in thoughts...
Saturday, October 09, 2004
random thoughts about family...
it started with soci tutorial.
topic: family (and state policy and influence)
it was one of the first tutorials that i felt was a bit more engaging - hmmm me and deb and ang seem quite disappointed with the soci intro module - soci in terms of content, i can tell, is still interesting, but erm the way the module is conducted, if i were a year one, i wouldn't be terribly wanting to major in it. dunno. deb and i were thinking we're "corrupted" by the psychology perspective.. haha..
anyway. back to the tutorial.
there was totally no consensus about what really constitutes a family.
Is a family... made up by blood ties?
consider an adopted child. no blood ties but still he/she could feel like part of the family, and people will also consider him/her as part of the family that brought him/her up.
consider sworn brothers or sisters. no blood ties but sometimes the bond feels stronger than that of real siblings.
consider step-siblings. Seen as a family in law, but may not feel like a real family. If they do feel like a real family, they're not bonded by blood ties either.
Does a family... mean staying together?
consider an adult staying alone apart from his/her family. staying apart doesn't mean he/she is no longer a part of the family.
consider an adult who starts his/her own family and then staying apart from his/her parents. Still part of the family.
consider a family where all the members stay together but do not talk to one another, do not like one another's presence. family? think again.
Does a family... mean one father, one mother, plus children?
consider a couple without children - are they "just" a couple, or are they a family? (pondered over this point for a long time - is a family incomplete without children?)
THEN consider a same-sex couple. if your answer to the previous question was that a family is complete without children, then a same-sex couple CAN be considered a "family" right? They could even adopt children if they want. Just that they don't have the typical one man as papa, one woman as mama thing. then again, one could still play the paternalistic role while the other could play the maternalistic role.
Well, consider a single parent family. Just one parent with children. still a family wat.
***
was filling in indemnity form when my attention was brought to the item: Next of Kin.
next of kin.. implying blood ties, no?( i may be wrong here..)
when you get married, your spouse can be considered your next of kin, no?
marriage. a kind of status. legal recognition.
when a person totally unrelated to you becomes your next of kin, it's as if the law created that blood tie. the law recognizes the children you may have - for the real blood ties you're going to create.
***
family. something to think about.
topic: family (and state policy and influence)
it was one of the first tutorials that i felt was a bit more engaging - hmmm me and deb and ang seem quite disappointed with the soci intro module - soci in terms of content, i can tell, is still interesting, but erm the way the module is conducted, if i were a year one, i wouldn't be terribly wanting to major in it. dunno. deb and i were thinking we're "corrupted" by the psychology perspective.. haha..
anyway. back to the tutorial.
there was totally no consensus about what really constitutes a family.
Is a family... made up by blood ties?
consider an adopted child. no blood ties but still he/she could feel like part of the family, and people will also consider him/her as part of the family that brought him/her up.
consider sworn brothers or sisters. no blood ties but sometimes the bond feels stronger than that of real siblings.
consider step-siblings. Seen as a family in law, but may not feel like a real family. If they do feel like a real family, they're not bonded by blood ties either.
Does a family... mean staying together?
consider an adult staying alone apart from his/her family. staying apart doesn't mean he/she is no longer a part of the family.
consider an adult who starts his/her own family and then staying apart from his/her parents. Still part of the family.
consider a family where all the members stay together but do not talk to one another, do not like one another's presence. family? think again.
Does a family... mean one father, one mother, plus children?
consider a couple without children - are they "just" a couple, or are they a family? (pondered over this point for a long time - is a family incomplete without children?)
THEN consider a same-sex couple. if your answer to the previous question was that a family is complete without children, then a same-sex couple CAN be considered a "family" right? They could even adopt children if they want. Just that they don't have the typical one man as papa, one woman as mama thing. then again, one could still play the paternalistic role while the other could play the maternalistic role.
Well, consider a single parent family. Just one parent with children. still a family wat.
***
was filling in indemnity form when my attention was brought to the item: Next of Kin.
next of kin.. implying blood ties, no?( i may be wrong here..)
when you get married, your spouse can be considered your next of kin, no?
marriage. a kind of status. legal recognition.
when a person totally unrelated to you becomes your next of kin, it's as if the law created that blood tie. the law recognizes the children you may have - for the real blood ties you're going to create.
***
family. something to think about.
posted by Sodium-squared at 10/09/2004 01:25:00 AM
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