The new Florida law that lims how schools and teachers n addrs sexualy and genr has sparked protts and outrage. Crics have labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” law and warned will negatively impact LGBTQ stunts. The law is steeped the evolvg attus and acceptance of the transgenr muny.
Contents:
- LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG
- FOC ON ‘PARENTAL RIGHTS’ CHIPS AWAY AT GAY RIGHTS
- 'WHAT PARENTS ARE THEY SUPPORTG?': MOMS SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
- GAY PARENTS AS GOOD AS STRAIGHT ON
LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG
Inclus a summary of rearch fdgs on lbian mothers, gay fathers and their children, an annotated biblgraphy of the published psychologil lerature and addnal rourc relevant to lbian and gay parentg. * rights for gay parents *
LGBTQ Fay Law and Policy the Uned StatEr Mayo-AdamDepartment of Polil Science, Hunter CollegeLims and Advanc LGBTQ Fay Regnn and AcceptanceThe legal landspe for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) fai vari tremendoly across the Uned Stat bee, wh few exceptns, the thory to ci what nstut a fay li predomantly wh the realm of state and lol law. For example, Farr (2016) ed a longudal study that“pared out for children, parents, upl, and the overall fay system among adoptive fai wh LG [lbian or gay] and heterosexual parents at two time pots: Wave 1 (W1), when children were prchool-age, and Wave 2 (W2), approximately five years later, when children were middle childhood” (Farr, 2016, p.
Acrdg to the studi, LGBTQ fay formatn and inty is impacted by nflictg and paradoxil experienc wh stutns and state stance, Gash and Raisk (2018) analyze terviews nducted wh 31 lbian and gay adults and 6 children Oregon orr to unrstand how legal stat ambiguy impacts lbian and gay parenthood.
FOC ON ‘PARENTAL RIGHTS’ CHIPS AWAY AT GAY RIGHTS
* rights for gay parents *
Anrson (2016) argu that how same-sex upl unrstood and intified wh marriage differed pendg on whether upl lived a loly where legal regnn afford more protectn agast discrimatn or lived a loly where marriag were granted for purely polil reasons (Anrson, 2016; see also Goldberg, Downg, & Moyer, 2012, who exame gay men’s different motivatns for pursug parenthood) studi exame how attempts to ga legal regnn for LGBTQ parents are embedd problematic state marriage and fay regim. (2003), “upled wh other factors, such as the overreprentatn of Black children the foster re system, the greater prevalence of Black LGBT parents dit that anti-gay parentg polici may threaten the Black muny as a whole by signifintly rcg the potential pool of foster and adoptive parents” (Cahill et al., 2003, p. In fact, one prehensive study of children raised by lbian mothers or gay fathers nclud that children raised by same-sex parents did not differ om other children terms of emotnal functng, sexual orientatn, stigmatizatn, genr role behavr, behavral adjtment, genr inty, learng and gra pot averag.
'WHAT PARENTS ARE THEY SUPPORTG?': MOMS SPEAK OUT AGAST 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
Though many fay relatnships may be plex, explag fay relatnships is uniquely plex for lbian and gay parented fai bee of the lack of societal norms and relevant exampl media, stereotyped notns about such relatnships that are mon, and the fear of discrimatn faced by the fai. Competent parentg may be fluenced by gay and lbian parents’ abily to accept and acknowledge their inty and how they are able to negotiate livg a heterosexist, homophobic, or otherwise discrimatory society, while rearg their children a fay un that is not socially sanctned.
Transgenr parents, parents who e out as gay while married to an oppose-sex spoe, and parents whose spo have died sometim fd their ctodial rights challenged by ex-spo or survivg fay members who, spe volum of evince to the ntrary, qutn their fns as parents based on their sexual orientatn or genr inty. Unlike heterosexual parents and their children, however, lbian and gay parents and their children are often subject to prejudice bee of their sexual orientatn that n turn judg, legislators, profsnals, and the public agast them, sometim rultg negative out, such as loss of physil ctody, rtrictns on visatn, and prohibns agast adoptn (ACLU Lbian and Gay Rights Project, 2002; Appell, 2003; Patterson, Fulcher, & Waright, 2002).
GAY PARENTS AS GOOD AS STRAIGHT ON
Three ncerns have historilly been associated wh judicial cisn makg ctody ligatn and public polici erng foster re and adoptn: the belief that lbians and gay men are mentally ill, that lbians are ls maternal than heterosexual women, and that lbians' and gay men's relatnships wh sexual partners leave ltle time for ongog parent-child teractns (ACLU Lbian and Gay Rights Project, 2002; Falk, 1989, 1994; Patterson et al., 2002; Patterson & Reddg, 1996).