What usually comes to mind when you think of family? A social unit comprised of father, mother and child -- or children -- perhaps?
I believe most people generally think of that composition. However, a story of a female netizen might change your perspective.
This woman shared her grievances on social media because her family is different to what is deemed to be the "typical" family.
The netizen, named Microphone Sfw, went to a museum on Sunday with her two biological sisters, a female cousin and a nephew. All were thrilled to know that Sunday was a family day and those who showed up with their family would be granted free entry.
Yet, all hopes were crushed when museum staff said their group, without a father present, was not regarded as a "family". At least, not in the vocabulary of the museum and the Fine Arts Department.
The netizen, who has been a volunteer at museums in different countries, was upset with that explanation. Her father passed away when she was eight. For many years, she has been living with her sisters and this cousin. They are her family. What else could they be?
Eventually, only the young boy was allowed to get in free of charge because he is a minor.
She said she didn't mind paying for the tickets, but was rather annoyed with how the term "family" had been interpreted too literally. She pointed out that it's now 2020 and a modern family could comprise of a kid or kids raised by single parents or LGBT parents. I couldn't agree more with her. While I understand that it was hard for museum officials to determine if the group was a family, nonetheless, as the netizen mentioned, if the family day aimed to encourage people to visit the museum, the term "family" could have been used more flexibly.
In many countries on certain days, free entry is given to everyone, regardless of age, race or nationality because museums want to encourage more people to visit them. But this is Thailand. I can only imagine how friends of mine, some single mums or single dads, would be denied free entry if they were to bring their young children to the museum because "their other half isn't there".
Surely there are a countless number of single parents who raise their children alone and also deserve free entry if their children accompany them on a "family day".
More importantly, there are more than two genders identified in modern society. According to an ABC News report in 2014, there are 58 gender options. There are non-binary people who prefer not to be named as male or female. So a family today doesn't necessarily consist of a man as the father or a woman as the mother. Thailand is still stuck with the old idea that an ideal family must comprise of a man, woman and child, or children.
We have another interesting tradition: children are obliged to show their love and gratitude towards their parents in public. In the past few years, we've seen how young schoolchildren were asked to bring their mothers (on Mother's Day) and fathers (on Father's Day) to attend a gratitude-paying ceremony at school to display their love and gratitude. Teachers make students write essays saying how much they love their mother and father on those special days. This brings into question how children of single parents, or orphans raised by uncles or aunts, can cope emotionally.
My single-parent friends do not care much about this tradition, but several other single parents cannot cope. As the issue became widely discussed, a number of schools suspended what they realised could be an insensitive ceremony for some.
Another tradition for this special day is we are forced to listen to that famous, or infamous, muzak, Ka Nam Nom (the value of mother's breast milk) which is repeatedly played in schools and public places.
I remember how I was forced to memorise the whole song at school when Mother's Day was coming. I was too young to even understand the meaning of the song title, not to mention the lyrics. The most important thing is I don't have to show my love to my mother by learning the song by heart.
Not all babies are breast-fed by their mothers. Many have been abandoned by their parents (not just mothers). Many have never met their biological mothers or fathers. And a family doesn't always translate into a man, woman and child or children.
I also remember how I always went almost everywhere, be it museums or sports games, with my siblings, friends or even by myself because my parents, self-employed people, were always busy working.
It's probably a good time for museums and other places to reconsider the word "family", approaching it in a broader sense. This would help include all groups who identify as a family and it would avoid the risk of ruining the time families have to spend together.