Diversity: Beyond the nuclear family

Abstract

As most of us experience society through the lens of our early family experiences, we grow up believing 'our' family is the same as everyone else's. Entering school as young children, we soon realise that our notions of what is normal may be different from those of our classmates. The 'cereal packet image of the family' (Leach 1968: 8), representing mum, dad and the kids happily breakfasting together, abuts sometimes harshly against the realities of sole-parent families, step- and blended families, extended families, same-sex families, childless households, and even the single person household where the strongest ties are not with biological kin, but with intimate friends. Add to this the diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds that Indigenous Australians and postwar migrating families contribute, and all Australians will eventually encounter family types quite different to our own.