uncle gathering #1: insights
01 Sep 2026so i’m just home from spending a fun lil night out at the inaugural fall gathering of uncles! a fun detail: it was a party of one! i was gonna go to the saloon but it was a beautiful evening so i got a cocktail at cambridge common and sat outside.
earlier today i looked up a few uncle listicles and felt excited to dive into them. the overall theme of the few i picked was ‘uncles in pop culture.’
i got settled in and opened the first one: Say Uncle: Top Ten Uncles in Media. it ended up being the only one i got into because my friend called me back from earlier in the day and then i got to do a lil video chat with her and her 1 year old (sky, one of my newest nibblings)! even with that, the time i spent in the article was juicy.
two things i want to report back on:
first, this scene from the fresh prince of bel air. i had fully forgotten how powerful this scene was. uncle phil! what a boss.
second, an insight that came through while watching that clip and seeing the uncles on the list: there is some cultural fascination with uncles who act as father figures. specifically, there’s a centering of uncles who replace fathers.
at a later point this evening, i had a completely unrelated phone chat with erwin, someone who has come to some of the uncle sessions abraham and i have been gathering. he and i both recognized the same thing: that’s not really what i’m talking about when i talk about uncling. i’m much more interested in uncles as additional caregivers, not substitute ones.
there’s something about this replacement thing that smells a bit like the classic hero narrative… not a fan.
anyway, that’s all i want to say for now. gathering number #1 in the books! excited about the next one!
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