Kathleen E. Hull Timothy A. Ortyl University of Minnesota
The last several decades have been a period of rapid change in marriage and family structures and practices. Newer models of relationships often differ from marriage in key respects, but relatively little is known about these newer, unconventional kinds of relationships. The research addresses the following research questions: How do people in unconventional relationships describe their vision of these relationships? What meanings do they attribute to their relationship choices? Some theorists have argued that people in unconventional relationships are on the cutting edge of a broader shift from romantic love to a newer form of intimacy that puts greater emphasis on individual autonomy, while others argue that contemporary Americans shift back and forth between differing, contradictory beliefs about intimacy. By examining relationships that represent a clear break with dominant practices, the research can assess whether these unconventional relationship forms represent a trend toward a fundamentally new conception of intimacy, and whether people in these kinds of relationships make use of multiple, competing models to construct and explain their relationships. The project is based on in-depth interviews conducted in a large metro area.
Broader Impacts. The study will advance sociological understanding of trends in relationship and family forms. It will achieve broader impacts in several ways. Specifically, the research will increase the visibility and understanding of relationships that have often experienced social marginalization, incorporate key findings into teaching, and disseminate findings to a non-academic audience.
This dissertation examines newer, unconventional kinds of intimate relationships that differ from marriage in key respects. The last several decades have been a period of rapid change in family structures, and we still know relatively little about these newer, unconventional kinds of relationships. This study examines three kinds of unconventional relationships: long-term heterosexual cohabitation, same-sex relationships, and multi-partner relationships. This study draws upon previously collected interviews and focus groups with 62 people in same-sex relationships and newly collected interview data with people in long-term heterosexual cohabiting relationships (N=48) and multi-partner relationships (N=40). Interviews were conducted in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. In this study, we pose the following research questions: How do people in unconventional relationships describe their vision of intimate relationships? What meanings do they attribute to their own relationship choices? Some theorists have argued that people in unconventional relationships are on the cutting edge of a broader shift from romantic love to a newer form of intimacy that puts greater emphasis on individual autonomy, while others argue that contemporary Americans shift back and forth between differing, contradictory beliefs about intimacy. By examining relationships that represent a clear break with dominant practices, we can assess whether these unconventional relationship forms represent a trend toward a fundamentally new conception of intimacy, and whether people in these kinds of relationships make use of multiple, competing models of intimacy to construct and explain their relationships. Preliminary findings indicate a strong tendency among people in all three groups in the study to adhere to novel and open-ended definitions of family. While a range of experiences and perspectives is reflected among study participants, there is a strong tendency among study participants to make a number of unconventional relationship choices (such as unconventional gender roles) and to explicate such choices through novel conceptions of intimacy. This tendency is reflected most strongly among people in multi-partner relationships, which involve very high levels personal autonomy, negotiation, and communication about relationship expectations. It is anticipated that findings of this study will advance sociological understanding of trends in relationship and family forms. Additionally, this study examines the social support networks of people in each of these three unconventional relationship forms. Preliminary findings show high levels of social support experienced by people in long-term heterosexual cohabiting relationships and low pressure from family and friends to get married. People in same-sex relationships report a wide range of social support experiences, as do people in multi-partner relationships. People in multi-partner relationships often engage in acts of strategic disclosure in order to mitigate the stigma associated with non-monogamous practices. One of the broader impacts that is anticipated from this study is to increase the visibility and understanding of relationships that have often experienced social marginalization.
