Contact: Macreena Doyle, St. Lawrence University news office 315-229-5587
[email protected]
'MYTH' OF NUCLEAR FAMILY TOPIC OF SLU PROFESSOR'S BOOK
CANTON, N.Y. - A new book by a St. Lawrence University professor calls into question forms of oppression - gender, racial and economic - that lead society to grant privileges to members of nuclear families.
"Queer Family Values: Debunking the Myth of the Nuclear Family," by Associate Professor of Government and Gender Studies Valerie D. Lehr, was published this month by Temple University Press in its "Queer Politics, Queer Theories" series.
In the book, Lehr calls for an approach to family issues and individual liberty that challenges power rather than demands access to privilege. She asks, for example, why debate over the rights of gays and lesbians has focused on whether or not they may take part in a socially defined institution - marriage - that is designed to perpetuate inequalities among people. Instead, Lehr argues that family care should be seen as a community function and she offers an alternative political strategy focused on enhancing democracy and equality in private life.
Lehr urges activists to counter conservative discourses that recognize the nuclear family as the only responsible and mature family alternative, and encourages them to advocate social policies that champion the freedoms of all people.
Practical models for how activists can work in a more compassionate and caring society are also offered. For example, Lehr devotes a chapter to the responsibilities activists have to lesbian and gay youths. She points out that these children often find themselves dealing with homophobia and isolation at home -- a place which, in other cases of social injustice, is typically a safe haven.
Lehr, also associate dean of the first year, has been on the St. Lawrence faculty since 1988. She is a graduate of New College of the University of South Florida, with a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park. Lehr has participated in many campus committees and advisory groups and received the Louis and Frances Maslow Award in 1996 for her "interest in, and understanding of, the education and welfare of the student body as a whole."
###
RSS