https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038517746051 Sociology 1–16 © The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0038038517746051 journals.sagepub.com/home/soc The Involved Observer: A Simmelian Analysis of the Boundary Work of Aunthood Vanessa May University of Manchester, UK Kinneret Lahad Tel-Aviv University, Israel Abstract The aims of this article are to, first, empirically investigate the experiences of aunts, who to a large extent have been ignored by family sociologists. Second, we aim to add to the existing theorising of everyday family life by bringing Simmel’s work – hitherto under-utilised in the field – into dialogue with the sociological literature on doing and negotiating families. Based on a textual analysis of online accounts posted on a US advice forum entitled ‘Dear Savvy Auntie’, we argue that Simmel’s notion of the stranger allows us to understand the position of some aunts as ‘involved observers’ who are both inside and outside the ‘family unit’ constituted by parents and children. Third, our article contributes to the literature by exploring the boundary work that being an involved observer entails as aunts negotiate simultaneously rigid and permeable boundaries that exist between the family unit and extended kin. Keywords aunts, boundary work, family, Simmel, the stranger Introduction Drawing on a textual analysis of online accounts posted on a US advice forum entitled ‘Dear Savvy Auntie’, this article explores the ways aunts negotiate their familial relation- ships and particularly the kind of boundary work with which they are engaged. In contrast Corresponding author: Vanessa May, Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives, Sociology, University of Manchester, Arthur Lewis Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. Email: vanessa.may@manchester.ac.uk 746051SOC 0 0 10.1177/0038038517746051SociologyMay and Lahad research-article 2018 Article