Some Reflections on the Current Family

The family study It has been approached by different scientific bodies according to the particular interest of each one of them. We can say then that philosophy, sociology, law and psychology, just to name Some have provided a definition of the concept with different degrees of social, academic and scientific.

The literature today has an important and vast number of definitions of the concept of family. Those who research and study it elaborate their own definitions for the sake of their own investigative interests. In this Psychology-Online article, we will do Some Reflections on the Present Family.

The family is defined, refers Louro Bernal, I (2001), as “the fundamental cell of society, very important form of organization of personal daily life, based on the marriage union and kinship ties, in relationships multilateral relations between husband and wife, parents and their children, brothers and sisters, and other relatives who live together and jointly administer the domestic economy".

It is necessary to pause in this context and consider an aspect that, relatively new, leads us to reconsider, or at least, to rethink the content of this type of definition. Note that it refers to the heterosexuality character reflected in the term marriage, however, the concept marriage is no longer described as the ancient formula of the union between man and woman, this concept has been redefined and is now understand how the union of the human couple (Dictionary of Spanish use, María Moliner, 3rd. Edition, 2007).
It is easy to observe that in this new way of naming, the concept becomes broader and more comprehensive, it is not reduced to the only man-woman relationship, but also reaches other relationships.

What is expressed, gives rise to major changes in the conception of the family, especially in what is usually called a traditional family.

The above is also addressed by Arés Muzio, P (s / a) who says that “Until a few decades ago it was said that the family was the union legal between a man and a woman who come together, with the objective of procreating, educating children, and satisfying human needs of union and company.

No definition of this type corresponds to the current changes. The union may or may not be legal, it may be for life, but separations and divorces are frequent, union members are no longer always heterosexual, the union is no longer just to procreate. By this we mean that we are currently facing the phenomenon of family diversity and complexity. "

All of the above leads us to think about how especially difficult it is to reach a consensus as a definition of family. The new types of family, their new considerations, their members, the dynamics of their relationships, among others, pave the way to hinder consensus.

In any case, it is necessary to approach a definition and it seems convenient to do so from Psychology, we then take the offered by Arés Muzio, P, and that says: “From the psychological point of view we can say that the Family: It is the union of people what share a vital project of existence in common that is wanted to last, in which strong feelings of belonging to said group are generated, there is a personal commitment among its members and intense relationships of intimacy, reciprocity and dependence".

It is no secret to anyone that the different changes that have occurred in today's world have led to another series changes in different spaces and contexts, and the family is not alien to all this dynamic of events.

Therefore, the family has evolved and we are witnessing the emergence of new types of family, so which would be more accurate to speak of "families" since the concept "family" is remaining outdated.

These new types of family make a break with the traditional family, with traditional schemes, although we cannot say that the traditional family has disappeared, but we are living with that traditional family and with the new family or family modern. Coexistence that also brings with it many conflict situations.
As we said before, the changes that have occurred in society have led to modifications in the traditional family causing ruptures in it.

In this sense, we can point out the category that specialists in the subject call "upward and downward trends", alluding to the high divorce rates and consensual unions that correspond to the first and to the decrease in number of children, in correspondence with the second. All of which affects the decrease in fertility.

We must point out that this phenomenon is not exclusive to Cuban society but rather a worldwide trend. In developed countries there is also an increase in divorce rates and a marked decrease in the birth rate.

There are also other reasons that are transforming the traditional figure of the family and many of them are reflected in our country (Cuba), for example: equal rights, shared obligations between the members of the couple, the economic autonomy of those who make up the group, increase in households single parents, increase in people living alone, high rates of separation and divorce, decrease in extended families, (housing difficulties prevent this from being possible in our society), a marked tendency to increase rebuilt families, delegation in institutions of roles that were typical of the family, among others.

However, even when these changes manifest, the traditional family coexists with the new family, since cultural values, prejudices and stereotypes that respond to a secular history of education are still present today patriarchal, macho culture and hegemonic masculinity, which, of course, hinder the transition to the new conception of the family modern.

In addition to the causes indicated as those that print changes in the aforementioned traditional family, we cannot ignore an event that is taking place in different countries: the approval of homosexual civil marriage.
News such as those reflected below although occurred in other companies, although we cannot consider within the daily routine, we cannot see them, at this point, far from it.

“A male homosexual couple presented in the media their children, a girl and a boy, five-year-old twins. The conception was carried out with sperm from one of them that fertilized an egg. These same days, in Córdoba, a couple of lesbian women had a baby by artificial insemination.
The controversy settled immediately, with the usual fury of these fights in which the other is never heard: on the one hand, the traditional sectors, of slings religious convictions, who see in this type of phenomena a deep and sacrilegious attack on the genuine family and, on the other, those who say they "progress" and who see these experiences as a fall from anachronistic prejudices and the longed-for end of discriminatory practices. " (Dark, M., 2005).

It is not the purpose of this work to promote a debate in this regard, but the truth is that in recent times the family has been developing types and schemes that differ from the inherited one. The prism ranges from those single-parent households (only one of the parents in charge), to those composed of the sum of children of a separated couple in the style of " yours, mine and ours ", going through the trend, more and more frequent, of marriages that choose not to have children or postpone them to the limit to develop professionally. Also the so-called "independent productions" in their different forms, and cloning and assisted human reproduction arise as the possibility of children being born without the presence of anyone. All this leads us to affirm that the procreation function of the family also changed.

Social discourse projects a discouraging image of the family, however, in research and surveys, the desire to the youth to form their own families and that of the adults to continue living in it.

Although the panorama that hangs over the family seems to be complex and difficult to deal with, the truth is that the common people continue to bet on their integration and consolidation. And this is how Zermeño, A (s / a), expresses it:
“It is clear that the turmoil has spread and generated uncertainty about the future of the family as the first social institution, suffice to exemplify with the media discourses that show us the decline of traditional values ​​and the increase in the rate of divorces. But it is also clear that the vast majority of people want to live in love, share our life with another person and still in many cases transfer that "love" to others: to children (whether biological or adopted). It is also clear that the most important point of refuge is still the family. "

Everything seems to indicate that what happened was not enough to psychologically and structurally disintegrate the family or the notion of family. People are inclined to support this institution, no matter the changes, the encounters and disagreements, it is always present to support, share and face "as a family" the good and not so good moments of life. lifetime.
The sense of belonging to this group is deep and lasting.
In fact, the literature points to a common denominator: people value family. They estimate the breast they come from, and even after divorce, most try to form a new one.

“The family seems to be there, as an alternative to a world full of competition, accelerated rhythms, individualism, risks, and ruptures. On the one hand it seems to be exceeded as a response to the common life of couples, but on the other it is revalued because it represents, (...), handles against loneliness, fears and uncertainty " (Zermeño, A)