An aqueous composition comprising polymer particles of one or more multistage aqueous emulsion, at least one of which is a multistage aqueous emulsion copolymer comprising polymerized units derived from monomer X in at least one stage, wherein monomer X is selected from polymerizable derivatives of imidazole, imidazoline, amidine, pyridine, pyrrole, pyrrolidine, pyrrolidinone, caprolactam, and combinations thereof. Also disclosed are methods of making and using the compositions.