We DO choose our family. [View All]

There is an adage that says, you choose your friends but not your family. Partially true. We don't pick our blood relatives, but we pick the closest family we have, our spouses. In our society, once you are married your spouse becomes your closest family member. They legally have the rights to your property and assets, and if something happens to you, they are the legal trustee. And on an emotional level, they become your prime family. The family unit, with or without children is the core relationship in your life. We look at parents who involve themselves to much in their children's marriage as meddling. We take the side of the wife over the mother-in-law.
So we have a society that says; "choose your family and we will have our institutions reflect the importance of that."

Except if your gay.