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Project 02 · Completed

Writing PolyQueer Worlds

Exploring how non-monogamous families structure relationships in response to legal liminality.

CompletedQualitative ResearchLegal LiminalityCanada & U.S.
About This Study

Research at the intersection of law and lived experience.

Writing PolyQueer Worlds examines how non-monogamous families in Canada and the United States navigate legal systems that were not designed for them. The study focuses on what Dr. Nasiri terms “legal liminality” — the condition of existing within a legal system that neither fully recognises nor entirely excludes one’s family structure.

The research asks: how do families in this liminal position develop strategies for protection, recognition, and belonging? And what do those strategies reveal about the gaps in current law that most urgently require reform?

Key Themes

What the research addresses.

Theme 1
Legal Liminality
How non-monogamous families navigate systems that neither recognise nor exclude them.
Theme 2
Relationship Structuring
The legal instruments and informal arrangements families use to create security in the absence of recognition.
Theme 3
Cross-Border Variation
How the different legal landscapes of Canada and the U.S. produce different experiences and strategies.
Theme 4
Reform Implications
What family structures living in legal liminality reveal about the reform needs of family law.

Interested in this research?

For more information about this study or to discuss research collaboration, get in touch with CFJR directly.

Contact CFJR

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Chosen: Canadian Queer Kinship Stories

A community-engaged study documenting chosen family practices among 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians — and the legal recognition these kinship structures urgently require. Ethics approved. Participation involves a single video interview at a time convenient to you.

Looking for more information? View the full study page →

Express Interest — Community Member

For 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians with experience of chosen family structures. Participation is voluntary and fully confidential.

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Express Interest — Legal Practitioner

For family lawyers, notaries, social workers, and other professionals working with 2SLGBTQIA+ clients navigating family law.

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