Andrea Laurent-Simpson
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781479828852
- eISBN:
- 9781479875887
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479828852.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
From the childfree and childless who nurture their dogs and cats similarly to a child to the grandparents who support them to children who view their animals as siblings and empty nesters who think ...
More
From the childfree and childless who nurture their dogs and cats similarly to a child to the grandparents who support them to children who view their animals as siblings and empty nesters who think of themselves as caretakers, it is clear that family structure—and who is part of that—has increasingly diversified in the United States since the 1970s. This book explores the ways in which family has changed to include companion animals as bona fide members with distinctly human identities. Using identity theory and the second demographic transition as a foundation, the author uses mixed methods to analyze thirty-five original in-depth interviews and over one hundred hours of fieldwork to show how the modern multispecies family has moved from thinking of companion animals as family entertainment to embracing them as genuine family members with needs and desires to be considered alongside other, human members of the family. The author also shows that the multispecies family has transcended from micro-level perceptions of kinship to macro-level, cultural shifts that acknowledge it as a legitimate family form. Content analysis of print advertisements reveals how the $72 billion pet-product industry has reproduced and reinforced the multispecies family as one with distinct needs, challenges, and relationships. The book underscores the necessity for mainstream family scholarship to take up the multispecies family as a new, nontraditional family type that has evolved in the same historical context as single-parent families, grandparent families, and cohabitation while encouraging identity theory to move beyond anthropocentric paradigms.Less
From the childfree and childless who nurture their dogs and cats similarly to a child to the grandparents who support them to children who view their animals as siblings and empty nesters who think of themselves as caretakers, it is clear that family structure—and who is part of that—has increasingly diversified in the United States since the 1970s. This book explores the ways in which family has changed to include companion animals as bona fide members with distinctly human identities. Using identity theory and the second demographic transition as a foundation, the author uses mixed methods to analyze thirty-five original in-depth interviews and over one hundred hours of fieldwork to show how the modern multispecies family has moved from thinking of companion animals as family entertainment to embracing them as genuine family members with needs and desires to be considered alongside other, human members of the family. The author also shows that the multispecies family has transcended from micro-level perceptions of kinship to macro-level, cultural shifts that acknowledge it as a legitimate family form. Content analysis of print advertisements reveals how the $72 billion pet-product industry has reproduced and reinforced the multispecies family as one with distinct needs, challenges, and relationships. The book underscores the necessity for mainstream family scholarship to take up the multispecies family as a new, nontraditional family type that has evolved in the same historical context as single-parent families, grandparent families, and cohabitation while encouraging identity theory to move beyond anthropocentric paradigms.
After Obama
The Business of Birth
Crisis Lawyering
Iraqi Refugees in the United States
The Making of American Catholicism
Still Straight
Unexpected
When the Medium Was the Mission
The World Is Our Classroom
