The Chosen Families project

On this page you'll find a video with more information about the project as well as the transcript below

Hello. I’m Hanna Andersen, a PhD Researcher at Cardiff University. In this video I talk to you about the research project, Chosen Families. I share what the project aims to study, why the research is important and the ways you can get involved. The video gives an overview of the participation options, if you want to know more then you should read the detailed information sheet before agreeing to take part. I’m also happy to talk to you directly. 

What is the Chosen Families project?

The Chosen Families project aims to understand how social policies impact on LGBTQ+ people’s decisions regarding parenthood. The term ‘social policy’ in this case means any government policy that aims to meet people’s social needs, for example welfare benefits. In this project, I’ll be working with LGBTQ+ people to understand the ways that both they and the government understand and define families and parenting. I’ll be looking for any similarities and differences, as well as what effects these have.

This research is important because sometimes, policies which seem like they’re for everyone, were designed with a certain type of person or family in mind. Policies which were designed for heterosexual families may not always work for LGBTQ+ people or recognise that there are other forms of families. 

How can I be involved?

There are four ways that you can be involved with this project. You may find one to be of interest to you, or you may wish to participate in multiple parts. I’ll explain each part briefly now, and I’m happy to talk to you about them in more detail to help you decide. To take part, you must be over 18, identify as LGBTQ+ and live in England, Scotland or Wales. For some parts of the research you must also have considered becoming a parent beyond the romantic couple within the past 15 years. It doesn’t matter whether you have become a parent or not, you also don't have to be legally classified as a parent.  

Focus Groups

The first way is through a focus group about parental leave and pay. In this session you’ll be with other LGBTQ+ people exploring how different people are affected by parental leave policies. To help guide the conversation we will use fictional characters and you’ll be provided with some information about their circumstances. These are known as vignettes. You’ll be invited to choose a card and read about the character. You’ll then reflect on how their circumstances have affected their eligibility for parental leave. You’ll discuss your thoughts in pairs and with the wider group. There are no right or wrong answers, this session is about exploring how LGBTQ+ people see families and parents represented in policy. 

The second way to be involved is also through a focus group, but very different to the first one. This will be in a smaller group of 3-4 people, and you will play a board game together called the Game of Life. While playing the game, we will talk about life decisions such as getting married and having children. We’ll talk about what these decisions mean for LGBTQ+ people and what considerations they make. Again, there are no right or wrong answers, this is about exploring your views on what milestones of life are important to you as an LGBTQ+ person. 

Group Interview

Following the theme of playing games together, the third way to participate is through a group interview modelled on the card game Happy Families. This session is open to those who have considered parenting beyond a romantic couple. This means a family that doesn’t centre around one romantic couple, that could mean multiparent families, platonic coparenting, or solo parenting. We’ll play the game together and talk about what ideas it presents about families. You’ll then be given a variety of arts and crafts materials to create your own set of Happy Families cards. Don’t worry, no artistic skills necessary! In this session I'll be asking you to think about who is in your family and what definitions or names you use for the important relationships in your life.  

1:1 Interview

Finally, you can also get involved by taking part in a 1:1 interview, again this is for anyone who has considered becoming a parent beyond a romantic couple in the past 15 years. If you choose to do this, we will get together at a location of your choosing and talk about your experiences of family and parenting. We’ll discuss how you define family, who the important people in your life are, and the considerations and decisions you’ve taken around parenting. We will also talk about how your sexuality or gender identity has mattered in these considerations. You will not have to share anything that you don’t want to and can ask for certain elements to be deleted from the transcript later if you change your mind. More information about this and the other steps that I’ll take to protect your data and privacy for all forms of participation can be found in the relevant information sheet.

In summary 

Those are the four ways to be involved in the Chosen Families project. You can take part in the policy discussion, play the Game of Life, create your own Happy Families card, or have a 1:1 interview. If you’d like more information about taking part, please get in touch.