ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts that are discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book contains both a critique and a vision. It examines the cultural and legal processes in which the sexual-intimate connection has been designated as dominant in the construction of family - husband and wife established as the core intimate relationship around which law, politics, and policy revolve. The chapter argues that heterosexual monogamous pairings failed to reflect the situations of many groupings that functioned as families. Our ideological understanding of the functioning and societal role of the family has not undergone much transformation. It is an exploration of the extent and tenacity of the ideological components of patriarchy and their role in the construction of gender as reflected in law and policy. The chapter proposes the end of family law as we know it with the suggestion that marriage be abolished as a legal category.
