Conference | Queer Kinship: Affects, Families, Bonds University for Foreigners of Siena

In recent decades, critical, cultural, political and legal discourses on the family have undergone significant shifts leading to new perspectives on the ways in which societies conceive of, recognise and experience affective bonds. New legislation, such as civil partnerships, same-sex marriages and increased access to technologies of reproduction, have enabled new family forms to be established and legitimised. Cultural representation of these new families has increased their visibility and shone new light on “alternative” affective forms of co-existence. However, the queer family is not a new phenomenon, and many modalities of queer kinship, beyond legal family structures, or the pervasive norm of the ‘couple’, have existed for a considerable time: these include, for example, so-called romantic friendships, Boston marriages, polyamorous communities, queer kinship groups, fillus de anima and many other different forms of affective ties that may change across the life course. Due to discrepancies in law and problematic socio-cultural attitudes, certain forms of queer kinship, or kinships between certain individuals, are more culturally accepted and officially recognised than others, resulting in intersectional discrimination.

While there is a significant body of academic work that explores some of these questions from a sociological, anthropological and legal perspective, as yet there is little sustained analysis of the developing cultural discourses and representation both in individual contexts and across national linguistic and social contexts. The transcultural and transnational circulation of discourses on queer families and kinship has yet to be fully assessed and investigated. A deeper understanding of these cultural discourses, in relation to their socio-cultural, political and legal context, is crucial to improving our awareness of the experiences, knowledge, innovative practices and wellbeing of those who choose to diverge from the script of the heteronormative family.

This international conference aims to open up a space for critical debate on these issues and to develop interdisciplinary scholarly networks. It is the first of three conferences on this theme that will be held in 2024-2025, in Siena (Italy), Birmingham (UK) and Toronto (CA). The three conferences constitute different stages of a research project on affective bonds and queer families from an inter-and transdisciplinary perspective, which seeks to identify emerging trends in cultural representation, and to develop new methodologies for analysing socio-cultural and discursive phenomena in a plural, multicultural and inclusive optic.

The main focus for this conference will be cultural texts and discourses, from the late 19th century onwards. The conference will lead to the publication of an edited volume in English with an international publisher.

Themes for discussion include (but are not limited to):
• Same-sex, trans or non-binary parents and technologies of reproduction;
• Queer parenting and its impact on gender roles and cultural norms;
• LGBTQ+ children’s experiences within the family structure;
• Queer kinship beyond the couple norm;
• Childless adults and their affective ties;
• Queer communities;
• Polyamory;
• The impact of racialisation on queer families and communities;
• Multigenerational kinship;
• The relationship between different textual genres, e.g. novels,
memoirs, self-help books, YouTube channels, films;
• Critical and theoretical discourses on queer families and related issues;
• Intercultural and interlinguistic translations and transpositions of queer kinship.

Conference organising committee:
Silvia Antosa (University for Foreigners of Siena, Italy)
Paolo Frascà (University of Toronto, CA)
Charlotte Ross (University of Birmingham, UK)