It’s easier now for gay men to adopt. But they still face lots of phback, and weird qutns. - The Washgton Post

challenges for gay parents

APA rolutns and rmatn regardg LGBT issu such as sexual orientatn and marriage, child ctody or placement, transgenr issu, genr inty and genr exprsn nondiscrimatn, amic briefs and lbian and gay parentg.

Contents:

LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG

LGBT parents send kids to school wonrg if they’ll face judgments bee of their parents’ sexual orientatn. Gay parents ncerns, choic, valu * challenges for gay parents *

But even as the ary has e to more fully embrace our muny wh the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and our unns have gaed greater regnn thanks to the Supreme Court’s cisns about marriage equaly, many aspirg gay parents are left wonrg how their children will be treated one of the plac that shap them most and parents see them least: school. 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).

IT’S EASIER NOW FOR GAY MEN TO ADOPT. BUT THEY STILL FACE LOTS OF PHBACK, AND WEIRD QUTNS.

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. * challenges for gay parents *

The relevance of this cricism has been greatly rced as rearch has expand to explore life a wir array of lbian mother and gay father fai (many of which have never lived through the divorce of a heterosexual uple), and as newer studi beg to clu a wir array of ntrol groups.

QUTN: CONSIR THE FOLLOWG QUTNS FOR YOUR DISCSN:WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SPECIFIC CHALLENG THAT GAY PARENTS FACE?HOW DO THE SEXUAL ORIENTATN OF PARENTS IMPACT THE SOCIALIZATN EXPERIENC OF CHILDREN? HOW DO GAY PARENTS AL WH THE ADDNAL CHALLENG OF TER-RACIAL ADOPTN? HOW ARE THE EXPERIENC OF THE FAI A REFLECTN OF SOME OF THE

Strong Fay Alliance is a non-prof providg support and rourc to parents of LGBT (gay, trans, etc.) kids g out. Save liv. Prerve fai. * challenges for gay parents *

Other cricisms have been that most studi have been based on relatively small sampl, that there have been difficulti wh asssment procr employed some studi, and that the classifitn of parents as lbian, gay, or heterosexual has been problematic. An expert readg of the Sarantakos article reveals that certa characteristics of s methodology and sample are highly likely to have skewed the rults and renred them an valid ditor of the well-beg of children raised by gay and lbian parents at least three rpects:.

OVERG CHALLENG AS GAY FATHERS

Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and other genr mory youth experience var challeng when disclosg their sexual inty. Given the creasg awarens around LGBTQ people, has been observed that parents are supportive than earlier. However, the... * challenges for gay parents *

The children raised by gay and lbian parents experienced unually high levels of extreme social ostracism and overt hostily om other children and parents, which probably acunted for the former's lower levels of teractn and social tegratn wh peers (see pp. Some nonscientific anizatns have attempted to nvce urts that there is an actual scientific dispute this area by cg rearch performed by Pl Cameron as supportg the existence of fics gay and lbian parents or their children pared to heterosexual parents or their children. 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).

Many years ago, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn removed "homosexualy" om s list of mental disorrs, statg that "homosexualy per se impli no impairment judgment, stabily, reliabily, or general social or votnal pabili" (Amerin Psychiatric Associatn, 1974). The cisn to remove homosexual orientatn om the list of mental disorrs reflects extensive rearch nducted over three s showg that homosexual orientatn is not a psychologil maladjtment (Gonsrek, 1991; Hart, Roback, Ttler, Wez, Walston, & McKee, 1978; Reiss, 1980).

There is no reliable evince that homosexual orientatn per se impairs psychologil functng, although the social and other circumstanc which lbians and gay men live, cludg exposure to wispread prejudice and discrimatn, often e acute distrs (Cochran, 2001; Freedman, 1971; Gonsrek, 1991; Hart et al., 1978; Hooker, 1957; Meyer, 2003; Reiss, 1980). Beliefs that lbian and gay adults are not f parents likewise have no empiril foundatn (Anrssen, Amlie, & Ytteroy, 2002; Brewaeys & van Hall, 1997; Parks, 1998; Patterson, 2000; Patterson & Chan, 1996; Perr, 2002; Stacey & Biblarz, 2001; Tasker, 1999; Victor & Fish, 1995). A recent study of 256 lbian and gay parent fai found that, ntrast to patterns characterizg the majory of Amerin parents, very few lbian and gay parents reported any e of physil punishment (such as spankg) as a disciplary technique; stead, they were likely to report e of posive techniqu such as reasong (Johnson & O'Connor, 2002).

* challenges for gay parents *

Certaly, rearch has found no reasons to believe lbian mothers or gay fathers to be unf parents (Armto, 2002; Barret & Robson, 1990; Bigner & Bozett, 1990; Bigner & Jabsen, 1989a, 1989b; Bos et al., 2003, 2004; Bozett, 1980, 1989; Patterson, 1997; Patterson & Chan, 1996; Sbordone, 1993; Tasker & Golombok, 1997; Victor & Fish, 1995; Wton, 1991).

For stance, one such ncern is that children brought up by lbian mothers or gay fathers will show disturbanc genr inty and/or genr role behavr (Falk, 1989, 1994; Hchens & Kirkpatrick, 1985; Kleber, Howell, & Tibbs-Kleber, 1986; Patterson et al., 2002; Patterson & Reddg, 1996). For example, urts have exprsed fears that children the ctody of gay or lbian parents will be more vulnerable to mental breakdown, will exhib more adjtment difficulti and behavr problems, and will be ls psychologilly healthy than other children. Three aspects of sexual inty are nsired the rearch: genr inty, which ncerns a person's self-intifitn as male or female; genr-role behavr, which ncerns the extent to which a person's activi, occupatns, and the like are regard by the culture as mascule, feme, or both; and sexual orientatn, which refers to a person's choice of sexual partners, who may be homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual (Money & Ehrhardt, 1972; Ste, 1993).

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* CHALLENGES FOR GAY PARENTS

Lbian and gay parentg: Theoretil and nceptual examatns .

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