Virginia Satir: An Untraditional Structure Of My Family

Over the course of the past few weeks, I have begun to rethink the way in which my family functions from a more professional perspective thanks to the AWARE program and our course material. Concepts such as Virginia Satir’s family roles, the Couple and Family Map, the various family framework systems, and the ways in which our culture characterizes us as individuals especially resonated with me, thus inspiring me to reexamine the familial ties in my family. In order to begin reflecting on my family structure from an objective point of view, however, it is important to outline some of the basics in regards to my family composition. My family is Hispanic--half Mexican and half Guatemalan. We live in an untraditional structure wherein my mother

The basic concept that what happens to one member of a family shifts the lives for the rest of the family proved true to how we functioned as a group (Olson et al. 74). Once my sister was hospitalized, we all feared we would lose her--daily hospital visits were the routine, housework was split up evenly, and our main focus was to function as a support team for her. My mother left her job to care for her while she was in the hospital, my father took over more parental responsibilities, my brother began to cook for the two of us, and I made it a priority to maintain my grades at school but also make visiting my sister a priority. It was a very difficult time but we made it work--all of us contributed something that would benefit our family system as a whole. From the family strengths perspective, I believe this is one of our family’s greatest assets--our ability to adapt to a certain situation, try to make the best of it, and ultimately function effectively as a group (Olson et al. 81). Centripetal actions, as described on page 79 of Olson et al.’s Marriages and Families: Intimacy, Diversity, and Strengths, such as the hospitalization of a family member brings to light family strengths as well as foster closer family

89). This model validates the perspective of all individuals by taking into account their own unique, personal understanding of the social world and order (Olson et al. 89). For example, my father grew up in a small town in Guatemala where there were only heterosexual males and females, in addition all women depended on their husbands or fathers for income. There were no working mothers, only stay at home mothers and all the housework belonged to them. Likewise, my mother grew up in a small town in Mexico where being gay or lesbian was not an option, and women were inferior to men. Her mother, particularly, was forced into an arranged marriage, therefore influencing the way in which my mother viewed women’s role in society. However, unlike their individual experiences, my siblings and I are growing up in a new generation of people. Nowadays, especially in California, it is common for individuals to explore sexualities and gender roles. After taking a women’s gender and sexuality class, the things that I have been taught about gender and sexuality would completely throw my parents for a loop, and possibly upset them. In areas such as this, differences between generations are very