This Mother’s Day, our valued Diversity Role Models volunteer, Laura-Rose, has written about the importance of recognising and celebrating LGBTQ+ and diverse families.
We all know that there is more than one way to make a family. Decades ago, the ‘nuclear’ family of a mother and a father was what we were supposed to yearn for as a society; Families like ours either didn’t exist or existed behind closed doors, clothed in lies and secrecy.
Thankfully, in 2024, in the UK families can be anything they want to be. Whether it be the heteronormative ’nuclear’ family, a single parent, and ex-couple family, platonic co-parenting families, and polyamorous families- or even ‘chosen’ families.
"Being a two-mum family, I never imagined back when I came out that I’d be able to have the family I always dreamt of, and that we could acquire equity in marriage."
Being a two-mum family, I never imagined back when I came out that I’d be able to have the family I always dreamt of, and that we could acquire equity in marriage (that we finally acquired a decade ago this month!) And through our work at LGBT Mummies, we have been able to share our experiences and create a global community for people to come together and so we can “Usualize” and celebrate LGBTQ+ families in society.
Education is key. Sharing that all families are valid and should have equal rights is crucial; with education it can dispel stereotypes, assumptions and unpick unconscious bias, and Diversity Role Models do just that through the work they do.
As a Diversity Role Models volunteer, I often share my experience as a gay mother and how we created our family and what it looks like. Doing this in the education setting is vital; providing a safe space within schools to talk about different people and their families, means we can get in and educate children at a young age.
It means the learnt behaviour and views they have acquired from home, or other settings can be changed, and they can then even take that back into the other spaces they navigate. Compassion and acceptance are what Diversity Role Models teach, and in doing so, change the hearts and minds of children, and create a more compassionate generation- one that my children will grow up in, and hopefully find acceptance.
This Mother’s Day, I hope that people reflect on all those mothers and parents who celebrate it, how hard their journey may have been to get there, and how they all deserve celebrating.
I am thankful that organisations like Diversity Role Models, ours and others exist - so that children and LGBTQ+ families like mine can be accepted, and hopefully work towards a more inclusive and safer future.
Whether you're LGBTQ+ yourself, have an LGBTQ+ family member, or are an ally, you can find out more about becoming a Volunteer Role Model for Diversity Role Models HERE