The family diversity project is one of the Thailand Policy Lab projects that aims to bring the innovation tools and participatory processes to develop policies that can respond to the complex issues like the aging society and the low birth rate which are related to the emerging forms of family in Thailand. The insights and data collected in the exhibition will be fed into the policy innovation process including the focus groups and policy experimentation. The final result will be part of the national population planning with the National Economic and Social Development Council.
“Saisunee Jana,” this name is synonymous with feminine power
“Family means understanding. Children aren’t going to act out if we sympathise with them, and we understand ourselves.”
Saisunee Jana, a Thai wheelchair fencer, is not only powerful in the paralympic sports scene but she is also one of strongest mothers we know. Her experience as a single mother is not uncommon; in fact, she represents many single mothers in Thailand. The only distinction is that her motherhood journey is intertwined with a physical disability. She decided to have a child at the age of forty when the doctor objected to the idea due to her age, and particularly her disability.
Family is something we can choose for ourselves.
“To live fully as yourself, to hold on to who you are, is to learn to disappoint others. And it is to learn that such disappointment is not something you are responsible for. The only thing you are responsible for is to live well as who you are.”
As a queer who grew up in a traditional Thai nuclear family, Cupcake* believes that family is not confined within bloodline. Family means a safe space where we can embrace our true selves while also making others feel respected and secured that we are the safe space for them. Another future possibility for Cupcake is to live as a community with their LGBTQ friends. They see friends as a foundation of life who provide encouragement and emotional support and see pets as companions and family members.
*Fictitious name
From love letters twenty years ago, to the day where same sex marriage is a possibility.
“It is not easy as it seems to be where we are today, we have been through a lot, and we are the lucky ones. We do love each other, that’s why we made it through the hardest parts. We held hands, stood up, and battled through.”
“It was love at first sight, just like in those movies where you see beams of light surrounding someone,” Tom and Oui explained, reminiscing about their first encounter in 1999 Bangkok. In those days, international phone calls were a luxury and social media didn’t exist, only their love letters between Thailand and Singapore. This gay couple has been together for over 20 years, and in 2019, they celebrated their two-decade journey with a wedding. However, despite the strength of their love, their relationship lacks legal protection. For LGBTI individuals, nothing is more crucial than having equal rights and legal recognition for their chosen family.
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Live alone, live with happy solitude
“I want people to see boys and girls as children, and not focus on their biological sex. If we raise boys and girls the same way, that can help reduce gender-based discrimination and stigmatisation.”
Jay has been this way ever since he can remember. His biological sex is a girl, but his gender identity is a boy. Jay recounts his family noticing that he was not like other girls. But being an only child, he tried to change himself back to “normality,” a rigid gender binary norm defined by society until he has more freedom to be himself and has become more comfortable in his own skin. To LGBTI kids, he says, at this moment you may be struggling with hardships, but do not hate yourself, and be true to yourself. When looking back, you will be thankful that you respect who you are. At this moment, Jay believes that happy solitude is a form of family that must not be judged by society.
A mother-mother-daughter family founded upon love, and courage.
“Our girl is bullied because she has two mothers. But the fault does not lie in our parenting. She is bullied because schools do not teach about family diversity, because society does not understand.”
Jeab and Joom, a lesbian couple, have created a family of “mother, mother, and daughter” in a society where family diversity is not accepted. Despite facing hardships on all fronts, such as gender-based hate crimes, schools that do not teach about family diversity, and laws that do not protect LGBTI relationships, they persevere. “We build our family with love and genuine courage. We do not fear anything, and we always carry on, and our daughter sees how we persist,” Jeab says. They are a physically and emotionally safe space for each other, proving that a family cannot be confined within the boundaries of a rigid gender binary society.
A multigenerational family where home is a small community.
“We do not live in this world thinking only about ourselves, we think about how our parents are going to live once they grow old. This is not about familial duty but we are family, and once we are a family, we wish them happiness and wellbeing all their lives.”
Jub grows up in a multigenerational home with her grandparents, parents, and older brother. For her, home is a community space shared among the family members, and taking care of a family member is a collective effort. To her, the family creates a safe space where everyone cares for one another and makes time for family. Having at least one meal together a day, and receiving phone calls from her grandparents asking “Are you home today?” is part of Jub’s daily routine. Almost all of her friends do not want children but Jub believes that it is influenced by socioeconomic conditions. The younger generations seem to think that without a guaranteed quality of life, it is better not to have children at all.