ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of contemporary research on the romantic and parenting relationships of sexually diverse individuals (i.e., those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, or asexual or who engage in sexual or romantic relationships with the same and/or multiple genders) and gender-diverse individuals (i.e., those who identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or gender fluid or who have a gender identity that differs in some way from their birth-assigned sex and/or gender). Understanding the family relationships of these populations provides a unique perspective on how social marginalization can shape one’s intimate emotional life on a day-to-day level and the diverse forms of resilience and flexibility that individuals adopt when crafting their family lives. This knowledge not only is useful for understanding the unique experiences of sexually diverse and gender-diverse individuals, but also yields insights about relationship dynamics that are relevant to all individuals.
