A New Kind of Family
Laws against interracial marriages were a huge part of America for many years until 1967 when ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Anti-miscegenation marriages made it illegal for people of different racial groups to marry. For example, one of the laws in favor of the anti-interracial marriages during 1822 was the Alabama law as it states: "If any white person and any negro, or the descendant of any negro to the third generation… intermarry or live in adultery or fornication with each other, each of them must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary or sentenced to hard labor for the county for not less than two nor more than seven years." This makes the structure of a family something that consists of …show more content…
This was the first issue to question and threaten the traditional definition of a family that can be described as a nuclear family. A nuclear family includes two married parents of the opposite sex and their biological children living under the same roof. However, in today’s society, the term “nuclear family” can represent different types of definitions of a family. A nuclear family can signify families of single, non-married, same sex, foster and mixed parents. Even though Mary Jo Bane, Associate director of the Center for Research in Women at Wellesley and author of “Here to Stay: American Families in the Twentieth Century, claims the definition of family has not changed, I think, because of the acceptance of interracial marriages, LBGT parental rights, single parent rights, and foster families, that the definition of family should be a group of people that share a mutual love, trust and respect for …show more content…
For instance, the article claims that in 2003 “54 percent of people believed same sex couples could be classified as family,” indicating that the public has come to an acceptance of same sex couples can be a family entitling them to be able to legally adopt children to form a family. The key aspect discussed in the article is that a couple heterosexual or homosexual can be a family with biological or adoptive children. However, notice that “singles” are not included into this definition. For people that are single, it is extremely difficult to have a family because there are restrictions that prevent them from adopting, such as that they don’t have a partner to able to have a stable income that can provide for a child. That definition has changed for families that have single or divorced parents as it is something that has become common in today’s society. For example, a single mother or father can still be considered a family, such as an unmarried couple with
Laws against interracial marriages were a huge part of America for many years until 1967 when ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Anti-miscegenation marriages made it illegal for people of different racial groups to marry. For example, one of the laws in favor of the anti-interracial marriages during 1822 was the Alabama law as it states: "If any white person and any negro, or the descendant of any negro to the third generation… intermarry or live in adultery or fornication with each other, each of them must, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary or sentenced to hard labor for the county for not less than two nor more than seven years." This makes the structure of a family something that consists of …show more content…
This was the first issue to question and threaten the traditional definition of a family that can be described as a nuclear family. A nuclear family includes two married parents of the opposite sex and their biological children living under the same roof. However, in today’s society, the term “nuclear family” can represent different types of definitions of a family. A nuclear family can signify families of single, non-married, same sex, foster and mixed parents. Even though Mary Jo Bane, Associate director of the Center for Research in Women at Wellesley and author of “Here to Stay: American Families in the Twentieth Century, claims the definition of family has not changed, I think, because of the acceptance of interracial marriages, LBGT parental rights, single parent rights, and foster families, that the definition of family should be a group of people that share a mutual love, trust and respect for …show more content…
For instance, the article claims that in 2003 “54 percent of people believed same sex couples could be classified as family,” indicating that the public has come to an acceptance of same sex couples can be a family entitling them to be able to legally adopt children to form a family. The key aspect discussed in the article is that a couple heterosexual or homosexual can be a family with biological or adoptive children. However, notice that “singles” are not included into this definition. For people that are single, it is extremely difficult to have a family because there are restrictions that prevent them from adopting, such as that they don’t have a partner to able to have a stable income that can provide for a child. That definition has changed for families that have single or divorced parents as it is something that has become common in today’s society. For example, a single mother or father can still be considered a family, such as an unmarried couple with