Aunting

Whether related by biology, marriage, circumstance, or choice, aunts embody a uniquely flexible familial role. The aunt-niece/nephew relationship―though often overlooked―is critical and complex, one that appears at the core of a resilient, healthy family life.
In this engaging book, Laura Ellingson and Patricia Sotirin construct a consideration of "aunts" that moves from noun to verb. "Aunts" is more than a group of people or a role; instead, "to aunt" is a practice, something people "do." Some women "aunt" as second mothers, friends, or mentors, while others play more peripheral roles. In either case, aunts nonetheless significantly impact their nieces and nephews’ life choices.
Drawing on personal narratives that represent a rich cross section of society, Ellingson and Sotirin construct a cohesive story of the diversity of aunting experiences in the contemporary United States. Skillfully written, Aunting recovers the enormous potential of this dynamic kinship relationship and offers a model for understanding and supporting the variety of families in society today.

Aunting: Cultural Practices That Sustain Family and Community Life

Ellingson, Laura L.

Sotirin, Patricia J.

Parenting & Relationships

Baylor University Press

Where the Aunts Are

While the aunt is one of the most iconic and beloved figures in popular culture, the societal role and import of real-life contemporary aunts are difficult to pin down. In some settings, she is the sole supporter, caregiver, or surrogate mother and exceeds her familial function as an aunt. In others, she subtly--or not so subtly--transgresses the assumed narrative of feminine identity. Surveying characters from Aunt Bee and Auntie Em to Bernie Mac's Aunt Wanda and House of Payne's Aunt Ella and countless living, breathing aunts across the country, Where the Aunts Are re-visions the ideals of family, femininity, and kinship and, in the process, offers a hopeful and progressive recognition of the multiple possibilities of womanhood in modern culture.

Where the Aunts Are: Family, Feminism, and Kinship in Popular Culture

Politics & Social Sciences

Anthropology

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Books by Sotirin, Patricia J.