"For many, the path to becoming a parent isn’t always easy, and as a queer woman this journey was more challenging and confronting than expected, highlighting how far our society has come but how much further we have still to go.
The ability to create a family is often something that is taken for granted in Aotearoa but for many LGBTQIA+ people the struggle is still very much real.
On the surface everyone has the right to have a family but the reality is that the options are limited for the queer community with financial, legal and social restrictions often in place.
Many folks, by choice or necessity, go through fertility services which are time-consuming, costly and can be overwhelming. The multiple steps that need to be taken vary but can include accessing donors, the IUI or IVF process, and surrogacy - which are all governed by an ethics committee and the HART Act of 2004 and for the latter The Status of Children Amendment Act, 2004 as well as the outdated Adoption Act of 1955.
Along the way many individuals and couples are also defying stereotypes of what a ‘traditional' parent or family is, and often are having to educate those around them, which is on-going into parenthood.
In most cases this path to becoming a parent is often met with hope, fear and many tears (in my case anyway).
For me this artwork highlights the joy and the struggle of becoming a parent, the beautiful and surreal journey that my partner and I went on to welcome our truly loved child into the world, and the ongoing gratitude of being able to live in a time where we can have a family."
