The author aims to illustrate in her concise and vivid comparison how different family structures affect the people living within them. She highlights what the examined models mean in terms of burdens or opportunities, particularly for women, the well-being of children, and the relationships between genders and generations. The focus is on the typical nuclear family, where the majority of people live, and the traditional matriarchal Mosuo extended family led by a matriarch. The author presents the various economic systems and questions the societal and spiritual values that form the foundation of the structures being examined. She discusses with matriarchal filmmaker Uschi Madeisky and her mother, labyrinth artist Li Shalima, the question of whether alternatives exist.