Paper short abstract:

In Cuba, a country where family law does not yet recognize same-sex families, the study explores how two groups (lesbian and heterosexual families) define the concept of kin and explores the impact of family dynamics on children’s well-being.

Paper long abstract:

For more than 10 years LBGT people in Cuba have been waiting for the National Assembly to bring to debate a new version of the country's Family Law that could provide equal rights to same-sex families. The version of the law proposed to the National Assembly in 2004 was rumored to include the recognition of same-sex marriage and adoption but has not been addressed publically. Recently Cuban LGBT activists sent a letter to the National Assembly demanding that the proposal be brought to public debate. In response they have heard that "Cuban society is not ready for such changes." Who is not ready? And who must be?

Contemporary forms of familyhood and parenthood in Cuba are much more diverse than those recognized by the country's outdated Family Code. This study looks at the internal dynamics of family life, the social and legal support (or lack thereof) they experience, the distribution of roles between parental figures, patterns of affection and communication between members of the families, and the relationship between the family and the school to determine how these aspects influence the well-being of children in heterosexual and lesbian families in Havana. Further ethnographic studies are needed to inform Cuban social and judicial sciences about these new family configurations to make policies that are inclusive of new forms of exercising maternity and paternity.