Panel discussion: Expanding the story of ‘rainbow families’

The social history of queer activism has always been tied to the unfolding story of queer families. From early battles with child welfare systems after a parent came out as gay or lesbian, to advocating for access to reproductive health services and comprehensive legal recognitions for same-sex parents, the rights of the LGBTIQ community to make and create families has been a focus of protest for decades. While many of those rights have now been achieved, there remain a range of persistent and emerging complexities which shape the family lives of sexually and gender diverse Australians. Drawing on both personal and professional reflections, each of our panellists will explore the question of ‘who counts as a rainbow family today?’ Jennifer Skattebol will firstly discuss her research on the increasing visibility of LGBTI families in early childhood services, and will also reflect on the politics and consequences of visibility she and her family experienced when they took part in the unexpectedly controversial documentary film Gayby Baby. Christy Newman will then reflect on how she hopes our representations of queer families will expand following the achievement of marriage equality, drawing on her own experiences of raising children as a bisexually-identified mum in a same-sex separated family. Cris Townley will then discuss her doctoral research on how LGBTI family identities influence participation in community playgroups, and will also reflect on her own experiences in navigating the tensions between identifying as a lesbian parent and raising a gender-diverse child. Finally, Alison Eaton will discuss some of the work that Rainbow Families is currently engaged in to support LGBTIQ families, including a highly anticipated crowd-funded resource to support Trans and Gender Diverse Parents. She and the rest of the panellists will discuss the challenges of remaining responsive to appreciating and supporting the full diversity of rainbow families, as their story continues to unfold