Supporting family identity: the processes that influence belonging and boundaries in an LGBTQ playgroup

LGBTQ families have to navigate parenting in a heteronormative world. Like many other parents, LGBTQ families create playgroups to support their parenting endeavour. Drawing on research into how family and parenting identity influences playgroup participation and choices, this paper reports on interviews with members of an LGBTQ playgroup in a city in Australia. The group provided a space for many LGBTQ families to be supported and nurtured in their parenting and LGBTQ identities. However, as with any group, some families were not present or did not feel welcomed in the group. This paper examines how the playgroup drew its boundaries, who was included and who excluded, and the mechanisms that created these boundaries.