Dysfuctional Family Life

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY LIFE

The reality television show, The Osbournes, starring Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon, along with their two teenage children airs on MTV. Their family life, as portrayed by the television show, leaves much to be desired, because their lives are filled with chaos, total disorder, and a swarm of offensive language. Yet, there is also clear evidence of love for one another. Andrew Matte (2002), a writer for the Toronto Star in Canada, agrees that the Osbournes’ family isn’t as dysfunctional as what the general public tends to believe. Matte states that sociologists who have looked intensively at the family have concluded that Ozzy and his wife Sharon are responsible, loving parents. Can one family, that is said to be dysfunctional by most of the general public, still be concluded as being a responsible, loving and functional family?

Dysfunctionality

While the public in general looks at the Osbournes as a dysfunctional family, Matte’s comment suggests that there is enough evidence for sociologists to deem the family functional. If the Osbournes are labeled “functional” perhaps one needs a new definition of the word dysfunctional. Andrew Marshall (2003), a psychologist who specializes in couples counseling explains that the term dysfunctional means not being able to function well and/or a social behavior that weakens the stability of society. Marshall declares that the term ‘dysfunctional’ is psychological gibberish that certain therapists like to use in order to sound more convincing. Thus, in a sense, the term dysfunctional seems to be an assumption that “narrow-minded” people tend to make when they have no idea about another person, the circumstances that that person is dealing with or what they have dealt with in the past. Marshall explains how easy it is to take our own personal life and the standards that we life with and try to force them on other people. However, in a tolerant society, one may need to learn that because someone lives differently, doesn’t make him or her dysfunctional.

Family