No One Is Condemned to Live in Loneliness: Queer-Parafamilial Imaginaries of Friendship and Polyamory

Abstract

Despite challenges mounted by same-sex marriage movements, legal regimes across many societies remain tethered to the normative ideal of the nuclear family and the institution of monogamous marriage. This paper critiques the enduring juridical fixation on a narrow model of kinship, one that silences the rich multiplicity of relational forms through which human lives can flourish. Drawing on a tri-disciplinary foundation in sociology, legal studies, and queer studies, I adopt the framework of parafamilies as an alternative imaginary for legal and social transformation-one that embraces diverse, non-normative constellations of care, intimacy, and belonging. To render this vision more tangible, I focus on two parafamilial forms: friendship and polyamory, explored as living sites of resistance to mononormative and familist structures. By embracing such relational modes, we open pathways toward affective networks rooted not in obligation, but in solidarity, freedom, and mutual care. Finally, I turn to contemporary legislative experiments with multi-partner recognition in selected jurisdictions, considering their potential to unsettle and reimagine the dominant norms of kinship and relational life.

Keywords: queer theory, parafamily, friendship, polyamory, family law