That’s right: Not one, but two new videos celebrate the wide variety of families today. Have a look.
“The Nuclear Option” takes us on a brief historical tour of how families have changed throughout American history, and explains why nuclear mom-dad families only represent a small portion of the whole. The video comes from Family Story, an organization run by Nicole Rodgers and Mia Birdsong “to create a conversation that meets people where they are, embraces the dignity and value of a wider range of family arrangements, and elevates models that illustrate the wisdom and creativity of families today.”
In noting that nuclear families are often positioned as “the only story worth telling,” the video evokes Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story.” I actually discovered Family Story, however, after hearing Birdsong’s own TED Talk, about listening to the stories of people in poverty. If you haven’t seen either of those videos, make yourself some popcorn, then click over and watch them after you see the two below. They’re not explicitly about families, but definitely speak to themes of social justice that impact many families.
And because last Sunday was Mother’s Day, Tylenol released a new video in its #HowWeFamily series, with a number of different moms talking about the structure of their families and their path to parenthood, celebrating both our variety and our common thread. It includes a mom who’s part of a two-woman couple, and one who has a transgender child.