Marcus and Juanita

Family is a complicated subject, in part because of the many ways people can find themselves within a group called "family." Often, people think of a family group as static, but in reality these groups are fluid and change in a variety of ways. The most obvious – birth, adoption, and death – are not the only ways in which a family group may change.

Growing up, my mother would say to me, usually when someone in my natal family was getting on my nerves, "You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family." As an adult, I find this pithy saying fascinating because it is so inaccurate in its accuracy. We cannot choose our family, but we can only have family by choice. The phenomenon of "in-laws" encapsulates this tension, especially in a society wherein partnerships are expected to be rooted in love and romance rather than in alliances and finances.

The people in these photos are connected through one or more people who are not seen. If they choose to have a relationship with the unseen person, they are forced into a connection with people they may never have chosen. However, "connection" and "family" are not synonyms, and these people must choose for themselves if they are family.

Find related photos under the In-Laws tag and the Portraits tag.