Parts of this project were presented in the Family Communication and Feminist and Women’s Studies Divisions of the National Communication Association we appreciate the constructive feedback we received from our colleagues.
We could not have accomplished this research, nor written this book, without the support of our academic community. Moreover, we are tremendously excited about the possibilities for extending the communication practices found in aunt relationships in order to support families and communities of many types. The result of our research has been a sense of wonder at the vital nature of aunts that cuts across regional, ethnic/racial, economic, and cultural divides. Like us, he enriches current understandings of family life by contending that aunting and uncling are transactional and responsive relational modes that contribute significantly to individual and family well-being.1 We endeavored to make our account accessible to a wide audience of those interested in evolving family structures, the forging and maintenance of community ties, and relational communication more broadly by placing the majority of our research citations and theoretical discussions in an extensive notes section where they will not interrupt readers more interested in a good read than in the contextualization of our findings within larger academic discourses. Notably, family relations scholar Robert Milardo recently published research on aunts and uncles that complements many of the findings in our study. We intend this study to provide a more nuanced and critical view of aunts than those offered in contemporary nonfiction trade books that celebrate our aunties, contributing to the work of scholars and practitioners ix x AUNTING in family communication and family studies, sociology and anthropology of kinship, and women’s studies. Thus, we decided to launch our own exploration of the experience of aunts and aunting practices in the contemporary United States.
Likewise, when we turned to kinship research in communication, sociology, anthropology, and family studies, we found much about motherhood and the extended family, but little explicit focus on the role of the aunt. Yet while aunts are everywhere, they tend to draw little notice as aunts per se. The topic resonates with popular culture as well several popular tributes to aunts now appear in bookstores, and aunts are frequent characters in novels, children’s literature, films, and television. Since this project began seven years ago, we have been overwhelmed with people’s desire to share their memories of aunts and, for many, to describe the importance being an aunt has for their own lives. Aunts often play key roles in our lives, but seldom does anyone think to ask about them. This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Introduction: Why Aunts? 1 1 Caring for Kin 15 2 Constructing Kin 39 3 Aunts at a Distance 65 4 My Auntie, My Self 97 5 Mentoring and Modeling 125 6 Carrying on the Family 149 Conclusion: Aunting in the 21st Century 169 Appendix: Methodology 179 Notes 185 References 201 Index 219 vii This page intentionally left blank Preface Whenever we tell people that we research aunts, their eyes light up and they inevitably launch into stories about their favorite, most eccentric, or most nurturing aunts. For Florence, Kay, June, Janice, & Joan, who aunted me, and for those whom I am blessed to aunt- Zachory, Jamie, Miette, Sam, Marissa, Matthew, & Nina L.E. HQ759.94.E45 2010 306.87-dc22 2010000764 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper with a minimum of 30% pcw recycled content. Includes bibliographical references and index. Aunting : cultural practices that sustain family and community life / Laura L. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ellingson, Laura L.
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Sotirin BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS © 2010 by Baylor University Press Waco, Texas 76798-7363 All Rights Reserved. Aunting This page intentionally left blank Aunting Cultural Practices That Sustain Family and Community Life Laura L.
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