Non Traditional Family

. It has been argued that in order to exist as part of a community, one must sacrifice their individuality; however, quite the opposite is true. Community is the source from which individuality is derived. From birth, humans are social beings who require interaction, connections, and relationships; communities help to fulfill this physiological need. From family and friends, to acquaintances and colleagues, these connections are made, sanity is preserved, and life can continue on as normal. However, without this community of individuals, consisting of the whole world, humans would be plagued with a life of solitary confinement. Prison systems, POW camps, novels, TV shows, and movies constantly explore or utilize the effects of such seclusion

The Pew Research center defines a ‘traditional’ family as a heterosexual couple in their first marriage with at least one biological child. This reinvention of the so-called traditional family was predicted in 1983 by Ellen Goodman in her- A Family That Stretches (Together). Considering that at this point in time the number of non-traditional families was only 39%, Goodman can be lauded for her early acknowledgment and support of the trend. She explored new definitions and labels for families effected by divorce at a time when the shift towards the ‘non-traditional’ was still very limited. This early recognition could be the reason that her reconstruction of family does not extend beyond a simple re-wording of the typical definition. She argues that there are no words to define, for example, what your uncle’s ex-wife is called, and debates whether or not there should still be a relationship there. For this reason though, Goodman does question what makes up a family, and begins to redefine it by suggesting that perhaps they are made up of bushes instead of trees, the fact that she solely focuses on death and divorce, dates and limits her argument (Goodman 315). Today, family can be made up of different skin tones, last names, ethnicities, and even have

Everyone can form a community: an online community, a horse community, a literary community, and so forth. The development of technologies that improve communications, food, and resource production, along with electric lights, allowed the growth of community from ones neighbors and church group to the world. With the discovery of electricity and the invention of the light bulb in the 1870’s, the day was extended and more tasks could be accomplished. Jump forward over one-hundred years, to today, and the impact of this is significant: cities never sleep; travel takes hours not days; immigration is extremely common, and improved economies grant more free time to the common laborer. Instead of living to work, many people now work to live. And though, this may not seem entirely positive, this change allows western communities to develop greater culture and diversity. This free time allows those who may not otherwise have been able to interact, to socialize and share their communities. Culture is now more widespread and people are more receptive of those who are “different.” Though in some ways culture is still defined by geography, it is not restricted by it. Communications allow those from all over the globe to contact each other, sharing their ideas and forming a global