Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 11:00 - 12:30
PAPER SESSION 7
The reshaping of personal relationships since the 1960s has led to claims that our intimate lives are the principal site
of detraditionalization within late modernity. Yet, despite these supposed shifts, monogamy is still regarded as the
natural mode of human relating (Barker and Langdridge, 2010), with infidelity remaining the only area of adult sexual
conduct that is almost universally condemned. This paper draws on in-depth qualitative interviews with women in longterm
heterosexual relationships. Participants described monogamy as the default position for a 'healthy' relationship.
Non-monogamy was viewed as a destabilising, threatening option, and when practiced it is covert in the form of secret
affairs. It is argued that sociological analysis of non-monogamy/infidelity exposes continuing gendered expectations
about sexual behaviour as well as revealing much about couple relationships more generally. Analysis suggests that
ideas about relationships are often contradictory, fractured and entrenched in heteronormative ideals as well as the
posited freedoms and possibilities on offer within contemporary society.
Outlaw Emotion? Romantic Love and Arranged Marriages
Pande, R.
(Durham University)
This paper examines the ways in which romantic love is conceptualized within arranged marriage based relationships
among British Indians. It draws upon original ethnographic research conducted in the Northeast of England to show
that contrary to popular conceptions of arranged marriages as a cold and calculating practice, considerations of love
form an important part of its exercise. Although it is not regarded as the sole basis of marriage, love is nonetheless
seen as a key ingredient in sustaining the longevity of a marital union. British-Indians distinguish between different
forms of love and the accompanying obligations to individuals, family and society at large. The focus is not on seeing
love as a given, something that is just there to be found and felt but on learning to love. More widely, the paper will
complement research which critiques the academic thesis that romantic love was invented in the west and in doing so
it will show how a tyranny of romantic love functions in promoting a particular way of being in the world where it is
seen as the sole basis of marriage by privileging certain subjectivities over others and thus marginalizing other forms
and practices of marriage and family.
Using Narrative to Evaluate Same-sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships: Atrocity Stories and Triumph Stories
Thomas, M.
(University of Kent)
Same-sex marriage and civil partnership have given rise to a broad and apparently contradictory repertoire of new
narratives for lesbian and gay couples. Reporting on empirical research with same-sex couples in the UK, USA and
Canada, the paper juxtaposes stories of acceptance and inclusion with tales of rejection and marginalisation. The
paper sheds light on the ways in which couples make sense of reactions to their new status as spouses or civil
partners in key interactive contexts including family, friendship and occupational networks, as well as in public and
commercial service contexts. Framing stories of negative social reactions to marriage or civil partnership as atrocity
stories that are geared towards highlighting inequality, poor treatment and injustice, this analysis draws attention to a
variable and often disappointing impact of legal recognition. In contrast, couples' narratives around inclusion and
equality are framed as 'triumph stories', which are similar in form to atrocity stories, but serve the contrasting function
of conveying equality, respect and dignity. The prevalence of atrocity stories alongside triumph stories suggests
unpredictability and doubt, providing a basis for a critical assessment of same-sex marriage and civil partnership as a
mechanism for delivering social equality for lesbian and gay couples. As well as using narrative analysis to provide a
qualitative evaluation of marriage and civil partnership for lesbian and gay couples, the paper argues for the wider
relevance of atrocity stories beyond their original context of the sociology of health and illness.
Families and Relationships 2
W828, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
Death in Family and Community Contexts: Exploring Responses to Family Deaths in Urban Senegal
McCarthy, J., Evans, R., Bowlby, S., Wouango, J.
(Open University)
While deaths are in some senses a routine and expectable part of family relationships, as well as a key marker of
family change, research and theorising about responses to death in contemporary affluent western societies has been
largely medicalised and psychologised as an individualised process of 'grieving' in the context of 'bereavement'.
Furthermore, it is this western theorising and research that has proliferated in recent decades, effecting a
265 BSA Annual Conference 2015
Glasgow Caledonian University