Lbian and gay parentg: Theoretil and nceptual examatns

gay or lesbian family structure

Fai head by sexual mori enunter unique barriers to re and health equy spe greater cultural acceptance and visibily. Empiril rearch suggts that children lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) fai velop and functn parably to those om tradnal …

Contents:

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. * gay or lesbian family structure *

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.

LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR FAI

The issu that arise lbian- and gay-parented fai are a functn of two thgs: One is the rich variety of fay nstellatns they prise, and the other is the fact that they are livg a society which do not yet value rich variety. The tensn created by this suatn generat unique needs for the approximately 5 ln gay and lbian parents this untry whenever they prent themselv to the legal system, the tnal system, the mental health profsn, relig anizatns, the medil profsn, or the surance dtry - to name jt a few. * gay or lesbian family structure *

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.

WHERE WE STAND: GAY AND LBIAN 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. * gay or lesbian family structure *

The prev edn, which was tled Lbian and Gay Parentg: A Rource for Psychologists (1995) was the succsor to a publitn tled Lbian Parents and Their Children: A Rource Paper for Psychologists that was jotly produced by CLGBC and CWP 1991. 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).

As this summary will show, the rults of existg rearch parg lbian and gay parents to heterosexual parents and children of lbian and gay parents to children of heterosexual parents are que clear: Common stereotyp are not supported by the data. 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. 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.

* gay or lesbian family structure *

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:.

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.

typ-of-fai~Amerin Amy of Pediatrics (AAP) discs adoptn to gay and lbian dividual or fay hoeholds. * gay or lesbian family structure *

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).

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY OR LESBIAN FAMILY STRUCTURE

Lbian and gay parentg: Theoretil and nceptual examatns .

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