Summary
Contents
Subject index
Relevant, focused and accessible this book will provide students with an indispensible guide to the central concepts of family studies.
Families of Choice
Families of Choice
Definition
The concept of ‘families of choice’ is intended to capture the commitment of chosen, rather than fixed, relationships and ties of intimacy, care and support. The ‘non-heterosexual’ form of families of choice is often seen as the clearest example of this phenomenon.
Discussion
The idea of ‘families of choice’ was framed as a form of political affirmation towards rights for homosexual ways of life, particularly in the USA (Weston, 1991). The context of the HIV/AIDS crisis was also significant, with the emergence of friends as providers of care for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, and the perceived failure of families of origin and the state to respond adequately to the situation. In this sense the term has its roots in a political project. ...
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