Family forms are diversifying and extending beyond the traditional. In many ways, the landscape of this fundamental institution is changing faster than laws and other institutions that can accommodate. As a result, certain online platforms are now seeking to bridge the gap, connecting individuals who are interested in forming non-traditional families and seeking guidance on how to do so.
A website operating in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, Familyship. Together they found a co-father to take an active parental role and to provide ongoing support for the infant. While the women later ended their relationship, Christine and the co-father, who is gay, have continued to raise the child together.
The site was designed to help people weave new family ties according to a range of desired constellations. Over the past decade, more than 12, people have used the platform. The community is diverse with regard to gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, the desired form of family, and geographic location. The overall goal of the platform was to help those wishing to be parents develop a child-centric family structure.
Users are looking for ideal co-parenting partners to bear and rear offspring, not for romance or life partners. The platform affords privacy and protection for its users by offering strict privacy regulations and community access upon registration for a user fee. All names have been changed for privacy reasons. Our analysis showed that there is a demand for platforms that enable and support individuals who question the societally dominant meanings of family.
For example, Carlotta, a year-old architect who is bisexual, describes herself as someone who struggles to maintain long-term relationships. After a year of reflecting on her wish to having a child, she came across the platform:. This traditional coupling was also deeply rooted in my mind. The disentanglement between romance and family formation is also a key reason for the popularity of the platform among heterosexual men and women.
