Gay Parents As Good As Straight On | BU Today | Boston Universy

Contents:

• LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG
• GROWG UP WH GAY PARENTS: WHAT IS THE BIG AL?*
• ORIGAL ARTICLEWHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? ARGUMENTS AGAST LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG
• 5 GAY PARENTG MYTHS
• GAY PARENTS AS GOOD AS STRAIGHT ON
• GAY AND LBIAN PARENTG: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THEM AND METHODOLOGIL STRATEGI OF BRAZILIAN REARCH

LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG

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).

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). 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). 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).

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).

GROWG UP WH GAY PARENTS: WHAT IS THE BIG AL?*

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). Subjects evaluated vigt pictg eher a gay male uple or heterosexual uple and their adopted son along the dimensns of parentg abily, gree to which the child's problems were attributable to the parental relatnship, distrs of the child (cludg genr and sexual inty nfn), and the extent to which ctody reassignment was perceived to be beneficial.

A review of rearch on children of lbian and gay parents intifi some of the sourc of diversy wh lbian and gay parentg muni / prent rearch on those who beme parents the ntext of heterosexual relatnships, before g out as lbian or gay / scribe studi of lbians who beme parents after g out [prent] rearch on children born the ntext of heterosexual relatnships... The amework foc on (1) whether selectn effects produced by homophobia acunt for associatns between parental sexual orientatns and child out; (2) the role of parental genr vis-à-vis sexual orientatn fluencg children's genr velopment; and (3) the relatnship between parental sexual orientatns and children's sexual preferenc and behavrs. The paper foc on (a) methodologil problems rearch on homosexualy; (b) studi parg adjtment levels of male homosexuals and male heterosexuals, effemate and noneffemate male homosexuals, and female homosexuals and female heterosexuals; (c) the relatnship between gree of homosexualy and adjtment; (d) homosexual subculture; and (e) the relatnship between homosexualy and psychopathology.

ORIGAL ARTICLEWHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? ARGUMENTS AGAST LBIAN AND GAY PARENTG

(From the chapter) social science theory and empiril rearch to scribe and expla psychologil heterosexism the US today / addrs the attudal and belief ponents of psychologil heterosexism, wh special attentn to gnive and motivatnal procs / behavral aspects of psychologil heterosexism-specifilly, acts of vlence agast lbians and gay men-are discsed / the nsequenc of psychologil heterosexism are nsired.

(From the chapter) child ctody / sexual orientatn and liftyle on their children / ctodial gay fathers / children's reactns to havg a gay father / social ntrol strategi / boundary ntrol fluencg factors / mutualy / father's reactns / protective strategi / role molg / children's velopment of sexual inty / homonegative reactns of children. Divid to three segments, the book tak an unflchg and entirely new look at motherg: "New Lsons" exam the way which sons of lbians grow up to be different men; "Makg a Fay" looks at fay nstcts and "Facg Loss" reveals the heart-breakg realy that many women have had to nont when their fai were threatened by homophobic urts and tradns. (From the chapter) gay fatherhood has emerged to public awarens and brought qutns / who are gay fathers, and how do they bee parents / what kd of parents do gay men make, and how do their children velop / what special challeng and strs do gay fathers and their children face daily life, and how do they pe wh them / what n acquatance wh gay fathers and their children offer to the unrstandg of parenthood, child velopment, and fay life / although rearch leratur bearg on such qutns are que new and relatively sparse, existg studi addrs some issu raised by the existence of gay fathers.

5 GAY PARENTG MYTHS

“The Amerin Psychologil Associatn plor all public and private discrimatn such areas as employment, hog, public acmodatn, and licensg agast those who engage or have engaged homosexual activi and clar that no burn of proof of such judgment, pacy, or reliabily shall be placed upon the dividuals greater than that imposed on any other persons. “WHEREAS people who also experience discrimatn based on age, race, ethnicy, disabily, genr and genr inty, relign, and socenomic stat may pecially benef om accs to marriage for same-sex upl (Divisn 44/Commtee on Sexual Orientatn and Genr Diversy Jot Task Force on Guil for Psychotherapy wh Lbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients, 2000);.

Three key fdgs stood out this study: children of married, oppose-sex parents have a high graduatn rate pared to the others; children of lbian fai have a very low graduatn rate pared to the others; and children the other four typ of livg arrangements (mon law marriage, gay uple, sgle mother, and sgle father) are siar to each other and fall between the extrem of married heterosexual parents and lbian upl. The women (whose average age both groups was 29) wh gay or bisexual fathers had difficulty wh adult attachment issu three areas: (1) they were ls fortable wh closens and timacy; (2) they were ls able to tst and pend on others; and (3) they experienced more anxiety relatnships pared to the women raised by heterosexual fathers (and mothers).

The study is noteworthy for several reasons: (1) his study sample was large, reprentative, and populatn-based (not a small, self-selected group); (2) Regnes studied the rpons of adult children rather than askg same-sex parents to scribe how their young pennt children are dog; and (3) he was able to draw parisons on up to 80 measur for children who had lived wh (or had) parents who fell to one of eight tegori—tact fai wh both blogil parents who were married to each other, lbian mothers, gay fathers, heterosexual sgle parents, parents who later divorced, habg parents, parents who adopted the rponnt, and other (such as a ceased parent). The thor remend further flaws exist the vast majory of studi published before 2012 on this subject (Marks 2012) cludg the fact that they relied upon small, nonreprentative sampl that are not reprentative of children typil homosexual fai the Uned major studi, published by Gartrell and Bos (2010) and Biblarz and Stacey (2010), are often ced by gay activists and extensively the media.

GAY PARENTS AS GOOD AS STRAIGHT ON

The Substance Abe and Mental Health Servic Admistratn (SAMHSA) today released a new data report Lbian, Gay, and Bisexual Behavral Health: Rults om the 2021 and 2022 Natnal Surveys on Dg Use and Health (PDF | 2.1 MB), ditg that lbian, gay, and bisexual adults are more likely than straight adults to e substanc, experience mental health ndns cludg major prsive episos, and experience ser thoughts of suici. In s 2004 endorsement of what is monly referred to as the “no differenc” theory, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn (APA) clared that “there is no scientific evince that parentg effectivens is related to parental sexual orientatn: lbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provi supportive and healthy environments for their children, ” and “rearch has shown that the adjtment, velopment, and psychologil well-beg of children is unrelated to parental sexual orientatn and that the children of lbian and gay parents are as likely as those of heterosexual parents to flourish. I redrs this excln of lbian mothers (and gay fathers) om femist rearch and theorisg on margal parentg this paper, by focg on the nstctn of lbians and gay men as appropriate there is creasg support om members of the “public” for extendg the rights of dividual lbians and gay men, few are willg to regnise and endorse lbian and gay fai (Ellis, 2001).

The Brish prs, for example, has acced lbians of makg “a mockery of motherhood” (Daily Mail, 31 July 1998: “A mockery of motherhood”), and one gay upl' attempt to have children together has been brand a “tangled saga” (Daily Mail, 1 September 1999: “The tangled saga of two wealthy gays and the woman who is helpg them realise their dream of havg children together”) and a “bizarre baby-makg arrangement” (Women's Own, 6 September 1999: “Take two gay men, two donor eggs, and one surrogate mum, what do you get? Addnally, many lol thori are hostile toward lbians and gay men who apply to adopt or foster children, the majory of “fertily” clics will not accept lbians as clients (and lbians experience heterosexism the law when they self-semate wh a privately arranged donor), and lbian and gay parents are “simply not regnised law” (Stonewall, 1998, p. 238), where most lbians and gay men are the closet and “paterny leave, and leave to acpany a pregnant woman to antenatal re, is granted by some employers to fathers, but not to the lbian -mother” or gay the late 1970s and early 1980s, psychologists began to intify arguments ed to oppose lbian and/or gay ctody Golombok et al.

This article ntribut to lerature psychology and the social scienc, which explor the nstctn of antilbian and/or antigay arguments the media and public bate (McCreanor, 1996), specifilly, on talk shows Clarke 1999, Epste & Steberg 1998, the prs Alldred 1998, Ellis & Kzger 2000, Meyers 1994 and Hansard (Ellis & Kzger, 2000; Epste, Johnson, & Steberg, 2000). For example:When God created man om nothg, then he formed the women, he ma the women, but he created the man om the dt of the earth, he put them two a betiful garn and told them to multiply, he didn't mean for man to marry man and womanConclnI have intified six arguments equently ed to oppose lbian and gay parentg a number of ntexts om popular televisn talk shows to foc groups wh llege stunts.

GAY AND LBIAN PARENTG: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THEM AND METHODOLOGIL STRATEGI OF BRAZILIAN REARCH

In g the different arguments, opponents of lbian and gay parentg eher place the rponsibily for their views wh god, nature, children'sEndnotArguments about the sful and unnaturalns of lbian and gay parentg are often tertwed—a popular argument is that the “natural” orr is also ordaed by god and “the way he planned ” (Pihama, 1998). Relig thori/figur equently voice the view that the nuclear fay is part of the natural and “ordaed” orr, and to move outsi of this orr is to unrme society and god's plan for the human race (Pihama, 1998) is one of the few arguments agast lbian and gay AcknowledgementsI thank Virgia Brn, Celia Kzger, Sharon Lockyer, Elizabeth Peel, San Speer, and an anonymo reviewer for their ments on an earlier versn of this article.

However, more and more, lbians, gays, and bisexuals create their fay arrangements and have received visibily and support, maly due to the legal and polil regnn of civil marriage and the adoptn among same-sex upl Lat Ameri (Lira & Morais, 2017; Ryan & Berkowz, 2009) 1995, Brazil announced the Registered Civil Partnership-PCR bill No.