Is your family normal?

How does your family look like? Is it normal? Do you have two parents, probably one male and one female parents?

I believe every social structure is artificial. Every convention, moral, ethics and law are the cumulative result of human choices over time. When human beings first decided to live together, there was no natural way of living. Every little detail, how to eat, how to sleep, how to interact with other people, were open for a choice.

In the pre-historic era, family structure looked nothing like the modern family. Since there was no concept of marriage or monogamy, it was hard to identify children’s father. Therefore family was formed around a mother and her children. If such a family were to exist in modern society, the family would not be approved both legally and morally. However, it was a perfectly ‘normal’ form of family back then.

I believe this subjectivity of ‘normal’ and the ‘artificial’ nature of social structures and values have lead some individuals to act out.

Some people who were not content with the modern social structure decided to build an “intentional community”. For example, the Zapatista liberation army of Mexico formed an autonomous community denying government control since they thought the government does not obey to citizens’ wills. Walt disney also built a community called Celebration in the state of Florida in order to embody his values and ideals into an actual community.

As our culture and customs are the cumulative result of human choices, would our family look different in the near future? Would the typical ‘normal’ family look different?