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Polyamorous Parenthood: Kinship, Gender and Morality

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Close Relations

Part of the book series: Crossroads of Knowledge ((CROKNOW))

Abstract

Research on polyamorous parenthood has mainly focused on aspects of interactions with schools and authorities, where polyamorous parents have had to develop strategies of openness and concealment and dealing with stigmatization (Palotta-Chiarolla, ‘To pass, border or pollute’: polyfamilies go to school. In: Barker M, Langdridge D (eds) Understanding non-monogamies. Routledge, New York, pp 182–187, 2010; Riggs, Developing a ‘responsible’ foster care praxis: Poly as a framework for examining power and propriety in family contexts. In: Barker M, Langdridge D (eds) Understanding non-monogamies. Routledge, New York, pp 188–200, 2010; Sheff, Strategies in polyamorous parenting. In: Barker M, Langdridge D (eds) Understanding non-monogamies. Routledge, New York, pp 169–181, 2010). Aspects of sex and morality have primarily been explored in general in relation to non-monogamous practice and not specifically in relation to parenthood (Ritchie, Discursive constructions of polyamory in mono-normative media culture. In: Barker M, Langdridge D (eds) Understanding non-monogamies. Routledge, New York, pp 46–54, 2010; Samuels, Promiscuities. Politics, imagination, spirituality and hypocrisy. In: Barker M, Langdridge D (eds) Understanding non-monogamies. Routledge, New York, pp 212–221, 2010). Based on interviews with 22 persons in Sweden who in different ways have experience of non-monogamous practice, we explore polyamorous parenthood, focusing on kinship practices, gender and sexual morality. The results of these analyses show that there are recurring themes of promiscuity as a risk that polyamorous parents have to handle. This can take the form of negative interactions with family members and society, practical issues with having sex with several partners or identity issues where good parenthood risks being at odds with non-monogamous practices. The boundaries of good parenthood and promiscuity and the negotiations between them are rarely highlighted in research, but have implications for the moral order of kinship for non-monogamous practice today.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Catrine Andersson & Charlotta Carlström

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  1. Catrine Andersson
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  2. Charlotta Carlström
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Correspondence to Catrine Andersson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Helena Wahlström Henriksson

  2. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Klara Goedecke

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Andersson, C., Carlström, C. (2021). Polyamorous Parenthood: Kinship, Gender and Morality. In: Wahlström Henriksson, H., Goedecke, K. (eds) Close Relations. Crossroads of Knowledge. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0792-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0792-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-0791-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-0792-9

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