Full Description
For decades, social scientists have assumed that "fictive kinship" is a phenomenon associated only with marginal peoples and people of color in the United States. In this innovative book, Nelson reveals the frequency, texture and dynamics of relationships which are felt to be "like family" among the white middle-class. Drawing on extensive, in-depth interviews, Nelson describes the quandaries and contradictions, delight and anxiety, benefits and costs, choice and obligation in these relationships. She shows the ways these fictive kinships are similar to one another as well as the ways they vary—whether around age or generation, co-residence, or the possibility of becoming "real" families. Moreover she shows that different parties to the same relationship understand them in some similar - and some very different - ways. Theoretically rich and beautifully written, the book is accessible to the general public while breaking new ground for scholars in the field of family studies.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
PART I: TRUE LIFE STORIES
Chapter 1: The Texture and Dynamics of Like Sibling Bonds
Chapter 2: The Limits of Like Sibling Bonds
PART II: ONE-ACT PLAYS
Chapter 3: Guest Teens: Learning Boundaries
Chapter 4: Host Families: Inclusion and Exclusion
PART III: FAIRY TALES
Chapter 5: Unofficial Children: If the Shoe Fits
Chapter 6: Informal Parents: Promises Broken, Promises Kept
CONCLUSION: RECONSIDERING KINSHIP
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Information about Respondents; Cast of Characters
Appendix B: Studying Fictive Kinship and Informal Adoption
