Paying Forward and Paying Back

Twenty years after the conclusion of a fieldwork study, a member of the family that once served as my informant came to live with me. This reflexive account of Ari's stay in our home juxtaposes his socialist kibbutz life with that of my own hypercommodified individualistic urban life. His experiences of working in the illegal economy raise questions about my own hiring practices. In short, we confront ourselves through our respondents' cultural vision. Ultimately, in revisiting a study I had thought complete, this account raises the question of what we owe those people who help us to gain knowledge about their culture, the currency of our careers.     

The family as gender and sexuality factory: A review of the literature and future directions

Early theorists understood the family as a key institution in the production of gender and sexuality. In this paper, I trace the development of this line of thought and review parents' role in shaping children's gender and sexuality over the life course. I first describe the three most prominent theoretical frameworks used to locate parents in these studies: psychoanalysis, socialization, and interactional approaches. In doing so, I illuminate the contributions of each theory to sociological thought on children's gender and sexuality while pointing to weaknesses with psychoanalysis and socialization. I then discuss how parents influence children's development and performance of gender and heterosexuality, paying attention to variations based on race, class, gender, and sexuality. Based on the current state of the literature, I suggest that we sociologists should diversify our methodological approaches in this area, attend to how changes in families correspond to changes in parents' role in shaping children's gender and sexuality, and grapple with how children's performances of gender and sexuality influence parents' performances of gender and sexuality.     

A Conscious and Inclusive Family Studies

I argue that family scholars must take bolder steps to engage the tensions between our heritage of positivist science and its postmodern challenges. I also argue that constructing theories, utilizing research methods, and examining substantive issues should be relevant to the diversity of the families we study and to ourselves as members of families. I offer examples of developing an informed reflexive consciousness to broaden the rationalist foundation that dominates family scholarship. For a more inclusive, balanced, and invigorated family studies, our subjective experiences and commitments as researchers should be acknowledged, confronted, and integrated. A family studies that is responsible to our readers, students, selves, and the people whose lives we study requires that we engage the critical intersections of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and age as they define family diversity.     

The Use and “Abuse” of Family in Policy Matters

Family as an institution and as rhetoric appears to play an inordinate role in shaping social policy formation, implementation, and evaluation. Its impact affects the work of applied and academic sociologists in multiple ways. Given its importance and the manner in which it operates, I argue that family may be usefully studied as an ideograph. I present a detailed analysis of how family operates rhetorically to shape and constrain policy-related matters. I also illustrate how it affects and delimits consideration of some specific social concerns, and I conclude that social science practitioners should conscientiously take family into account as we do our own work.     

“You Go ‘Cause You Have to”: The Bridal Shower as a Ritual of Obligation

Getting married is one of the most celebrated and revered transitions in a woman's life. Therefore, many rituals and events exist to prepare a woman to become a wife. The bridal shower is one of those that is most steeped in tradition. It may be viewed as an event in which women friends and family members must participate. Women often attend bridal showers out of “duty.” Interestingly, many women find them boring, socially awkward, or otherwise uncomfortable. In this article, I identify the primary stressors of bridal showers for the three major participants: brides‐to‐be, hostesses, and guests. Finally, I explore the persistence of this ritual, despite its apparent lack of appeal for participants. This study draws on interviews with fifty‐one women who are recent brides or who have recently hosted or attended bridal showers, as well as participant observation at five bridal showers. I discuss the bridal shower as a ritual of obligation, one that is grounded in tradition and gives women the opportunity to express care and support for other women as members of a gender community.     

The Political Is Psychoanalytic: On Same-Sex Marriage

Psychoanalysis should attend to same-sex marriage for two reasons: (1) Exclusion from marriage harms the mental health of same-sex couples and their children and (2) psychoanalysis is the science of irrationality, and the arguments about same-sex marriage are often highly irrational. The arguments against same-sex marriage, made by senior judges in the United States, are best understood by the von Domarus principle: If homosexuals are allowed to be married, and I am married, then I may be a homosexual. And if I make it impossible for homosexuals to marry, and I am married, then I will make it impossible for me to be a homosexual.     

Pressure to Attend Therapy,Dyadic Adjustment,and Adverse Childhood Experiences: Direct and Indirect Effects on the Therapeutic Alliance in Couples Therapy

In this study we examine the role that pressure to attend therapy, dyadic adjustment, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) play in developing the therapeutic alliance. A total of 351 couples received treatment as usual at three family therapy training clinics. Participants rated predictor variables at intake and alliance at the fourth session. Results of a path analysis indicate that each partner's dyadic adjustment is directly associated with the quality of her or his own alliance. In addition, when male partners report more ACEs and pressure to attend treatment, their own alliance scores decrease. Additionally, when one partner reports feeling pressure to attend therapy, the other partner's alliance decreases. Finally, for males, there is an indirect effect of dyadic adjustment on alliance through pressure to attend therapy. These results suggest that clinicians should routinely assess relationship adjustment, how pressured each partner is feeling to attend treatment, and ACEs; as these may impact alliance quality.     

Marginal Religious Affiliates in Canada: Little Reason to Expect Increased Church Involvement

In this paper, I draw on interview data with 21 Canadian marginal religious affiliates, who attend religious services primarily for religious holidays and rites of passage, and ask why they stopped attending on a regular basis, why they continue to attend once or twice a year, and do they express any interest in being more involved in their religious group, and if so, what factors might lead to increased involvement. In contrast to Reginald Bibby and others who explain church involvement patterns by stressing the supply side of the religious marketplace, I argue that we should concentrate more on the demand side.     

A (Pragmatic) Defense of (Some) Science

In this commentary, a response to MacKendrick (2017), I examine the dilemma that recent science activism poses for sociologists of science. How can we maintain their critical integrity while condemning the anti‐science actions of the Trump administration? I propose that sociologists of science engage in two exercises to marshal a qualified defense of science. First, we should unpack what we might mean by the “science” we wish to defend. Then, we should begin to articulate grounds for defending that science commensurate with the urgency of the moment. I draw inspiration from American pragmatist philosophy to develop one such defense.     

Russian lesbian mothers: Between “traditional values” and human rights

Abstract

Contemporary Russian state ideology has turned towards instituting “traditional family values,” an official turn that increased legal and social discrimination against queer families. The concept of “traditional family values” in the contemporary Russian state discourse refers to the “naturalness” of the heterosexual family, consisting of two parents and their biological offspring. This discourse eliminates the possibility of public lesbian parenting. Following the idea of the conceptualizations of queer temporalities in different geo-cultural contexts, I examine the impact of recent oppressive legal changes in Russia on reproductive choices, everyday parenting strategies, and social interactions among lesbian mothers. In this work, I seek to show more than the obvious harm caused by the “anti-gay law” in terms of its effects on lesbian-headed families. To do so, I analyze the strategies applied by Russian lesbian mothers to tackle the rapidly changing state ideologies and legislative landscapes. I do this by discussing the ways in which lesbian mothers in Russia “manipulate” their social status to avoid possible official or unofficial homophobic actions directed towards them and their children. For example, they may come out selectively, carefully choosing the people to whom they openly present their identity. I argue that to adhere to “ordinary” or “normal” family life, lesbian mothers in Russia use several survival strategies. One of these strategies relates to speculation about immigration to the “West.” That is, some lesbian families prepare all of the necessary documentation, secure valid visas, and attend special workshops where they receive legal and informational support on asylum seeking and emigration from Russia. Another set of strategies for maintaining family identity relies on the decision to come out as a co-mother during interactions with official institutions or to choose other identities; for example, godmother or sister of the birth mother of a child. An additional important strategy for lesbian mothers relies on drafting documents that maintain their rights in severe circumstances. This set of actions focuses on legally supporting the parental rights through the use of loopholes in the Russian legislation and drafting documents that maintain their rights to child custody and their partner’s property.     

Multiracial Church Attendance and Support for Same‐Sex Romantic and Family Relationships

Research has found that attending a racially diverse congregation promotes more favorable attitudes toward interracial dating, marriage, and adoption, but does participation in an integrated faith community promote tolerance toward other non‐traditional romantic and family forms? This study examines the relationship between involvement in a racially diverse congregation and support for same‐sex romantic and family relationships. Data are taken from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey. I fit logistic regression models to estimate the effect of attending a multiracial church on support for homosexuality, same‐sex marriage, and same‐sex adoption, net of sociodemographic and religious controls. Results indicate that persons who attend churches where between 25 and 75 percent of attendees are of another race are more likely to support gay sex, marriage, and adoption compared with those who attend more racially homogenous churches. This relationship generally holds when models are estimated for evangelicals and mainline Protestants separately, but not for Catholics. Findings suggest a link between religion‐based racial prejudice and heterosexism/homophobia and that increased exposure to racial diversity may promote a general tolerance toward non‐traditional romantic couples and families.     

Integrating Social Justice into the Practice of CBFT: A Critical Look at Family Schemas

Many families come to therapy struggling with the negative consequence of social inequity. Family therapy modalities have been developed to address these negative consequences and attend to power and social equity (Transformative family therapy: Just families in a just society. Boston, MA: Pearson Education; Socio‐emotional relationship therapy. New York, NY: Springer). We argue that many family therapy modalities can be adapted to include social equity (Applying critical social theory in family therapy practice. AFTA Springer Series. New York, NY: Springer Publishing). Specifically, cognitive behavioral family therapy can be used to address the inequality in social systems that negatively affect the family system. We focus on schema formation and suggest an emphasis on societal schemas within the therapy milieu as a tool to help families see how societal inequality can affect the problems faced in family life.     

Therapeutic Maps For Therapeutic Mazes: The ‘Time Sphere’ as an Interventive Mapping of Family Movements in Context

In this paper I want to describe the use of a technique which I have termed the ‘Time Sphere’. The combination of a life cycle model with the chronological mapping of closeness–distance has allowed for useful consideration of various relational events not previously explored by the family or therapist. By sharing the information visually with the client family we are able to explore context, family of origin influences and life cycle transitions within an extended family model. Ultimately my hope is to develop this model further as a creative means of exploring how family patterns and relationships are repeated, and how context is ultimately the key to understanding. To preserve confidentiality, my ‘case’ is an amalgam of several real client families.     

Initial Coparenting Patterns and Postdivorce Parent Education Programming: A Latent Class Analysis

Many judges now require divorcing or legally separating parents with children under age 18 to attend parent education programs (PEPs). Evaluations of these programs have shown their effectiveness, although these have often not been rigorous. Individuals display different patterns of coparenting following divorce, yet researchers have not empirically assessed participants’ coparenting patterns prior to participation in PEPs. Using data from participants in a PEP class (N = 1,540), we describe participants’ coparenting patterns prior to participating in PEP and consider pre–posttest differences in parenting and coparenting outcomes for each coparenting pattern. Results from this evaluation suggest a need for a more tailored approach to parent education programming and have broader implications for family life education.     

Social structure and personal choice

A review of representative literature in the newly developing area of alternative lifestyle research suggests an antisocial structural bias. The origin of this trend and its implications for a theoretically based social science of alternative lifestyles are explored. The aged, women, and Black families are viewed as examples where social structural conditions affect the diversity of intimacy, marriage, and family alternative lifestyles chosen. Current definitions of alternative lifestyles, individual freedom, and choice are seen as reflecting and supporting the social, political, and economic status quo in American society. It is concluded that a social science of alternative lifestyles is only possible when we more fully understand the individual, institutional, and historical dynamics determining the availability and feasibility of alternatives in intimacy, marriage, and family life.     

The Forgotten Siblings

In this article I wish to argue that the qualities and dynamics of sibling relationships may have been overlooked in family therapy. In overlooking them, we have also overlooked a significant feature in the emotional life of children. I would like to suggest that sibling relationships are where children practise identity. In these relationships we can learn how to be one in a group. Family Therapy treatment may not make enough use of the dynamic of the sibling relationship.     

A Cultural Challenge: Understanding Evolution

Abstract

To what extent can what we know from science about the origins of the universe and of life in the universe influence our basic human quest for understanding? From modern science we know that the birth and death of stars is very important. If it were not happening, you and I would not be here. In order to get the chemical elements to make the human body, we had to have three generations of stars. Did we happen by chance or by necessity in this evolving universe? There is a third element here that is very important. It is what I call @opportunity.@ What this means is that the universe is so prolific in offering the opportunity for the success of both chance and necessary processes that such a character of the universe must be included in the discussion. Within such a universe all living things came to be through Neo-Darwinian evolution and the so-called Intelligent Design Movement is not a valid alternative.

If we confront what we know of origins scientifically with religious faith in God the Creator, in the senses described above, what results? I would claim that the detailed scientific understanding of origins has no bearing whatsoever on whether God exists or not. It has a great deal to do with my knowledge of God, should I happen to believe he exists.     

Couch the Bricoleur: Using Ethnographic and Laboratory Traditions to Establish Data Careers

Carl Couch reinvigorated the Iowa School of Symbolic Interaction by combining the theoretical and methodological tenets of ethnography and laboratory science. He thus resembled a bricoleur, or researcher who masters several seemingly diverse practices in order to create a seamless whole. Couch's new Iowa School also produced a bricolage, or a sum total of research findings, that I call a data career. This article pays tribute to Couch the bricoleur and his bricolage by elaborating on his data career and discussing how he created ethnographies in the laboratory. I further link the notions of bricoleur, data careers, and ethnographies in the laboratory with Couch's democratic vision. I contextualize this vision in light of a particular representative-constituent study (RCS) which served as a metaphor for Couch's pragmatic outlook.     

ARE TRUSTWORTHINESS AND FAIRNESS ENOUGH? CONTEXTUAL FAMILY THERAPY AND THE GOOD FAMILY

The moral dimension of family therapy theory and practice has received increasing attention in recent years. Boszormenyi-Nagy was among the first to see that family therapy and moral questions are inseparable. His focus on relational ethics has helped us to reappropriate individual responsibility and accountability within a systemic context. Although contextual therapy has clearly enriched the field, we argue that its emphasis on trustworthiness and fairness provides a limited view of the good in family life and leads to three related problems. First, Boszormenyi-Nagy offers a compelling ethical vision of the family and then denies that he has done so, which undermines some of his key moral claims. Second, because fairness is defined subjectively, contextual therapy may not have the resources to deal with legitimate differences in family ideals. Third, the reliance on self-interest as the primary motive for trustworthy relating appears to be self-defeating. We offer a hermeneutic perspective that takes a broader approach to the good. It places greater emphasis on the social and historical context, deals squarely with different understandings of the good in family life, and recommends an approach to resolving these differences.     

The indelible ink of the special stamp: an insider’s research essay on imprints and erasures

The medical profession ascribes otherness to people with disabilities through diagnosis and expertism, which sets in motion discursive powers that oversee their exclusion through schooling and beyond. In this paper, I present a narrative pieced together from personal experiences of ducking and weaving the deficit discourse in ‘inclusive’ education, when seeking employment and in day-to-day family interaction as a person with severely impaired vision. This work builds on previous qualitative research I conducted in Queensland, Australia with a group of young people with impaired vision who attended an inclusive secondary school. I frame this discussion using Foucault’s conception of normalising judgement against the hegemony of normalcy, and consider that inclusion for people with disabilities is reminiscent of a haunting. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how my ideology is formed, and how it in turn shapes a research agenda geared toward seeking greater inclusion for young people with disabilities in schools.