Representations of childbirth in western art and culture have long excluded the lives of lesbian women, trans, and non-conforming bodies. From DIY to IVF, scholarly and artistic attention to queer (LGBTQIA+) childbirth and same-sex parenting is still relatively new, and there are unique physical, emotional, legal, and psychological challenges that are imposed by mainstream society. 
 

In 1981, the feminist artist Judy Chicago posed the question: how do women feel about all aspects of birth? In the resulting Birth Project, Chicago conducted an original survey and then collaborated with needleworkers in the United States to create a series of visual artworks. 
 

Forty years later, using Chicago’s archival materials in the Schlesinger Library at Harvard as a model, this project asks: how do queer people feel about all aspects of birth? To answer this question, we have updated Chicago’s original survey, using inclusive and affirmative language (ex: changing father to partner/donor). New questions have also been added to explore how different bodies experience birth and the many complex relationships that make up queer families.