2025/01/31 by Käthe von Bose · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Sociology and Education Studies #Historical Gender and Feminism Studies #Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes
paper · pdf · doi:10.20377/jfr-1040
openalex publication_date 2025/01/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Objective: This paper looks at how family is being created, displayed and negotiated in the context of German nobility associations that want to uphold noble traditions and history. Background: While there is extensive historical research on the German nobility and its understandings of family, there is a research gap regarding current self-understandings and practices of families that regard themselves as descendants of the German historical nobility. Furthermore, while research in the field of family studies focuses largely on transformations of family practices as a result of social change as well as family forms beyond the hegemonic heteronormative model, the paper focuses on family practices that rather seem to resist change and adhere to traditions and norms. Method: The empirical material for this paper consists of 11 guided narrative interviews with members of different German nobility associations and field notes. The research process is carried out with the Grounded Theory Methodology, the coding process of the Grounded Theory is used to analyze the data. Results: Within the context of nobility associations, the noble family is constructed as exceptional (historically significant and widely ramified), while at the same time it is frowned upon taking pride in this exceptionality. In the context of formal structures such as nobility associations as well as some family associations, different practices of inclusion and (heteronormative) exclusion revolve around the question of who is considered noble and who is not. Family practices within the field of nobility associations seem to oscillate between holding on to (gendered and class related) traditions and cautiously opening up to social change. Conclusion: The practices of doing and displaying family in this field are closely intertwined with what I call doing exclusivity: the making and perpetuation of an exclusive circle.