Ireland ‘not ready for gay parents’

Contents:

• IRELAND ‘NOT READY FOR GAY PARENTS’
• GAY IRELAND
• GROWG UP GAY: 'PRI WAS A BIG PART OF MY G OUT'
• NEW ‘GAY WATER’ LOOKS TO AVOID BUD LIGHT DISASTER

IRELAND ‘NOT READY FOR GAY PARENTS’

See eful downloads on this page or vis Irish Gay Dads and Equaly for Children for peer support and active mpaigns this area.

Studi timate that between 1 and 9 ln children the Uned Stat have at least one parent who is lbian or gay.

It is difficult to obta an accurate unt of same-sex parent fai bee many lbians and gay men are not open about their sexual orientatn due to fears of discrimatn, such as loss of employment, loss of child ctody, and antigay vlence. There is not a “ual” gay fay.

GAY IRELAND

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. Another study reported that children gay and lbian hoeholds are more likely to talk about emotnally difficult topics, and they are often more rilient, passnate and tolerant.

One of the biggt challeng facg same-sex parented fai is that they mt live a culture that supports heterosexist and homophobic attus and beliefs, which n affect the fai a variety of ways. Today, there are many therapists available who specialize gay and lbian issu and provi a safe, nonjudgmental and unrstandg environment for the fay.

GROWG UP GAY: 'PRI WAS A BIG PART OF MY G OUT'

Frequently, gay and lbian parented fai will seek theraptic help for guidance, support, and regnn that they may not be receivg om the broar social arena. Lbian and gay parented fai may have ncerns about discrimatn parentg and ctody arrangements. Relatnships and problems wh non-blogil parent figur are mon among lbian and gay parented fai simply due to the blogil plexi volved wh nceivg children when parents are the same sex.

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.

Therapists acknowledge the prevalence both of homophobia that is experienced by the fay as a rult of the actns of others, as well as the existence of ternalized homophobia and how this may impact fai. Internalized homophobia is fed as a set of negative attus and affects toward homosexualy other persons and toward homosexual featur onelf. Therapists will help illtrate to the fay how homophobia uld be impactg them.

NEW ‘GAY WATER’ LOOKS TO AVOID BUD LIGHT DISASTER

Both ternalized homophobia and experienc of outsi discrimatn may mean that fai need more time therapy to build rapport wh the therapist and to feel fortable disclosg personal and fay-related ncerns. “In terms of official regnn, I don’t thk Ireland is ready to accept this fay groupg as a social norm, ” said the Fianna Fáil view, however, is at odds wh that of Jtice Mister Michael McDowell, who recently said the legal stat of gay upl would have to be will have to be some sort of regnn for civil partnerships, ” he said. “It is on those issu we n work together, ” she Coughlan said afterwards that she believed Ireland was not ready to accept a gay uple wh children as a fay un.

“I would not do that bee we have to be child-centred, ” she Gael uncillor Peter Kelly, who married his gay partner Canada last December, said there were gay upl fosterg children Ireland. “We are still tryg to e to terms wh regnisg habg upl and the Government are draggg their heels, ” he Kelly said there were a number of gay upl who had adopted children abroad and other upl where one partner was the child’s blood parent. Gay IrelandDisver Ireland, an island the North Atlantic, the third largt Europe.

Learn more about the gay scene Dubl and Cork. "I obvly knew a few gay people, but was a very, very small amount and then when I moved to London and went to a performg arts llege was like this credible explosn of people who were all beg pletely thentic, and I beme more fortable wh the ia of who I was. “My experience of growg up gay Ireland was, tth be told, que difficult.