Nyssa Cronin and Elizabeth B. Pearce

We are a social species. Familial roles can be expanded beyond the perimeters of legal definitions and regarded in a much broader sense that can include friendships, sexual relationships, caregiving, social support, partnering and more. The people we interact with on a daily basis have been influenced by many factors, including where we live, our socioeconomic status, and the attachments that we formed in early childhood. This complicated network of influencing factors within our relationships contributes to societal disparities and inequities, a factor that we have strived to make more visible through this text.

Kinship, partnerships, and familial relationships contribute to health benefits as described in the first section of this chapter. As shown in Figure 3.21, these interactions and connections also contribute to the joy and empathy of shared experience.

Figure 3.21 Families, partnerships, and kinship groups come together to laugh, to reminisce, to learn, to compete, to build, and to play. Facing adversity together can strengthen ties and build purpose.

We aspire to understand the ways that labels, definitions, and policies weaken kinship formations. Simultaneously, we celebrate and support the love and joy that families can produce, maintain, and grow.