Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information on Social Problems, 2e

WES Conference 2010 Bid to host and Organise

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Sociology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mauthner, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Distant Lives, Still Voices

Sistering in Family Sociology

Melanie Mauthner

The Open University

Sisters and sistering are peculiarly absent from the sociology of the family. Sociologists document women’s roles as mothers, carers, workers, daughters and wives yet neglect their experiences as sisters. Our knowledge of this widespread tie derives more from media images than from women’s own experiences. This article explores several reasons for this marginalization: from the sensational depiction of sisters in popular culture as either friends or rivals, and their mythical status in feminist politics, to the specialized interest of psy professionals and policy makers in childhood rivalry and sibling solidarity among the elderly. It reveals the paradox surrounding the silence of sistering as part of family lives and the visibility of sisterhood in the public and sociological imagination. Drawing on a qualitative study of sister relationships among girls and women aged 6–50, it illustrates the complexities of sistering as personal lived experience.

Key Words: family • intimacy • siblings • sisterhood • sisters • women’s lives

Sociology, Vol. 39, No. 4, 623-642 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038505056022
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ChildhoodHome page
I. McIntosh and S. Punch
`Barter', `Deals', `Bribes' and `Threats': Exploring sibling interactions
Childhood, February 1, 2009; 16(1): 49 - 65.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 European Journal of Women's StudiesHome page
M. Notko and E. Sevon
Problematic Woman-to-Woman Family Relations
European Journal of Women's Studies, May 1, 2006; 13(2): 135 - 150.
[Abstract] [PDF]