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Stories were the nuclear family is no longer the norm


Holmbo

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I'm interested in reading more stories taking place in futures were other kinds of family structures than the nuclear family is the norm. I was reading Gamechanger a while back where people form what they call packs which consists of people of different generations which might be related or not. Does anyone know of others like that? It's a plus if it goes into how culture and legal structures have adapted to fit this.

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Omg, haha, I saw this thread one night before I went to bed, then couldn't find it in the morning and figured you'd changed your mind and hidden it. Was disappointed because I went to bed thinking up answers for you! Just now stumbled upon it again. D|

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So this one may be hit or miss for you, but You Feel It Just Below The Ribs, which is based off the world created on the podcast Within the Wires by Night Vale Presents. This is hit or miss because it is a world where the nuclear family has been completely dismantled. People volunteer for a pregnancy program and that's how the population keeps on, but the kids are all raised together in sanctioned centers by teachers and staff. Adults may still pair off but family doesn't include kids anymore. Each season of the podcast is from a different perspective, including those who work to build the childcare facilities and groups who have exited society and live in communities together in a more family-style fashion. The book really sets up the premise of the podcasts, exploring the history of the world that resulted in a society that wanted to completely dismantle familial units. So they may not exactly be the perspective you're looking for. I've personally enjoyed it a lot, though.

It's been a while since I've ready any of her things, but I would also suggest pretty much anything Ursula K. LeGuin writes. Her writing explores anarchist perspectives and exploring political alternatives to capitalism. This also inherently includes family systems that are not your nuclear family setup. The book of hers I remember reading was from the perspective of a solitary nomad who had trouble fitting into the community-based city structures they wandered around because they never wanted to settle in one place and the communities only worked by everyone there committing to the community. I have a feeling she would hit upon a lot of what you're looking for.

This is a memoir rather than fiction, but you might still be interested in This Heart Holds Many: My Life as the Nonbinary Millennial Child of a Polyamorous Family about a nonbinary person's (Koe Creation) journey growing up in what was very much NOT your typical nuclear family but really was more of a tribe.

Edited by hemogoblin
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Love the family of choice in Pose for modern drama.

SFF: The Vorkosigan stories have the fluid family relationships of Beta Colony. The protagonist of Yoon Ha Lee's Dragon Pearl seems to be raised within a sororial household of aunts. Ancillary Sword reveals that the Imperial Raadch has fluid family relationships (but rigid class systems). In Provenance in the same setting, we see entrepreneurial extended families.

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