Worldmaking with Aberoo: Queer Familial Relationality with/for Iranian Americans

Based on narratives shared by queer Iranian Americans, this essay explores the cultural construct of aberoo (saving face for family and community) as a form of queer familial relationality. This work extends theorizations of queer worldmaking and relationality into familial contexts, which are crucial elements of identity for many queer people of color around the globe. Focusing on Iranian Americans in particular, this study demonstrates the futility of "the closet" metaphor and how its inadequacies and oversimplifications fail to honor non-Western contexts and experiences. By contrast, understanding aberoo as a queer relationality in itself allows unique insight into queer identity formations beyond white normativities.