On the other hand, the family is where most of the rape happens on this earth, and most of the murder. No one is likelier to rob, bully, blackmail, manipulate, or hit you, or inflict unwanted touch, than family. Logically, announcing an intention to “treat you like family” (as so many airlines, restaurants, banks, retailers, and workplaces do) ought to register as a horrible threat. Instead, to be metaphorically “family” in someone’s eyes makes-believe that one has something quite … unfamilial. Namely: acceptance, solidarity, an open promise of help, welcome, and care.
— Sophie Lewis, Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation
