Gene

Linguistics

Philosophy

Ecology

Pure mathematics

Biology

Social psychology

Gender studies

Racism

Indigenous

Field (mathematics)

Biochemistry

White privilege

White (mutation)

Psychology

Environmental ethics

Mathematics

Epistemology

Sociology

Dichotomy

Spider

Chemistry

Metaphor

White supremacy

Journal of Family Theory & Review

Family science is at the forefront of understanding the multiple and interconnected risk and protective factors (e.g., poverty vs. wealth, racism and discrimination, privilege) that affect families and the contexts in which they live. In this article, we use the metaphor of spider and web to suggest that family science theorizing is missing an integral piece of the puzzle—the designer of the contexts that have become the field's object of study and intervention (Krieger, 1994). Who or what is this designer? Recognizing that the answer is necessarily complex, we propose a metaphorical spider of insidious influence: White supremacy. Pairing understandings garnered from decades of critical theorizing with a review of the family science literature, we hypothesize about the web of causation and interrogate this culprit. Finally, we offer implications for the consciousness and intentional addition of White supremacy to family science theorizing and methods.

White Supremacy and the Web of Family Science: Implications of the Missing Spider