Research Paper on:
Andrew Cherlin's Introduction to Public and Private Families

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
1. U.S. Census Bureau limits definition of family The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as two or more persons living in the same household who are related by blood,  marriage or adoption. This is archaic and no longer true. It never has been true but today, sociologists have extended the definition of a family but the Census Bureau has  not. Cherlin points out that this definition is no longer relevant or adequate due to: the rise in cohabitation since the 1970s and the greater acceptance of homosexual partners.  In both these situations, the persons involved in the relationships represent a family in terms of sharing their love and lives. Both these living conditions fit within Cherlins definition of  the private family. By extension, if they are raising children, these living configurations would also fit within Cherlins definition of the public family. 2. Public family vs. Private  family Cherlin argues that one single definition of family is not adequate but there are concepts that can be used. A family, for instance, has a public side and a  private side. The public family is about dependents and care-taking but the private family is about intimacy. The private family is where we spend most of our personal lives, it  is within this context that we make decisions about personal concerns, like whether to marry. Adults are engaged with the public family dealing with broad issues, such as taking care  of the elderly, raising children, and other societal issues. Another way to look at these two aspects of the family is that it is in the private family where decisions  are made about personal lives and it is in the public family that decisions are made about issues that affect the society as a whole. Another example of the public