On July 1, 2024, Latvia introduced a new legal institution – partnership – allowing all couples, including same-sex couples, to register their relationships. By November 2, 2024, 120 same-sex couples had registered partnerships in Latvia. Despite the introduction of partnerships, same-sex marriage, including those performed abroad, is not legally recognized in Latvia.
The photo series Queer Families in Latvia tells the stories of six queer couples who have registered partnerships in Latvia – their everyday lives and their integration into Latvian society. Lilita says: “Not everyone is ready to stay here and fight for their country to be as they want to live in 50 years. Many queer couples don’t start families because they’re afraid. My advice to queer couples is not to be afraid, to be open, to be yourself, to not hide, and to build families.”
The project features Lilita Poriete and Jana Jarinovska, Karīna Ješkina and Katrīna Rudzīte, Jānis Locs and Maksims Ringo, Elīna and Diāna, Anita Kunda and Ro Vilcāne, and Ilze Saviča and Linda Biteniece, using photographs from the couples’ personal archives. The project was part of the FK Photo Storyprogram in 2024, supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation.
Jana & Lilita: Jana works as a Sales and Customer Service Manager at an office supplies company, and Lilita is a Human Resources Manager in the optics industry. Our family consists of four: Jana, Lilita, our daughter Amēlija, and our dog, Patija. We have been legally registered as a family in Latvia for two years.
Jana: I am a board member of the organization Mozaīka. If it was so easy to amend the Constitution in 2006 to include a clause defining marriage as between a man and a woman, then it should be equally easy to reverse that change.
Jana: After board meetings, we’d often go to a bar, and one time, I noticed an attractive bartender. I decided to ask her out, and she said yes. We’ve been together for eight and a half years now.
Jana: During the wedding ceremony, I turned to look at our mothers-in-law, and I saw that one of them had her chest completely wet. I could not understand what she had spilled on herself. It was tears of joy.
Jana: You need a bit of courage and craziness to want to build a family in this country, knowing what you will face every day. You posted a nice picture. Hey, we had a great vacation! Then some people comment: You are not a family! You are all just a bunch of perverts. At some point, you feel numb, but at the same time, it still affects you, and it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.
Karīna & Katrīna: We met on Tinder. After about a month of chatting, we met in person. On our first date, we went for a long walk in the Matiss Cemetery. We’ve been together for two years.
Katrīna: I am a poet, publicist, and translator.
Karīna & Katrīna: A positive aspect of our same-sex relationship is that we don’t need to worry about contraception or pregnancy in our daily lives. Therefore, sexuality in our relationship is a source of joy, intimacy, and pleasure.
Karīna: I am a doctoral student in geography and a book guardian. I am working on an interdisciplinary project exploring the relationship between humans and water.
Katrīna: As soon as I step outside my comfort zone, I get anxious. I’ve faced a lot of discrimination because of my visual impairment, so I have no illusions about this society: beyond smaller, progressive social circles, it’s often unaccepting, prejudiced, and uneducated.
Maksims & Jānis: Maksims works in information technology, and Jānis is a customer support specialist. We have been together for almost six years.
Maksims & Jānis: We were the first couple in Latvia to register a partnership. The most memorable part was seeing our friends happy that we finally had a legal partnership.
Jānis: I come from a religious community where being part of the LGBTQ+ community was considered the biggest sin. I still encounter these people sometimes, either in the city or when they decide to message me from a number or profile that isn’t blocked.
Elīna & Diāna: Diāna is a graphic designer, and Elīna works at a library. We have been together for five years. For the first year, we lived in different cities and visited each other on weekends. Gradually, we developed the idea of living together in Liepāja.
Elīna: My great passion is literature.
Elīna & Diāna: We started chatting on Facebook. A few days later, Elīna took a bus and traveled to Riga, where Diāna lived. Our first date lasted three days.
Elīna & Diāna: Queer couples are just like heterosexual couples – we go to work, wash dishes, pay bills together, watch “Midsomer Murders,” and go for walks by the sea on weekends.
Anita & Ro: We first met 15 years ago when Ro came for a job interview, saw Anita there, and thought – how nice, there are other queer here! And then she didn’t ponder much more about it for many years. And then, after many years of working together later, we met again. We’ve been together for six years.
Anita & Ro: Queer couples have to deal with the fact that relationship challenges are not necessarily related to the relationship itself but rather to the lack of societal support that heterosexual couples receive.
Anita: We both work at school. My colleagues don’t ask me how I spend my weekends or my plans for the summer. Because I will answer what they are afraid to hear. What if I tell them intimate details?
Anita: We both have children, one older and one younger. We have attended our youngest children’s school events for four years, where everyone consistently greets only Ro.
Ro: I show affection for my partner in the same way (and more) as heterosexual couples – I hold her hand, and I touch her a lot. More? In the sense that a heterosexual partner might not want so many displays of affection, we float down the street in our bubble.
Ilze & Linda: Ilze works in marketing, and Linda is a color specialist. We met on Tinder. Linda came to pick me up, and we went for a swim. Then we talked until late at night and ate Cielaviņa from a box. We have been together for a little over seven years.
Ilze & Linda: We are a family with two children, two cats, and a dog. The house is always full of people, and there’s never a dull moment, especially with our 15-year-old daughter with her teenage whims and our two-year-old, who also knows how to spice up everyday life.
Ilze: Linda is a snowboard instructor, and in the winter, the whole family spends a lot of time on the mountain skiing and snowboarding. This winter, we plan to put our youngest child on skis.
Ilze: Children’s rights are currently not regulated at all. And this affects many families in Latvia. It seems very unfair that Linda is legally a stranger to our daughter, even though she has been with her since the first moments of her life.
Zanda Puče (1992) explores various communities in Latvia, nature, memories, and family history. She creates photographs, graphics, installations, sound, and video works. She graduated from Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, studied graphics at the Art Academy of Latvia, and studied photography at the ISSP School. She has participated in exhibitions, including the latest multimedia exhibition Fluvius with Armands Andže in 2024, and festivals in Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Spain, Germany, and Sweden.
