Reimagining Kinship

A blog dedicated to the discussion of Kinship, how it is defined in literature, media, or other cutural contexts, and how this might contribute to a sense of belonging and/or exclusion.

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Social service officials look to raise awareness during National Adoption Month in November - WV MetroNews

West Virginia currently has over 7,000 children in foster care.

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As West Virginia struggles with foster care crisis, families step up

Louisa Snuffer and her wife, Nikki, wanted to build a family together. Now they're the parents of eight children from West Virginia's foster care system.

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Every day, this dog does something amazing for her deaf friend.

Check out Lily's story: https://www.instagram.com/lily_evans_service_pup/

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Social rituals are usually thought of as either rites of passage or religious holidays. The first serve to mark a person’s transition from one social subgroup to the next. The second reinforce an affiliation with a religious, family, or other type of group. What all social rites have in common is they give people a sense of shared reality by participating in a meaningful experience together.

Marta Brzosko

https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-deepen-your-relationships-through-the-power-of-ritual-9d0aa5a4bce5

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The Impact of Toxic Influencers on Communities

There’s a common character that can be often spotted in many online communities. It’s the “toxic influencer” (sometimes referred as “intellectual bully”). A toxic influencer is a person…

This article by Erin Casali defines “toxic influencers”, their effect on communities, how to recognize them, and what actions they believe might help in these situations.

I find this article relevant as cyber bullying increases with the rapidly increasing use of technology and social sites. It gives a representation of online communities while also giving valuable insights that are applicatiable to communities of any type.

Have you ever experienced a situation to Casali’s? 

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Who says there isn’t kinship between a human and their best furry friend?

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The new American family: trans, gender queer, nonbinary, two-spirit

As part of our series, Stonewall at 50, we hear from six people who found love and happiness – after being told they didn’t belong

Hey folks! I found this interesting article where individuals share their stories about how they found acceptance and belonging in their found families and communities.

If you have time give it a read!

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"Both commensality, the act of eating together, and the sharing of food are powerful means by which human beings create, express, and solidify feelings of mutual trust, intimacy, and kinship"

-Naomi Leite, Unorthodox Kin: Portuguese Marranos and the Global Search for Belonging

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How One Garden is Turning a South Side Neighborhood Into a Community - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

By Sam Woods Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org. Claribel Morales remembers coming out her first day to clear overgrowth in a garden on Mitchell Street. Morales was enthusiastic. She had a […]

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Communities Among Hobbyists

Does community exist between people of similar hobbies and interests? 

Having a shared interest with someone can help form an immediate connection. Friendships often form between people who relate in their enjoyment over a shared activity or hobby. 

This is why book clubs, sport teams, classes, volunteer groups, and other types of clubs and groups can be great places to build friendships. Communities can  form between the members of such groups as they share much of the same vocabulary, can participate in their shared hobbies together, and share their thoughts and experiences over such activates. 

“If books aren't your thing, look for or start a movie club, cooking club, or hiking club. Whatever hobby you enjoy, others probably enjoy it too, and that makes for a natural starting point for a friendship.” (a quote from Sherri Gordon in “How to Make Friends as an Adult”)

The articles below focus on building friendships as adults. One of the top recommendations in these articles and ones similar advise joining hobbyist groups. 

https://hobbyism.co.uk/hobbies-to-help-you-make-new-friends/

https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-make-friends-as-an-adult-4769076

Are there any hobbies you share with a friend (or a group of friends) that bring you closer? 

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Player-Choice Games

Branching-decision based games are games where the story relies heavily on the choices the player makes throughout. These games tend to be very replayable as there are many branching paths that can’t be explored in a single playthrough.

I believe these games can also be a portrayal of kinship bonds and their formations. In many of these games much of the story revolves around how you react / treat other characters. Your relationships with these characters can end up having major impacts on the story. For example, some actions may cause a character to trust you more. Having their trust may allow you to save them (or them to save you) later on!

These games can portray kinship bonds of many types. The first Life is Strange revolves around the friendship  (a fictive kinship) between Chloe and Max. Whereas, the second game follows the relationship between two brothers. In the Tellatale Game: The Walking Dead, a man named Lee ends up becoming the caretaker of a young girl, Clementine. Their relationship resembles that of a nontraditional adoptive relationship. 

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Examples of games of this type:

Life is Strange Series

“Follow the story of Max Caulfield, a photography senior who discovers she can rewind time while saving her best friend Chloe Price. The pair soon find themselves investigating the mysterious disappearance of fellow student Rachel Amber, uncovering a dark side to life in Arcadia Bay. Meanwhile, Max must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI3AMPKEPmQ

Detroit Become Human

“Detroit 2038. Technology has evolved to a point where human like androids are everywhere. They speak, move and behave like human beings, but they are only machines serving humans. You will face moral dilemmas and decide who lives or dies. With thousands of choices and dozens of possible endings, how will you affect the future of Detroit and humanity’s destiny?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtPmIBqRwQU

Telltale Games

“Play as Lee Everett, a convicted criminal, who has been given a second chance at life in a world devastated by the undead. With corpses returning to life and survivors stopping at nothing to maintain their own safety, protecting an orphaned girl named Clementine may offer him redemption in a world gone to hell.”

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How Caring for a Pet Improves Mental Wellness

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/bloomfield/articles/how-caring-for-a-pet-improves-mental-wellness

This article by Active Aging highlights the benefits of owning a pet. Pet ownership can help ease feelings of loneliness and provide a sense of companionship and purpose. 

This article ties into the theme of kinship bonds existing between humans and animals. 

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Community, Belonging, and Identify

Communities can contribute to a person's sense of identity. Having this identity can make it easier to relate to others and achieve a feeling of belonging.

Some examples of communities are sporting teams, church groups, and fraternities or organizational groups.

These communities and many others can provide someone an identity. Such as the fraternity example, you often hear fraternity members call each other "brothers" and "sisters". This is also true in many religious communities.

These identities allow for others to feel more connected to one another. However, this can also create exclusions. It separates those who identity with the group and those who don't. It can in turn, sometimes create a "Us vs. Them" mindset.

I feel it is important to consider how a community treats those outside the group as well as the positive or negative impacts the community has on the individual.

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Rituals in Kinship: Thanksgiving

I hear a lot of different stories when my friends talk about their Thanksgiving plans.

Some cook a special dish, take a trip, do some black Friday shopping, and so on. Everyone seems to have their own special traditions that can bring family together.

Many people enjoy sitting down for a well-cooked meal with distant family. However, I also hear that thanksgiving and the rituals associated with it can also bring a lot of stress. Such as hosting and preparing a large meal due to familial obligations. Others tell of feeling excluded in family gatherings.

It reminds me of the negatives that can come with rituals and communities as well as the positives. It can bring people together or drive them further apart.

I hope everyone gets to have a nice Thanksgiving alongside good company this year! 🦃