Family Reflection Paper

A social structure is made up from our surroundings and shape how individuals and groups interact and behave. This can include institutions, norms, and social hierarchies (New York University Department of Sociology, 2013). The definition of family has changed over the years and can be different for different people. A family is a group of people that have a legal connection that can be through marriage, adoption, or blood. It can also be made up by a positon of honor or need that is not a legal connection with people or pets you choose and share a close intimate bond with. A family can be made up of traditional or non-traditional means and have members with an active or inactive role within them (New York University Department of Sociology, 2013). It is beneficial to reflect on family as a social structure because this is where we all learn how to be a part of society and why we have roles. This is where we can learn what happens when roles breakdown and how to interact with others in a safe and nurturing environment. It will help prepare us to become part of society on a larger scale as we get older and have our own individual family unit. Then we will

The women in our family have been stay at home housewives. Even during tough economic times, the women have stayed at home with the children. We have been the traditional nuclear family (Coontz, 1997). The marriages that I am aware of were for love and affection, not of need or arrangement. We had many men who were part of the military and saved to be able to buy their own homes. There have been very few divorces and teenage pregnancies. No one and nothing was perfect. While there were jokes made about television shows, not having a perfectly clean home, or a wife who was not a good cook. We love each other and do not expect anyone to fill a role that is portrayed as perfect (Coontz,