From Ball Culture to the Gay Rodeo: Expanding Notions of Family

摘要

Jean Baptiste Erreca makes a unique contribution to the study of families in the U.S. with the documentary film, This is Family. While "traditional" family ideals (think 1950s, white picket fence, etc.) seem to be somewhat mocked, Erreca challenges viewers to broaden their notions of family beyond the heterosexual, two-parent, two-child configuration. What sets this film apart is that viewers are also pushed to expand their notions of family beyond the lesbian or gay, two-parent, twochild configuration, thereby embracing family as a universally important concept for everyone, including all members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. This is Family poignantly demonstrates the reality that family exists in many different forms and can be found and created in many different places-from Harlem's Black and Latino ballroom scene to Colorado's gay rodeo.