Valerie White wrote:
though I like the idea of a child having a specially designated non-parent who takes an interest.
Now I've discovered a word to use instead of "godparent"--"alloparent". This is a scientific term from socio-biology, and describes a person or animal who helps to rear a non-biological child.
It occurred to me this morning that "alloparent" would be a useful term in poly families too .
I'm not exactly how this topic came up, but I personally *don't* like the term alloparent. The role of a "godparent" traditionally is a lot less inovled than some other people who could be considered alloparents (such as parents of adopted children, step-parents, and other non-biological but unpaid primary caretakers). I think adopting this word would privilege certain types of families (mainly those where the primary caretakers are exclusively the biological parents) over a lot of others. One of the great things I think about polyamory is how family is constructed, in a way that is more fluid and expansive than monogamy traditionally is in our culture. I rather not lose that in order to try and be more secular.
--Kit
"To split yourself in two / Is just the most radical thing you can do." - Ani DiFranco "Reprieve"