The word framily therefore fills a gap in the lexicon for those friends we hold in such high esteem that we think of them as family. Indeed for some, these friendships mature far beyond familial relationships. Recent research suggests that many of us spend more time with friends than we do with family, and that we consider our most special friends to be as important to us as our actual family members. Framily, our closest, hand-picked friends, contrasts with our actual family, those individuals who we may or may not like, but to whom we are inextricably and permanently linked by virtue of simple biology. Research suggests that many of us spend more time with friends than we do with familyįramily is a new social group underpinned by the principle that good friends are the family that we can choose for ourselves. If however, in the aftermath of the Christmas holiday period when you've had enforced and concentrated contact with your parents, siblings or other relatives, you feel that a saying such as 'you can choose your friends, but not your family' seems more appropriate, then maybe you're the sort of person that would favour framily over family. 523-524.You might be familiar with the old adage 'blood is thicker than water' (basically, the idea that family relationships are stronger and more important than friendships). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, p. 4, Afsaneh Najmabadi, Jacqueline Siapno and Jane Smith, eds. In Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, Vol. 1, North America, David Levinson and Timothy O’Leary, eds. Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology, 4th edition. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education.Įmber, Carol R. Cultural Anthropology: Understanding Ourselves and Others. Minneapolis: Fairview Press.īonvillain, Nancy. Family By Choice, Creating Family in a World of Stranger.
Increasingly family by choice is being practiced by unmarried people and families who move away from the consanguine family. Family by choice can include adopted children, live-in partners, kin of each member of the household, and close friends. The term was popularized by the LGBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community to describe a family not recognized by the legal system. A blended family is formed when divorced or widowed parents who have children marry.įamily by Choice: A relatively newly recognized type of family, again especially in industrial countries like the United States, is the family by choice. Joint family: Joint families are composed of sets of siblings, theirs spouses, and their dependent children.īlended family: Blended families are becoming more common, especially in industrial societies like the United States. Extended families include at least three generations: grandparents, married offspring, and grandchildren. Additionally, there is the polygymous family, which is comprised of multiple spouses and dependent children (Lavenda and Schultz 2010 note that Lavenda and Schultz refer to a polygynous family, not a polygymous family, but that term does not encompass a married woman living with multiple husbands and dependent children).Įxtended family: The extended family is the most common type of family in the world. In this type of nuclear family, there is one parent with dependent children. Some anthropologists identify a second type of nuclear family, the non-conjugal family. This is common in industrial societies, but it is not the most common type of family in the world, although the practice is spreading through modern development. Nuclear families are comprised of married partners and their offspring. Nuclear family: This is also known as the conjugal family or family of procreation.
Generally, family members live together, but that is not always the case. Family defines obligations that group members have to one another, both economically and socially. What constitutes a family varies across the globe depending on a variety of factors including subsistence practices and economic behaviors.