Kinky Kinship: Building Family Beyond Blood, Marriage, and the State
ZoomMeadow
Duration: 90 minutes
Educators:
Topic: Community, Familial
Type: Workshop

For many practicioners, kinky communities often function as sites of mentorship, care, mutual aid, chosen family, and enduring relational commitment. This interactive discussion-based workshop explores kink as a form of kinship-making. Drawing from queer theory, lived experience, and community practice, participants will examine how kinky relationships create forms of belonging that challenge conventional understandings of kinship, intimacy, and care. Together, we will consider questions such as: What makes someone kin? How do power exchange relationships produce forms of responsibility and accountability? How do kinky networks support people whose needs are not met by biological family, marriage, or traditional social structures? Rather than positioning kinship as something that exists separately from kink, this workshop invites participants to explore how kinky communities already engage in complex practices of worldmaking, care, and relational creativity.