Family as a basic social institution has been in our society since Adam & Eva's era. Currently, there are various forms or families including: "Childless couple; blood ties as with parents, siblings and children; legal ties as with a spouse, adopted children and step-relations; similar ties that have the same familial features of legal ties, like de facto relations, gay or lesbian partnerships, long-term foster children, and indigenous customary marriages"(classified by Dr Porter). Some people believe that family relationship and family life are outdated by now, is that true? What is family anyway? What is the connection between families and our society? What are the problems raised within the family? Are families benefiting our social lives, if so, how? .
To answer all these questions, I"m going to argue in this essay based on my resent study with this issue. .
Answering the question "what is family" is no longer a simply matter. We can easily define kinship ties clearly; that is the blood relationships. There is a natural theory for the forming of a family, which is the desire for physical protection and cooperation, but we are going to look more deeply at family intimacy for reasons other than the biological ones. Today, family concept should be more flexible than ever before, for society is changing rapidly, as well as our families. Particularly in western countries, "changes are occurring in terms of legitimate sexual relations, age of marriage, variations on sexuality, and marital intercourse" said by Dr Porter in her book Building good families in a changing world. Although there are many changes with the traditional family concept, family as a "social cell" has been aborted. The family, in response, is adapting itself to fulfil the ever-changing demands of twenty-first century. Families are not fixed any more. The structures of families vary to include families that are nuclear, single parent, foster, homosexual, de facto, etc.
