This article evaluates trends in the North American construction of family which traditionally focuses on the Nuclear Family; the need for a redefinition of family is necessary, due to a change in social structure and the realities of daily life. Some of the reasons for the shift in family dynamics includes the growing social and economic independence of women, reducing their need to rely on men and redefining the necessity of lifelong marriages; the concept of the self and of self importance has become more important than the family; the North American economy has caused a stratification of wealth, with a few rich who control the resources and a large population who control none of the resources, forcing both partners to work full-time jobs out of the need for a double income; and the emerging acceptance of same sex marriages has also redefined family.
