Tamara Lea Spira, an Associate Professor of Queer Studies, discusses her book, which explores queer family dynamics and reproductive justice amid societal challenges. She traces the evolution of queer kinship, celebrating the rich history of radical activism alongside its implications in today’s society. The conversation touches on redefining family beyond traditional norms, the complexities of queer parenting, and the call for community care in precarious times. Spira advocates for a hopeful future, urging listeners to embrace diverse family structures and transformative change.
01:06:09
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Personal Struggles Shape The Book
Tamara Leigh Spira wrote her book during exhausting rounds of caring for medically fragile infants amid political turmoil.
Her personal struggles deeply shaped her scholarly exploration of queer family and reproductive justice.
insights INSIGHT
Erotic as Life Force
The erotic is a life force animating everything beyond just sexual expression.
It fuels love, organizing, and creativity as a foundation for radical liberation and queer reproductive justice.
insights INSIGHT
Poetry Illuminates Queer Histories
Poetry and personal narratives reveal intimate queer histories of resistance often missed in legal archives.
Juxtaposing institutional power with queer community care highlights ongoing alternative kinship practices.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Queering Families, Reproductive Justice in Precarious Times
Queering Families, Reproductive Justice in Precarious Times
Reproductive Justice in Precarious Times
Tamara Lea Spira
Tamara Lea Spira's "Queering Families" examines the evolving understanding of queer family from the late 20th century to the present. It critiques the assimilation of some LGBTQ+ individuals into mainstream family structures, highlighting their involvement in US imperialism and colonialism. The book celebrates the history of queer reproductive justice activism, emphasizing the contributions of Black, decolonial, and queer of color feminists. Spira advocates for building communities of care that support those marginalized by societal norms. Ultimately, the book calls for a future where all beings are cherished and valued.
Envisioning queer futures where we lovingly wager everything for the world's children, the planet, and all living beings against all odds, and in increasingly precarious times. Tamara Lea Spira's Queering Families: Reproductive Justice in Precarious Times (U California Press, 2025) traces the shifting dominant meanings of queer family from the late twentieth century to today. With this book, Spira highlights the growing embrace of normative family structures by LGBTQ+ movements--calling into question how many queers, once deemed unfit to parent, have become contradictory agents within the US empire's racial and colonial agendas. Simultaneously, Queering Families celebrates the rich history of queer reproductive justice, from the radical movements of the 1970s through the present, led by Black, decolonial, and queer of color feminist activists. Ultimately, Spira argues that queering reproductive justice impels us to build communities of care to cherish and uphold the lives of those who, defying normativity's violent stranglehold, are deemed to be unworthy of life. She issues the call to lovingly wager a future for the world's children, the planet, and all living beings against all odds, and in increasingly perilous times.
New Books Network