Almut Peukert, Assistant Professor for Sociology, works in the Department of Socioeconomics at the University of Hamburg (Germany). She is the principal investigator for the research project, “Ambivalent recognition order. Doing reproduction and doing family beyond the heterosexual nuclear family”, together with Christine Wimbauer and Mona Motakef (2018-2021, German Research Foundation), as well as co-spokesperson of the research group, “Care Transformations” (2020-2023, State Research Funding Hamburg). Her research focuses on un‐/doing gender, care and the gendered division of labour, sociology of intimate relationships and LGBTQ*Families.
Peukert, A., Teschlade, J., Motakef, M., & Wimbauer, C. (Eds.). (2020): Elternschaft und Familie/n jenseits von Heteronormativität und Zweigeschlechtlichkeit [Parenthood and family beyond heteronormativity and the gender binary]. GENDER Sonderheft. Opladen: Budrich. Open Access.
Teschlade, J., & Peukert, A. (2019). Creating a family through surrogacy: Negotiating parental positions, familial boundaries and kinship practices. In: GENDER – Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft 11 (2), pp. 56–70. DOI: 10.3224/gender.v11i2.05 
Conference Abstract: Doing parenthood within ambivalent orders of recognition
Who is considered a parent and what is a family? These socially and legally very complex yet highly relevant questions have substantial implications. Based on interviews with families beyond the heterosexual two-parent norm, I analyze the recognition of non-normative families and parenthood. How are parenthood and family practiced and which kind of experiences of social inequality, inclusion and/or exclusion do these families cope with? By examining family narratives, I show that both, inclusion as well as exclusion are key characteristics of the recognition order. Next, I refer to two specific fields relevant for social work, stepchild adoption and interactions with educational institutions. I illustrate the inequality inherent in and produced by the recognition order. As a result, I argue that a careful examination of scientific as well as societal concepts and definitions of parenthood and family is mandatory: Concepts, family and parenthood must be stronger differentiated in order not to get caught in a too simplistic conception of who is considered a ‘parent’ or ‘no parent’ or who can be recognized as a ‘family’ or not.