Non-Traditional Families: The Fosters

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Family relationships are some of the most intricate and important interactions that humans have with each other. Although all families go through rough patches, they are held together by love, respect and acceptance of each other. Through the years, the definition of family has evolved to many other forms aside from heterosexual couples with children. These non-traditional families have become widely normalized and accepted as media broadcast them. Examples of nontraditional families and relationships are depicted on the popular ABC TV series, ‘The Fosters.’

The relationship between Lena Adams and Stef foster is the focal point of the story. The same-sex couple is raising five children together. Their relationship is shown to be a stable, loving and trusting one, though not without challenges. Stef was previously married to Mike Foster, with whom she shares a 16 year old son, Brandon. Stef was unhappy in her relationship with Mike, and they got divorced. Stef and Lena met and fell in love. Most of their family are accepting of their relationship, although they face some stigma for being a same-sex couple and parents. Stef and Lena work hard to be open with one another and with their children. Raising children in a same-sex parent home can be challenging (Di Battista et al., 2020), as one of their children says they never asked for two moms. However, Stef and Lena are dedicated, loving parents to their children.

Lena and Stef go through rough patches like any other couple but put a lot of effort into communication. They express their insecurities to each other, making their relationship stronger. An example of this is when Lena tells Stef that she wants to have a biological child. Lena says that everyone in their home is related to at least one person by blood, but she has no blood relation. She gets pregnant but suffers a miscarriage. In the end, she accepts that family is defined by love. Stef remains supportive of Lena through this journey. Lena also understands and encourages Stef when the latter opens up about past struggles with her sexuality. Overall, the pair have a healthy relationship.

Another complex relationship in the series ‘The Fosters’ is the relationship between Mike, Stef and Stef’s new family. The two were previously married and share a son, Brandon. The two have to coparent their son, further complicated by Lena as a stepmother. The three parents have to work together to coparent their son, each with different parenting styles. The parents have to work to accommodate each other’s style (Andrade, & van Eeden, 2019). Brandon, just like any teen, goes through challenges in his romantic relationships, relationships with his siblings However, his parents are always there for him through it. The relationship between Brandon and his parents is characterized by love, respect and support from both sides.

Brandon is the oldest child and is a good son by all accounts. He seeks his parents’ advice on major issues in his life. During his early years, he is an open child who is very close with his parents. However, as he grows older, he struggles with being open especially when he is ashamed of his choices. Luckily, his parents remain understanding and supportive even though they might not be happy with his choices. When Brandon and his foster sister Callie develop romantic feelings for each other, his parents are very angry. They get a restraining order keeping him from going near Callie while she is at a group home awaiting adoption (Freeman, 2014). The phase passes and the two become close siblings. His parents remained strict with him, which worked out for them as they got to adopt Callie into their family.

Despite living in a separate household, Brandon and his dad, Mike, are very close. Brandon turns to his dad during times of crisis in both minor and major issues. One impressive characteristic of the relationship with Mike is that Mike always makes sure to discuss any issue about Brandon with Stef, meaning they remain on the same page. Mike respects the fact that the two of them have to agree on what is best for their son, and Stef makes sure to include Lena so that she never feels left out. Mike is also a close friend of the whole family, stepping in whenever any of them needs help. In the morning before Brandon gets married, his dad is there to advise him at one of the most important times of his life. The two share an admirable bond. Brandon handles the situation with his parents and Lena quite maturely, and the three parents hardly ever fight as they remain on the same page.

‘The Fosters’ is an interesting and eye-opening story into the intricacies of blended families and same-sex marriage. Lena and Stef share an admirable bond, both in their romantic relationship and their relationships with their children. These relationships are characterized by love, openness, acceptance and tolerance for each other. As a result, the children grow into well-balanced, responsible individuals. Stef and Lena work hard into creating a loving home for their children while enforcing necessary boundaries and discipline for all of them. The TV series shows that nontraditional families are just like any other, and that they go through good and bad times like any other family. The show also shows audiences that nontraditional families should be normalized and accepted. There is still some stigma on children who come from nontraditional families (Ioverno et al., 2020). This should not happen as all individuals deserve love and respect regardless of their background. ‘The Fosters’ does an excellent job representing nontraditional families on TV.

References

Andrade, G., & van Eeden‐Moorefield, B. (2019). Stepparents and Blended Families. The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development, 1-10.

Di Battista, S., Paolini, D., & Pivetti, M. (2020). Attitudes toward same-sex parents: Examining the antecedents of parenting ability evaluation. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 17(3), 273-291.

Freeman, C. (2014). Peter Paige and the making of ‘The Fosters.’ The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, 21(3), 38-40.Ioverno, S., Carone, N., Lingiardi, V., Nardelli, N., Pagone, P., Pistella, J., … & Baiocco, R. (2018). Assessing prejudice toward two-father parenting and two-mother parenting: The beliefs on same-sex parenting scale. The Journal of Sex Research, 55(4-5), 654-665.