Queer Kinship on the Edge? Families of Choice in Poland

Description

Queer Kinship on the Edge? Families of Choice in Poland explores ways in which queer families from Central and Eastern Europe complicate the mainstream picture of queer kinship and families researched in the Anglo-American contexts. The book presents findings from under-represented localities as a starting point to query some of the expectations about queer kinship and to provide insights on the scale and nature of queer kinship in diverse geopolitical locations and the complexities of lived experiences of queer families. Drawing on a rich qualitative multi-method study to address the gap in queer kinship studies which tend to exclude Polish or wider Central and Eastern perspectives, it offers a multi-dimensional picture of ‘families of choice’ improving sensitivity towards differences in queer kinship studies. Through case studies and interviews with diverse members of queer families (i.e., queer parents, their children) and their families of origin (parents and siblings), the book looks at queer domesticity, practices of care, defining and displaying families, queer parenthood familial homophobia, and interpersonal relationships through the life course. This study is suitable for those interested in LGBT studies, sexuality studies, kinship and Eastern European studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction Queer kinship/family theoretical framework Current Dilemma? Assimilation vs. Subversion Is not the Same Everywhere When East Meets West: CEE and Anglo-American hegemonies Where and When Is CEE? Space and Time Revisited De-Centring Western Sexualities – Revisited Semi-Peripheral Position of CEE and Postcolonial/Decolonial Discourses Polish Context and the Question of Queer Families Polish Familism Polish Heteronormativity and Conservatism The Process of Emancipation of Non-Heterosexual People in Poland Legal Situation of Queer Families Structure of the Book Notes Chapter 2: Polishing Queer Relational Trajectory Introduction The Formative Phase and Contexts for Entering into Relationships From “Friend” to “Lover”: Pathways to Enter into Non-Heterosexual Relationships Partner as a Biographical Caretaker Stabilisation Phase. Multiple Paths and Dimensions of Stabilisation Moving in Together as Doing Family Home, Sweet Home? The Different Meaning of (Queer) Domesticity The Importance of Home in Strategies of Becoming a Couple The Taboo of a Non-Heterosexual Household Regulating Property as a Formal Family Proclamation Formalisation of a Relationship as Tactics to Gain Recognition Implementation of Reproductive Plans Conclusions Notes Chapter 3: Ain’t We a Family? Introduction “Families against Everything” 1 – Meanings of “Family” Partner as a Family Practical vs. Theoretical Family Family and Kinship Practices Creating a Shared Household Family Rituals and Spending Time Together Support, Care, Responsibility, Reciprocity Emotional Closeness The “Gray Zone” of the Family “An Alien Family” 4 Friends as Family “Well, but This Is Only a Pet” 5 – The Role of Animals Conclusions Notes Chapter 4: Communicating Vessels: Relations with Families of Origin Introduction Family Stickness Practices of Disclosures and Recognition as a Family Familial Homophobia and Rejection Transparent and Family Closet or Selective Disclosure Silence, Guessing, and Strategic Omission Changes in Time: From Rejection to Moderate Acceptance and Recognition Mutual Dependencies and Family Practices The Need for Family Support Acts of Care and Protection Towards the Family of Origin Conclusions Notes Chapter 5: Queer(ing) Parenthood Introduction Queer Parenthood in Numbers Mothers “Under Censorship” 3 and the Primacy of Motherly Love Lesbian Step Families Lesbian Planned Families Paths of Gay Fatherhood Illegitimate Parents, or Living in Uncertainty Tactics of Resistance Family Contracts and Formal Solutions Protective and Fictive Marriages Building a Support Network “Buying” Security and Recognition Being Like Others “Stolen Moments” of Passing as a Family Queering Baptism Migrations Conclusions: Queering Parenthood in Poland? Notes Chapter 6: Queer Spawn Talks Back Introduction Children’s Family Picture She Is Not Entirely Ours Nor Is She Entirely Alien 3 – Social Motherhood through Children’s Eyes Mourning the Social Mother? Children’s Reaction to Their Parents’ Coming Out Trajectories of Unnamed Experience and Sudden Change Familial Homophobia Disclosure to Peers Religious Education as Lessons of Intolerance and Discrimination 6 Community and Private Schools as Protection against Homophobia Conclusions Notes Chapter 7: Conclusions Beyond “Either/Or” Paradigm or What (Queer) Resistance Might Mean? Tactics as the Art of the Weak Note Appendix: Methodology The Research Sample Ethics and Positionality Bibliography Index