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The symbolic network of meaning surrounding “family” is interpreted and critically examined in a text constructed of greeting card sentiments produced by major manufacturers of greeting cards. Approached from a cultural studies perspective and adopting concepts from Kenneth Burke's writing on language as symbolic action, greeting card sentiments sent between family members are examined as representations of “family” with wide circulation in the culture. Greeting cards present a construction of family that adopts “love” as the central and unifying symbol. The love that defines family in greeting cards also serves as the source of and inspiration for appropriately familial attitudes (i.e. gratitude, pride and recognition of family members' “specialness”) and actions (i.e. supporting, caring, listening, understanding and advice-giving). The sentiments adopt the metaphor of family “ties and bonds” as a means of establishing identification among family members and as a defense against current conditions within the culture that threaten “family,” such as distance, stress and a shortage of time. Greeting cards also define family members as friends, minimize problems and use humor to protect “the family.” Connected to and interacting with other cultural discourse about “the family,” the greeting card sentiments reflect and are integrated with cultural thinking about “family” and about what it means to live as a “family.” Because greeting cards are commercial products, their descriptions of family relationships are vague and general in order to appeal to multiple consumers and simultaneously unrelentingly warm happy and joyful to be suitable for consumers' use of the product as a gift on special occasions. Through the powerful relationship ritual of exchanging greeting cards these idealized notions of “family” act as vehicles for individuals to think about, understand and evaluate their actual family relationships. Critically examining and opening up the network of meaning surrounding “family” in greeting card sentiments allows members of the culture to consider the implications of this social construction of family and to imagine other possibilities.
