Reconstructing the stepfamily: old myths, new stories.

The proliferating step family has come to reflect the multiple social changes in American family life. Nevertheless, the dominance of the nuclear family culture continues to marginalize and stigmatize step families. Concepts drawn from narrative theory are used to examine how the privileged status accorded biological parentage serves to restrict society's thinking about the nature of families and parenting roles. The promotion of the nuclear family as the benchmark for family life perpetuates step family invisibility and bias that permeate both step family policy and practice. Illustratio