Civil disobedience in the domestic sphere: The case of the Hetero-gay family

This article considers women who establish diverse families, focusing on the hetero-gay family as a point of departure. These women challenge patriarchal imperatives through implicit acts of civil disobedience, creating an alternative to the constraints of the traditional two-parent different-sex family. We show how the concept of civil disobedience, conventionally restricted to the field of law and public policy, applies as well to the domestic sphere of family life, a potential arena of contention and activism. This case example illustrates the utility of taking into account the reciprocal influences of families and the larger social and political context in which they are imbedded.