Guest Editor Comments

Abstract

This special issue of JOFS, entitled "Family Diversity and Gender" brings together papers presented at t±e annual saturar of tre international Sociological Association Cammittee en Family Research (CFR-IEA) , held in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2008. The seminar aimed to explore the concept of family diversity from theoretical and empirical perspectives. In a tread sense, family diversity is conceptualized as "a way of characterizing the variability within and amxg families" (Allen, Fine and Dero, 2000:2). The concept applies to different forms or types of families: from single-parent families, stepfanilies, elderly and their families, and LGET familia, to socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and cultural diversities in, and of, families. More specifically, the there of the seminar and of this issue locked at gender dynamics in families and its milieu.The search for diversity does not mean that there are no commonalities among differrent types of famines, nor is it taken to the extreme reductionist quest for the unique type of family .A holistic view of family consicers both similarities and dif ferences (Cf. Allen, Fine and Denry's discussicn of these "controversies,'' 2000) . Moreover, "Understanding the differences in families is a first step in developing effective family policies, but not the only step. Finding commonalities-those processes and practices that cut across race, ethnicity, family structure, education, cr gender-is particularly important for policy purposes.." (Bogenschneider , 1999:x) . Even though we acknowledge the importance of finding commonalities across types of families, for this issue the authors consider different facets of contemporary families by focusing particularly on diversity .The articles of this issue reflect the interraticnal research in family diversity, which goes beyond the traditional Anglo-centric two-parent middle-class families. They discuss the structural characteristics of diverse families, including gender , socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, family structure and size. They also discuss the processes, such as marital relationships, parenting, siblings' relationships, coresidence, and work. It is the interplay between structural characteristics, processes, and social ccntexts that is the main subject of this collection. Besides the conceptual diversity, diversity is also visible in the theoretical and empirical framework of the featured articles, as they are based in general family theories and in mixed methods.Featured ArticlesReger Penn's article "Arrangad Marriages in Western Europe: Media Representations and Social Reality" explores how arranged marriages-in Britain, France, and Germany-are perceived by the mass madia, and by young adults of international migrants.Yan Yu s article "Reconstruction of Gender Role in Marriage: Processes among Chinese Immigrant Wives," investigates how (and why) gender roles are constructed among Chinese immigrant couples. …