40 We’ll expand the definition of “chosen family.”

When we think of the quintessential chosen family, we usually have a certain picture in mind. Some very Lost Boys- or Breakfast Club-type ensemble of cool misfits, eating Chinese takeout together on Thanksgiving Day in a dirty one-bedroom apartment. And where that image is a queer paradise, there is no such thing as a “quintessential” chosen family.

“That chosen family can be as small as finding one other person who really gets you,” says Kathy Tu and Tobin Low,. “Sometimes it can feel like, unless you have a whole crew of ride-or-die friends, you’re not doing it right. But maybe you’re in a situation where you are only able to find your way to one or two other folks who you feel really comfortable with—that absolutely counts as chosen family, too.”