A Look Back to Move Forward: Expanding Queer Potentiality in Family Science

Queering singlehood: Examining the intersection of sexuality and relationship status from a queer lens

“…That does not mean, however, all single people claim queerness. It can be a political identity and practice, a performativity (verb; Butler, 2004), but does not have to be one's identity (noun; Boe & Jordan, 2019).…”

“…Queer theory, as emancipatory and liberatory, can center all important relationships, not solely those provided privileges through policies that promote bio‐legal kinship. Queering (the verb) can challenge family scholars, practitioners, and society to examine phenomena from different perspectives and highlight taken‐for‐granted normative assumptions to reveal radical potentials (Boe & Jordan, 2019; Perez‐Brena et al, 2022). For example, furthering queering inquiry into family formations and structural intimacies, can lead to a greater understanding on how constraints on queer families can impact health (Carlström & Andersson, 2019; Catalpa & Routon, 2018; Levin et al, 2020; Mackenzie, 2021; Soler et al, 2018).…”

“…Queer family science has the opportunity to expand definitions of family and relationships, considering the infinite possibilities of structures, moving beyond heteronormativity, and homonormativity (Acosta, 2018; Allen & Henderson, 2022b; Allen & Mendez, 2018; Boe & Jordan, 2019; Fish & Russell, 2018; Moors et al, 2021). Acknowledging all significant, loving relationships (Westwood, 2016) and not solely those that are bio‐legal or that have social recognition for following the relationship escalator will improve all relationships.…”

“…Queer and queer theory can be used in three interconnected ways: (a) as a noun when a person may identify as LGBTQIA+ and when centering LGBTQIA+ voices and lived experiences (subjectivity); (b) as an adjective when something or someone is non-normative; and (c) as a verb when challenging the binaries of gender, sexuality, and family, such as shifting, deconstructing, or contesting heteronormativity or other societal norms (Boe & Jordan, 2019;Falardeau, 2022;Fish & Russell, 2018;McGuire, 2022). A queer theoretical framework denaturalizes and examines heteronormativity that is reified through rigid gender norms and family expectations that uphold gender norms (Fish & Russell, 2018;Mackenzie, 2021;Oswald et al, 2005Oswald et al, , 2009.…”

Sowing the seeds: Sociocultural resistance in the psychological sciences.

“…Critical theory helps researchers conceptualize the interactional nature of agency and power and recognize negotiations of culture that ground critical consciousness and intentional actions. Multiple transdisciplinary theories, such as critical race (Crenshaw, 2010), anticolonialism (Dei & Kempf, 2006), feminisms (Few-Demo, 2014), DisCrit (Annamma, 2016), and queer theories (Boe & Jordan, 2019), offer an epistemological grounding to guide the entire research process. For example, anticolonialism presents an umbrella of theories with foci rooted in the influence of colonialism on Indigenous communities (Dei & Kempf, 2006).…”