feminism in family essay

Feminist Theory and Research on Family Relationships: Pluralism and Complexity

• Original Article
• Published: 07 August 2015
• Volume 73 , pages 93–99, ( 2015 )

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• Katherine R. Allen 1 &
• Ana L. Jaramillo-Sierra 2  

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Feminist perspectives on family relationships begin with the critique of the idealized template of the White, middle class, heterosexually married couple and their dependent children. Feminist scholars take family diversity and complexity as their starting point, by emphasizing how power infuses all of family relationships, from the local to the global scale. As the main location for caring and productive labor, families are the primary unit for providing gendered socialization and distributing power across the generations. In this issue and two subsequent issues of Sex Roles , we have collected theoretical and empirical articles that include critical analyses, case studies, quantitative studies, and qualitative studies that focus on a wide array of substantive topics in the examination of families. These topics include variations in marital and intimate partnerships and dissolution; motherhood and fatherhood in relation to ideology and practice; intergenerational parent–child relationships and socialization practices; and paid and unpaid labor. All of the articles across the three issues are guided by a type of feminist theory (e.g., gender theory; intersectional theory; Black feminist theory; globalization theory; queer theory) and many incorporate multiple theoretical perspectives, including mainstream social and behavioral science theories. Another feature of the collection is the authors’ insistence on conducting research that makes a difference in the lives of the individuals and families they study, thereby generating a wealth of practical strategies for relevant future research and empowering social change. In this introduction, we specifically address the first six articles in the special collection on feminist perspectives on family relationships.

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Feminist Perspectives on Family Relationships: Part 3

Katherine R. Allen & Ana L. Jaramillo-Sierra

Feminism and Families

Feminist perspectives on family relationships: part 2.

Ana L. Jaramillo-Sierra & Katherine R. Allen

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Department of Human Development, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

Katherine R. Allen

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Ana L. Jaramillo-Sierra

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Allen, K.R., Jaramillo-Sierra, A.L. Feminist Theory and Research on Family Relationships: Pluralism and Complexity. Sex Roles 73 , 93–99 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0527-4

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Published : 07 August 2015

Issue Date : August 2015

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0527-4

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