XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

JS-12

Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnership and Kin Relations

RC06 Family Research (host committee)
RC32 Women in Society

Language: English

Much has been written on arguments for and against same-sex partnerships, including the implications on the maintenance or challenge of heteronormativity and the institution of marriage. As movements for same-sex partnerships and marriage begin to emerge in Asian countries, we also see the significance of contextualizing such discussions in the sociolegal institution of the family. Extant research has revealed the complexity of the practices of intimacy in the family, especially between lesbian daughters and their mothers, and that such practices vary cross-culturally. Further, in most cultures, women are responsible for kin work or expected to manage relations in the family. Going beyond abstract arguments for or against same-sex partnership, we’d like to explore how familial relations, especially mother-daughter relations, and kin work affect the decision to seek legal recognition and the consequences of legal same-sex partnership in diverse cultural and sociolegal contexts. In particular, we welcome empirical and theoretical papers that contextualize same-sex partnerships in kin relations, examining any of the following or related themes: how kin relations feature in same-sex partners’ consideration of legal recognition of partnership; how legal recognition affect kin relations, especially considering the relationship between mother and daughters; the participation of same-sex partners in kin work; how race/ethnicity, social class, and other bases of inequality intersect with one’s orientation towards seeking legal recognition and the impact on kin relations.