The Private Image: Experiential Location and Method in Family Studies

Prevalent in family studies is the private image of domestic life, in which household members perceptions of family living are considered to be more realistic and telling than those of other persons. This article considers the private image for its methodological assumptions and implications. Recasting the assumptions in terms of descriptive practice, the authors present an alternate approach that construes family order as bound to organized, collective representation. Field data are offered in illustration, and procedural and theoretical outcomes are addressed.