All Our Families
A wide variety of families has always existed in America, and in the last several decades we’ve seen a growth in that diversity. But the public narrative about what a “good” family is continues to operate around a narrow hierarchy that puts a fictitious, 1950s-era, nuclear family (white, heterosexual, middle class) at the top. This impacts everything from cultural norms and media representation to public policy and research.
Today, Family Story is launching a story-telling project to help tell a new, more expansive and true story about family — one that shows the ingenuity, connectedness, support, and love that exists in all kinds of families. We hope these stories allow more of us to see our own families represented, and that this project encourages us to expand our thinking about what’s possible when it comes to creating family. (Stories are indexed below.)
If these stories resonate with you, please share them with others. And if you have your own story you’d like to tell, let us know.
- Cool Auntie Vivian
- Gay. Jamaican. Muslim. Father.
- The possibility, hope, and uncertainty of being a foster-to-adopt parent.
- Make a family with a friend.
- Babies coming through: Co-parenting foster kids with your mom
- Raising your dead friend’s child
- He should stay here; we’ll be his parents.
- It’s going to be complicated; it’s going to have moments of real depth and beauty
- There were these constant reminders, ‘You’re not a family.’
- Separating Romance and Parenting
