Family theorizing for social justice: A critical praxis

Abstract

Although families are subject to multiple social stratifications and systemic injustices, family science was built upon foundational ideas that theorized a unitary, normative structure of family life. Increasing social and political awareness has brought a new urgency to theorize about and study how families actually live, with a need for critical theories to explain and understand the multiplicity and reality of family experiences. We examine new theoretical possibilities among a selection of seven family theories, including four foundational theories in the family science canon (symbolic interactionist theory, functionalist theory, life course theory, and family stress and resilience theory), and three critical theories that are rising in potential and prominence (intersectional feminist theory, critical race theory, and queer theory). We address the ways in which new forms of critical family theorizing—including the redemption of older foundational theories—are needed to account for macro‐level issues of antiracism and social justice, thereby offering innovative possibilities for generating explanations about diverse family structures, processes, and contexts. Critical praxis—turning theory into action—can fuel transformative social justice work, including antiracist activism that makes a difference in the lives of the families we study and with whom we live.

Vicarious exposure to the criminal legal system among parents and siblings

“…Taken together, findings from this study showed that carceral surveillance and punishment disproportionately impact socioeconomically disadvantaged Black—and to some extent, Latinx—men, with collateral consequences for their parents and siblings. These results underscore the importance of critical theory (Allen & Henderson, 2022; Burton et al, 2010) and intersectional frameworks and analyses (Few‐Demo, 2014) that jointly consider how racism, gender inequality, unequal class relations, and other systems of domination and oppression pattern risks of system involvement within and between families.…”

“…That the realities of system's impact on racial minoritized families has not been fully documented or accounted for is in and of itself a form of racial violence; its invisibility allows for a misrecognition of the true impact of the criminal legal system and a perpetuation of the inequities that result from its reach (Gaby et al, 2021;Harris-Perry, 2011).Taken together, findings from this study showed that carceral surveillance and punishment disproportionately impact socioeconomically disadvantaged Black-and to some extent, Latinx-men, with collateral consequences for their parents and siblings. These results underscore the importance of critical theory (Allen & Henderson, 2022;Burton et al, 2010) and intersectional frameworks and analyses (Few-Demo, 2014) that jointly consider how racism, gender inequality, unequal class relations, and other systems of domination and oppression pattern risks of system involvement within and between families.…”

“…In response to an overwhelming body of scholarship focused on the experience of Black men as the primary targets of carceral surveillance, control, and punishment, Ocen (2013) called for an “unshackling” of intersectionality to better reflect the simultaneously racialized, gendered, and classed nature of carceral logic and practice in the United States. At the same time, family scholars have increasingly called for the integration of intersectional, feminist, and critical race theories into family science research (Allen & Henderson, 2022; Burton et al, 2010; Few‐Demo, 2014). Still, there are few estimates of family connectedness to arrest, probation, and incarceration by race–ethnicity, gender, and SES—as well as at the intersections of these systems of stratification.…”

Transformational family science: Praxis, possibility, and promise

“…Power differentials associated with race and other social locations have institutional, interpersonal, and cultural impacts. However, oppression and discrimination, privileged statuses or marginalization, and subordination have been undertheorized in canonic family theories, as have systems and ideologies of inequality (e.g., patriarchy/sexism, racism/white supremacy, classism; heterosexism/heteronormativity; K. R. Allen & Henderson, 2022; Few‐Demo et al, 2022; Spencer, 2006; Thompson & Walker, 1995; Walker, 2009; Walsdorf et al, 2020).…”

Introduction to the special issue on theorizing families, anti‐racism, and social justice

“…Such a paradigm also recognizes the importance of the carceral state and racial capitalism and aims to transform the conditions that produce harm. Allen and Henderson (2022) examine a selection of seven family theories (four foundational theories in the Family Science canon and three promising critical theories) for theoretical possibilities to address anti‐racism and social justice issues in Family Science. They argue critical family theorizing is needed to explain and understand the lived reality and diversity of family experiences and structures.…”