"Are they identical?"

twins' parents questionnaire and general public questionnaire

pp. 117-130

in: Elizabeth A. Stewart, Exploring twins, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

Abstract

The two preceding chapters have explored the diverse ways in which the dynamics of twinship as a social process impact on twins themselves, their families and wider social processes. This chapter addresses the critical issue of the ways in which expectations and assumptions about the nature of twinship — including the matter of identity — make up quite distinct patterns, and considers broad reactions to twinship in one Western society. Conducted in Britain, the two projects which constitute this research seek to discover whether twins are seen in a positive or negative light and whether there is in fact any consensus on such views. The study was undertaken from two perspectives. The first project questioned parents of twins, interviewing mostly mothers of twins, to discover reactions to their twins. The second focused on a different population, namely, the public at large.