The American family is constantly changing and challenging us to rethink and reform our definitions of what it means to be a family. Few people realize that our cultural concept of the "traditional family"—the nuclear unit of father, mother, and children living in one dwelling—actually represents a minority of American households. While it may be a political, social, and cultural ideal, it does not represent the typical family. Today, families are often headed by single parents, or have mixed groupings of children from remarriage. Gay marriage and same-sex relationships are also influencing our perceptions of what it means to be a family. The readings in this chapter examine the changing face of the American family. As you read the essays in this chapter, consider the following questions:

• How do we define "family"? Is there a "typical" family?
• What influences our image of ideal family life? Popular culture? The media? Political and religious positioning?
• How do working parents juggle the responsibilities of family with increasing economic pressures to succeed in the workplace?
• What effect is divorce having on our concept of modern family?
• Is our view of marriage, and the promises it implies (until death do us part), changing? What do modern couples expect from marriage in the 21^st Century?
• Should couples of the same gender be legally allowed to marry? What benefits and problems might result?
• Why would gay couples want to marry? Does marriage confer a sense of social and political legitimacy to same-sex unions?

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