Drop Box Assignment TwoZoey RentzOctober 24, 2013Honors Cultural Anthropology: Anthropology 102-INHWhat makes a family? Traditionally in American culture the answer would be: a husband, wife, and their children. Interestingly, even though people think of this conventional family definition, in reality few families conform to it. The definition of a family varies between cultures and may also be subjected to certain governing laws. Without ranking one culture above another family can broadly be defined as “two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption” (Haviland et al. 2014:215). In mostcultures the marriage between two people play a role in defining a family, and there are many different types of marriages cross culturally. The terms culture, marriage, and family are all interconnected, and help to determine different types of families.There are a few different types of families; a conjugal family is formed when two people are married. This couple may or may not have children. The family is focused onthe couple and their children. The couple is without any obligations the extended family, and they voluntarily interact with relatives. An example of a conjugal family would be a marriage between a man and a woman and any children they may have. The conjugal family is also referred to as a nuclear family. Nuclear families are the smallest grouping of parents and their children. The termnuclear family is usually restricted to parents, children, stepparents, stepsiblings, and/or adopted children. The nuclear family made up of a married mother, father, and their children was prevalent in the 1950s when about sixty percent of families fit this description. In today’s society only about twenty percent of families fit this description. Since few members of today’s society conform to the 1950s description of a nuclearfamily, the definition of a nuclear family has changed. The nuclear family is simply defined as “small parent-child units” (Haviland et al. 2014:217). This new definition emphasizes the most important relationship in the nuclear family, this relationship being between the parents and children. Going into no more detail past the important parent child relationship, this definition allows the inclusion of single parents and same sex couples when defining a family. Another type of family is a consanguineal family. This type of family is less common and is made up of women that are related by blood, the brothers of these women, and any children that these women have. An example of a consanguineal family would be the Musuo of southwestern China. The Musuo are a matriarchal society, meaning that the women are in charge. This consanguineal family is much different than a traditional nuclear family, a major difference being that the “Musuo usually live in large, extended families, with many generations living together” ("Matriarchal/Matrilineal Culture" 2006:1). In these types of families the children are raised by the mother and may not know who their father is. Unlike in other cultures, not knowing their father isn’t considered taboo. Male children simply learn their social roles from their uncles.The extended family is common among farmers, herders, and other situations that might have a need for a large work force to ensure the wellbeing of the family. An extended family is “when two or more closely related nuclear families cluster together in a large domestic group” (Haviland et al. 2014:218). The people that make up theextended family work with one another to provide for the whole family. Typically in households that require a lot of manual labor such as farming. Having a large family is beneficial to a farmer because of the wide range of chores that need to be completed to ensure the success of the farm. Nontraditional families include people who don’t conform to the groups above. People who live alone or with other people unrelated to them make up nontraditional families. Such as close friends, college roommates, or factory workers who live in a dorm. Unmarried couples living together make up cohabitation households, which are also considered nontraditional. Couples forming traditional nuclear families or untraditional cohabitation households may eventually break up. These married or unmarried couples that break up, and have children form single parent households. These single parent households are prevalent in our society today, “in the United States, more than a third of all births occur outside of marriage” (Haviland et al. 2014:218). This rise in single parent households gives rise to blended families. These blended families consist of parents raising children from previous relationships together. Regardless of their individual definitions, families provide protection to their members. Not only do families provide physical protection, but also the culture of the family is conserved as generations continue. Family is “the basic cooperative structure that ensures an individual’s primary needs and provides the necessary care for children todevelop as healthy and productive members of the group” (Haviland et al. 2014:215). Humans live in groups to ensure survival. As mammals we rely on our parents to ensure our survival during the first few years of life. The instinctual desire for a human to live ina group stems from our primate ancestors. Within a family the adult members are found working together to meet the needs of the rest of the family. The adult members of the family also care for the children and elderly, ensuring their health and safety. Children are raised according to the customs of their culture, which will eventually make them productive members in the family. As the older family members die the younger family members guarantee the family’s future.A family is a group of people with a strong bond, either by blood or by marriage. However, sometimes people live among one another and do not fit into the description of a family. In these cases the term household is used. A household is made up of people living together in the same residence. Households may contain members of a family but are not limited to family members. Examples include live in servants, housekeepers, and nannies. Families have a strong connection to one another, and while the people of a household may be close to the family, ultimately blood and marriage may prevail during a disagreement.The