, cisgender, heterosexual parents with children, who are following strict
gender roles
● <5% of US families are “1950s nuclear family”
◆ American Households:
● Top 3:
○ Married without children at home
○ People living alone
○ Married with children under 18
➔ Facts about Families
◆ Most people get married at some point (~85-90%)
◆ More people are single than ever before
◆ Average Age of marriage has increased (28 for women, 30 for men)
◆ Cohabitation is widely accepted
◆ Textbook Definition
● Any sexually expressive, parent-child or other kin relationship in which people –
usually related by ancestry, marriage or adoption –
1. Form a practical unit and care for any children or other dependents
2. Consider their identity to be attached to the group
3. Commit to maintaining that group over time
◆ Postmodern Definition of Family
● A group of people related by biology, marriage, adoption and/or choice
○ Empathizes that families as varied and constantly evolving
○ No set way to “be a family”
○ No necessarily bound by law or biology
➔ Adventures in Saying Yes
◆ What did the storyteller learn about family?
● Adopting her children wasn’t about just giving them a new family, but also
gaining an extensive family network through the adoption
◆ What did you learn about family?
◆ How did race and gender place a role in this story?
● Never knew that boys were less adopted than girls are
➔ Why study families?
◆ Family provide us with a sense of meaning
➔ Family Structure
◆ The form a family takes
● How many adults
● Connections between adults and children
● Connections to broader network
◆ Varies according to the social environment
● Environment
● Culture
◆ Extended Family – whole kinship group
◆ Nuclear Family – parents and children
● Married, cisgender, heterosexual parents with children, who are following strict
gender roles
● <5% of US families are “1950s nuclear family”
◆ American Households:
● Top 3:
○ Married without children at home
○ People living alone
○ Married with children under 18
➔ Facts about Families
◆ Most people get married at some point (~85-90%)
◆ More people are single than ever before
◆ Average Age of marriage has increased (28 for women, 30 for men)
◆ Cohabitation is widely accepted
