The term "family" is one that is frequently used in our culture, but it has more than one definition. A family, which encompasses the father, mother, and their kids, is a group of people who are related to one another, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. The term "family" is defined in a different way in the Random House Western Dictionary. According to this definition, a family is a group of people who are connected to one another by blood, such as parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I believe the adage "blood is thicker than water" served as the foundation for the definitions from Random House Western and Cambridge Dictionaries. Though, I do not agree with it as I believe that the definition of family cannot be strictly be based on blood and sexual relations only. However, due to migration that occurred during and following Industrial Revolution, the definition of family has evolved from being described as a group of people unified by blood, adoption or marriage , to a much wider definition to include those individuals who share common philosophy, loves , support and help each other and non-humans of the same genera.
In the western culture, such as in the early Roman Empire and the late Roman Republic (509BC), the concept of paterfamilias was not just an extension of the nuclear family. They believed that traditional family included members that were living in households, but also included a vast retinue of clients, freedmen, and slaves (McGoldrick et al. 119). It is an indication that the definition of a family can include all those people that contribute to the wellbeing of an individual due to the form of support and shared understanding that they have towards each other.
The Oxford English Dictionary’s etymology states that the term family originated from the Middle French famile at the onset of 1337. It is where a family was defined as a group of individuals that are sharing one roof or living in the same household. At the beginning of 1442 to 1444, the term family included a group of people who had blood relation. By 1580, the word was extended further to comprise people who are united together in marriage, and they are living under the same roof. In 1658, individuals that shared same thoughts and ideas were also being regarded as a family of their own (Oxford 87). Nearly two decades later, plants and animals were also being considered to be having families to enhance evolutionary studies, and it is where the word family included a group of animals and plants that had general characteristics. It is an indication that the word family is not only tied to human society but also other living organisms that resemble each other to some extent.
Besides traditional family, there is also extended family. Extended family includes single households that are living together with relatives such as grandparents, uncles, and aunts in addition to a nuclear family (Webster). During and after Industrial Revolution, there was a disintegration of the extended family in the American society due to internal and external migrations. Young people were leaving their family households and other relatives to and seek accommodation near the places of their work before getting married and establishing their own families. Due to the absence of their loved ones, the working class started treating their workmates as their extended family as they depended on them for emotional support hence treating each other as brothers and sisters. It leads to the inclusion of workmates in the definition of the word extended family within the working environment.
During the post- industrial revolution, the definition of the traditional family structure changed. For instance, in the contemporary Japanese, the term family evolved after the nation’s law, and society changed following the post-World War 11 (1939 -45). The definition of nuclear family evolved from being referred to a group consisting of parents and under age children, to a household with a component of production or consumption (McGoldrick et al. 132). It means that in the Japanese culture, the definition of the word family also included those people who are eating together and individuals that are working as a team to achieve common goals in life. It is shown that family includes people who support each other.
The definition of family can also be traced from the justice system in the U.S. In 1974, U.S upheld a case regarding Long Island, New York housing code. The supreme court stated that people connected by marriage, adoption , birth, living and cooking together in one household , excluding servant, will be considered to constitute a family. However, the judges ruled that in such circumstance, individuals that are not related with the householder by blood, marriage or adoption should not be more than two member. (McGoldrick et al. 139). In my opinion, the definition of the Supreme Court has included friends who are staying with the householder to be members of his (her) family and also, neighbors who are sharing cooking place are regarded as people of the same family. It is because good neighbors are willing to help each other at the time of needs.
The ruling of the Supreme Court further highlights more on the definition of different types of families. It stated that nuclear family is more than just two parents living with their children, the parents must be assumed to be acting on the welfare of the children. In this type of the family, the children do not need to have their voice even if their parents are doing things which institutionalize (McGoldrick et al. 140). It can be interpreted that in a nuclear family, the parents are expected that they love their children and provide support for them to achieve their well-being. Therefore, love and support for the children must be included apart from blood, adoption and marriage relations to have complete definition of nuclear family.
The definition of family has also been featured in the religious teachings. I lived in a family where all members are Christians, including me. We all share Catholic faith, and it is where all of us received baptism. One day while I was reading Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was first published in 1994, I came across the word family which has been stated as “A man and woman who are united in a marriage together with their children, form a family.” The term family has been defined have an inclusion of “ united,” which is a common word that means that a family should have people who are joined together to form a single entity(McGoldrick et al.. 171). People united together will be sharing common goals in life, and every member of will be acting in the best interest of the family.
In 2000, the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG) established their definition that matches the history and traditions of the Greek people. They defined the word family as all persons that are living under the same roof, regardless of their relationship. The definition of the statistical institution in Greece ignore all the necessary nuclear family-relationship forms such as blood, marriage, and adoptions and asserts that all people that are living in the same household to be regarded as a family (McGoldrick et al.. 164). Based on this definition, all the strangers and friends that might have come to visits the householder will be considered as members of the family, until their departure. I believe that the definition of the family was a reflection of the Greek culture, where indigenous people are globally recognized to be more accommodative to the guests. It also acknowledges that friends should also be treated as members of the family because it is a common belief that “true friend” look after each other.
In 2015, Vanier Institute of Family agreed on the right definition of the word family to help needy households in Canada. They stated that a family is an organization of between two or more people that are living together over particular time by bonds of birth, placement, adoption or mutual consent. The definition goes further to state that members of the family institution should undertake various mandates together such as socialization of children, social control of members, caring for the group members and affective nurturance (Vanier Institute of Family). The definition has included all the family structures that have emerged in the contemporary society such as single parents, stepfamilies, common-law couples, same-sex couples, married and skip- generation couples. Further, the definition has highlighted at least a relationship between an adult and another individual that might be a child or an adult as well for a given period, which indicates some essence of commitment. I agree with this definition from the Vanier Institute as it has recognized couple who have no children, single parent’s arrangements, and marriage between people of the same sex who have some sense of support towards each other. Further, the word “placement” has been used in the definition, which means that family pets can also be included as family members in the absence of children.
Conclusion
The definition of the word family has undergone series of changes during and following the Industrial revolution from being defined as people united by blood, adoption or marriage to a larger term that comprises people who share common goals, love and assist each other and also animals and plants that share similar features. The word is used to refer to plants and animals, the workmates being included as extended family and family being used to represent a unit of consumption or production. Further, the word can also constitute a group of people sharing same household and cooking together. Moreover, a family can include one or two people without children but replaced with things such as pets. Therefore, the definition of the word family has evolved during and following the industrial revolution.
Works Cited
McGoldrick, Monica, Betty Carter, and Nydia A. Garcia Preto. Expanded Family Life Cycle, the: Pearson New International Edition: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives. Pearson Higher Ed, 2013.
Oxford, Oxford English. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Vanier Institute of the Family. “Definition of a family” (2015). Retrieved from http://vanierinstitute.ca/definition-family/ (Accessed 15 September 2017).
Webster, Merriam. "Merriam-Webster online dictionary." (2006). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/family (Accessed 15 September 2017).
