Family display and recognition in bonus relations

• Bonus relations (such as step-grandparents, step-grandchildren, and families of choice) can be chosen, or they can be forced up on you, they can be regarded as very important to extremely peripheral. Bonus relations negotiate familiarity and can vary from inclusion to exclusion. Common to bonus-relations are their non-biological aspect: they are not blood-line relations, and to many families and family types there has been (or is) a struggle for recognition and lack of societal support. To be recognized as ‘family’ is an activity that takes place on several and related levels in bonus relations: on a societal level, in family practices, as well as intersubjectively. For instance, a grandchild of a partner can regard the partner as their (bonus)grandmother, but it is not evident that the partner takes that role up on herself. Departing from Janet Finch’s (2009) concept of family display, which I put in conversation with theorizing on recognition (Heidegren, 2009; Honneth, 2003; Oppenheimer 2006; Voswinkel, 2000), I explore negotiations around recognition within bonus/stepfamily. The paper departs from an interview study on intergenerational care in Sweden, using creative methods such as drawings and diaries with 13 bonus/stepgrandparents and 12 bonus/stepgrandchildren. I focus specifically on processes of recognitions in negotiations around care, inheritance, and ‘fairness’.

• Bonus relations (such as step-grandparents, step-grandchildren, and families of choice) can be chosen, or they can be forced up on you, they can be regarded as very important to extremely peripheral. Bonus relations negotiate familiarity and can vary from inclusion to exclusion. Common to bonus-relations are their non-biological aspect: they are not blood-line relations, and to many families and family types there has been (or is) a struggle for recognition and lack of societal support. To be recognized as ‘family’ is an activity that takes place on several and related levels in bonus relations: on a societal level, in family practices, as well as intersubjectively. For instance, a grandchild of a partner can regard the partner as their (bonus)grandmother, but it is not evident that the partner takes that role up on herself. Departing from Janet Finch’s (2009) concept of family display, which I put in conversation with theorizing on recognition (Heidegren, 2009; Honneth, 2003; Oppenheimer 2006; Voswinkel, 2000), I explore negotiations around recognition within bonus/stepfamily. The paper departs from an interview study on intergenerational care in Sweden, using creative methods such as drawings and diaries with 13 bonus/stepgrandparents and 12 bonus/stepgrandchildren. I focus specifically on processes of recognitions in negotiations around care, inheritance, and ‘fairness’.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Family display, recognition, bonusgrandchildren, bonus relations

Publikations- och innehållstyp

kon (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)