Narratives of relationships/marriages

• Main Author: Niehaus, Elonya
• Other Authors: Kotzé, Elmarie, 1954-
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Narrative approach; Social constructionism; Discourse; Post-modern theological discourse; Feminist theology; Heterosexuality; Homosexuality; Gender; Ethical; Relationships/marriages; 158.2; Interpersonal relationships; Narrative therapy; Domestic relations; Same-sex marriage; Marriage > Psychological aspects; Feminist theology > South Africa; Postmodernism > Religious aspects
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10500/641

Religious and cultural discourses shape relationships/marriages. The constructed nature of relationships/marriages opens the possibility for alternative relational realities. Positioning relationships/marriages in alternative discourses assisted the couples to construct a preferred relationship narrative. Three couples embarked on this feminist participatory action research journey - a couple from the Jehovah's Witnesses tradition,' a couple from the Dutch Reformed Church and a couple from a Gay Refonned Church. Conversations with the participating couples deconstructed their relationships. It also enabled the couples to co-author alternative, preferred realities of their relationships/marriages and to provide rich descriptions of these. === Practical Theology === M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)