No Place Like Home
Relationships and Family Life among Lesbians and Gay Men
9780226094861
9780226094854
9780226094847
No Place Like Home
Relationships and Family Life among Lesbians and Gay Men
In this rich, surprising portrait of the world of lesbian and gay relationships, Christopher Carrington unveils the complex and artful ways that gay people create and maintain both homes and "chosen" families for themselves.
"Carefully separating stereotype from reality, Carrington investigates family in the gay and lesbian community. Relying upon interviews and observation, the author analyzes the loves and routings of 52 diverse lesbian, gay, and bisexual couples in the Bay area. . . . [He] closes the work with a discussion of the raging same-sex marriage debate and posits an enlightened solution to this dilemma." —Library Journal
"Carefully separating stereotype from reality, Carrington investigates family in the gay and lesbian community. Relying upon interviews and observation, the author analyzes the loves and routings of 52 diverse lesbian, gay, and bisexual couples in the Bay area. . . . [He] closes the work with a discussion of the raging same-sex marriage debate and posits an enlightened solution to this dilemma." —Library Journal
285 pages | 9 tables | 6 x 9 | © 1999
Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, and Culture
Sociology: Sociology--Marriage and Family
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Feeding Lesbigay Families
The Character of Feeding Work
Feeding Work and the Creation of Gender, Class, Ethnic, and Family Identities
2. Housework in Lesbigay Families
The Character of Housework
Managing and Envisioning Housework
Variations in Housework among Lesbigay Households
Housework and Relationship Longevity
3. Housework and the Social Production of Lesbigay Family
Kin Work among Lesbigay Families
Kith as Family
The Lesbigay Family Kin Keepers
Variations in Kin Work Patterns
Kin Work and the Creation of Family
4. Consumption Work in Lesbigay Families
The Character of Consumption Work
Variations in Consumption Work
Sustaining Lesbigay Families through Consumption Work
5. The Division of Domestic Labor in Lesbigay Families
The Egalitarian Myth
The Egalitarian Pattern
The Specialization Pattern
Pragmatic Choices and the Sense of Fairness
Conclusion: Domesticity and the Political Economy of Lesbigay Families
Family Aspirations
The Political Economy of Constructing Family
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Gender and Domesticity
Devalued and Invisible: Lesbigay Domesticity
Marriage and Lesbigay Domesticity: Who Will Be Bound by the Ties that Bind?
What Do Lesbigay Families Need to Prosper?
Appendix A: Interview Guide
Appendix B: Sample Characteristics
References
Index
Introduction
1. Feeding Lesbigay Families
The Character of Feeding Work
Feeding Work and the Creation of Gender, Class, Ethnic, and Family Identities
2. Housework in Lesbigay Families
The Character of Housework
Managing and Envisioning Housework
Variations in Housework among Lesbigay Households
Housework and Relationship Longevity
3. Housework and the Social Production of Lesbigay Family
Kin Work among Lesbigay Families
Kith as Family
The Lesbigay Family Kin Keepers
Variations in Kin Work Patterns
Kin Work and the Creation of Family
4. Consumption Work in Lesbigay Families
The Character of Consumption Work
Variations in Consumption Work
Sustaining Lesbigay Families through Consumption Work
5. The Division of Domestic Labor in Lesbigay Families
The Egalitarian Myth
The Egalitarian Pattern
The Specialization Pattern
Pragmatic Choices and the Sense of Fairness
Conclusion: Domesticity and the Political Economy of Lesbigay Families
Family Aspirations
The Political Economy of Constructing Family
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Gender and Domesticity
Devalued and Invisible: Lesbigay Domesticity
Marriage and Lesbigay Domesticity: Who Will Be Bound by the Ties that Bind?
What Do Lesbigay Families Need to Prosper?
Appendix A: Interview Guide
Appendix B: Sample Characteristics
References
Index