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Family Matters

lesbisches Paar mit Kinderwagen Illustration: Anne Lehmann

Family can be a blessing or a curse, joy or burden. Perceptions of the family are currently changing worldwide. Does a family consist of a man, a woman and a child? Two men or two women with children? Can a child have more than two parents? There is controversy in many countries about what a family is, including in Germany. The Goethe-Instituts abroad offer a platform for discussions, films and theatre on this issue.

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Gesprächsrunde "Familie als Spiegel der Gesellschaft" © Goethe-Institut

The Family as a Reflection of Society

Seven visitors from Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa travelled to Germany. They took a close look at the situation of families and in doing so saw the whole of society.
A nurse helps an elderly woman with a walking stick Illustration (detail): Leigh Wells; © picture alliance / Ikon Images

Domestic and care work
 Who cares?

In the current debates on global migration, men still dominate the public image of migration. A look at private households and homes for the elderly opens up another reality.
Figures of a father with child and a family with children - glued to the building of the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Photo (detail): Jens Kalaene; © dpa

Family Law
 Queer Families

Same-sex marriage and the third gender are legally recognized in Germany. But what are the consequences for the families concerned? An interview with professor of family law Nina Dethloff.
Christine, Gianni and Milla Photo (detail) © Wolfgang Stahr

Co-Parenting
 A Family that suits your Needs

 “Other people have children out of love, we have them out of friendship” – the co-parenting concept can be compared with a patchwork family: the biological parents aren't together. The difference is that the trauma of divorce and the negative emotions of a failed relationship can be avoided with the first model.
Frl. Wunder AG Photo (detail): © Frl. Wunder AG

Ethics of reproduction
 Children, children – who does my belly belong to?

“To have a child or not – that’s the choice we’ve got.” For a long time the sovereignty over a woman’s own body was one of the most important feminist demands. This is still, in fact, the case, but under different circumstances
There is now a third gender category in Germany: ‘divers’, which translates as ‘miscellaneous’ or ‘other’. Photo (detail): © Adobe / Stockwerk-Fotodesign

Intersex
 Gender diversity

At the beginning of 2019, population registers in Germany were amended to include a third gender category. The option box is headed ‘divers’, which translates as ‘miscellaneous’ or ‘other’, and it was introduced for a dual purpose: to remove the burden from parents faced with deciding an intersex child’s future and to show that being different can also be normal.
A woman cups hands in front of her face Photo (edited): McPHOTO; © picture alliance / blickwinkel

Violence ageains Women
 What women need to know about domestic violence

Domestic violence is still a huge taboo in Germany – despite alarming statistics. What do women need to know about this subject? What can they do? Nine questions and answers.

Worldwide projects

Various people at different stages of life and age. Grafik: Tobias Schrank © Goethe-Institut

Sub-saharan Africa
 Family Matters

The Family Matters project explores various aspects of the social family unit in seven African countries. From religion and finances to marriage and travel: 29 families tell their stories through interviews, in video, audio, photographic and textual format. This online exhibition of the project’s content provides viewers with insight regarding people’s perception of the family unit, power dynamics, how far the concept of a family extends and relations with previous generations.
« kafala » (كفالة) © Goethe-Institut/Sabry Khaled

North Africa
 Kafala: Danced interventions

Several Goethe-Instituts in Arabic-speaking countries are using a dance project to explore the family law concept of kafala. For women and children, kafala means custodianship, encompassing both a dimension of protection as well as control of the body.
Die Sprache des Körpers © Getty Images

Bulgaria
 How children physically express themselves

Amara Eckert, a therapist and professor of psychomotor learning, explains how to help children use their bodies for movement and games. She illustrates how physical expression as a whole enriches human expression and what movement, gestures and facial expressions tell us about the development of a child.
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