Queer Families in Switzerland
How family is lived is not a matter of course: queer people have to think carefully about how they can form a family and how they want to live as a family in everyday life.
Previous research shows that queer and rainbow parents find creative, individual ways to deal with the existing family norms and live a way of parenting and family that meets their individual needs.
In our research project on ‘Queer Families in Switzerland’, we investigate how queer families are formed, how they experience their everyday family life, and what challenges and needs they have in a society, which is primarily oriented towards heteronormative families.
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES
in our survey
For our research project, we are seeking rainbow families, queer parents, and LGBTQIA+ individuals who wish to have children
How are queer families formed? What is their everyday life like? What challenges and needs do they face?
What institution does this survey belong to?
This survey is part of the project „Queere Familles Forschung“ (research on queer families) at the University of Lucerne. The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and has been reviewed by the Ethics Commission of the University of Lucerne as an IRB application # 2024-017.
Research Institution: Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Lucerne
Duration: 09/2024 – 08/2028
What is the aim of the research project?
The aim of this research project is to find out how LGBTIQA+ parents live/experience their parenthood within a society that is oriented towards heterosexual, cis-gendered two-parent families. We investigate how differences in age, class, origin, skin colour, language, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender characteristics affect their parenting.
In addition, we investigate the everyday contact between these parents and (state) institutions such as day-care centres, schools, the health system or the Childhood and Adult Protection Authority (KESB). In doing so, we analyse how people working for such institutions perceive and evaluate the parenthood of LGBTIQA+ persons.
This project will provide detailed knowledge of little researched and diverse groups. The perspectives gained will contribute to current discussions on social, political, economic and legal issues related to parenthood. We would like to contribute to the elimination of discrimination against families that do not correspond to the heterosexual, cis-gendered, two-parent family.
How do we research?
We strive for a regular exchange with queer communities and rainbow families. Therefore, we will invite to workshops in which we discuss our research with LGBTIQA+ parents and develop said workshops together. According to the latest study by the Federal Statistical Office on families (BfS, 2023), only 2% of all couples in Switzerland are ’same-sex‘. We suspect that there are more LGBTIQA+ couples and other family constellations such as co-ownership or elective families, that have not been collected by the BfS. We want to create a survey as a first step in order to get an overview of the situation of rainbow families in Switzerland.
In a second step, we will conduct interviews with (intended) LGBTIQA+ parents in Switzerland. As more research exists on lesbian and bisexual cis mothers, Carole Ammann will focus on gay and bisexual fathers. Leo Theissing will focus on trans and non-binary people in their dissertation project. Interviews are a starting point for more participatory methods and we are happy to discuss them.
Contact
Funding:
Our partners:
Forschungsprojekt "Queere Familien in der Schweiz" 