Blended Families In Today'S Society
Blended families, according to William P. Fuller the author of Preparing for Blended Families, are those comprising of at least one spouse who has a child or children from a prior relationship. These types of families “are becoming increasingly common and present a unique challenge when creating an estate plan” (Fuller 1). Similarly, according to Pauline Erera, “although traditionalists have held blood ties of consanguinity to be a defining characteristic of the family, others argue that we should define families according to the attachments and intimacy that individuals have toward significant people in their lives”, meaning even though they are a blended family, they should be considered a family none the less (Erera 352).
A nuclear family, or the more commonly known traditional family, consists of a marriage by holy union and the promise to keep that marriage holy by staying with that one person “until death do us part.” This includes the raising of any children within the family and the promise to provide them with food, shelter, clothing, water, and nourishment as well. Yet, there is still a need for a law which protects the marriage itself. This law states that it recognizes husbands of inseminated women as the real fathers and denies parental rights to donors or step-parents. Although, we still leave room in this law for things known as adoption, foster parenting, or informal care by other relatives. This is where blended families begin to show.
Blended families seem to be considered the result of a previous divorce. Therefore, causing the need for the terms step-brother, step-sister, step-father, etc. Blended families then seem to become less of a family simply because of the creation of these terms, and their specific meanings. For example, it seems to be less meaningful to be step-brothers rather than actual biological, blood related, brothers.
In the article, Toward Revels or a Requiem for Family Diversity?, Judith Stacey...
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