LGBTQ Parenting

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Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning Parenting
America, being the diverse country that it is, has moved on from the idea of the traditional family; one father one mother and 2 children. We are seeing more and more homosexual couples having, adopting and raising their own children. Although some people do not approve of this idea of a family, whether it is due to religious beliefs or just the way that the individuals were raised as a child, it is definitely a reality. They face many obstacles when it comes to them wanting to be parents. People say it is not right, and that it is unnatural, which I feel they think that they have to be twice as “perfect” as the heterosexual parents are. In this paper I plan to discuss the issues that Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) families go through while trying to start a family of their own. The issues will range from adoption and the issues faced in trying to adopt a child, to custody battles and how sexual orientation could play a role in the “well-being” of a child, to how being brought up by a LGBTQ headed home could affect, if in any way, a child’s development.
Society’s Effects on Gay Parenting
As a LGBTQ headed family the pressures of society can weigh heavy on the way you raise your child. In a recent article written by Lev (2010) it was found that the LGBTQ headed families often felt extreme pressure to be sure to raise a heterosexual child or children as well as a child or children who behave in such ways as a “normal” person of their gender would typically behave. Society puts a strain on being normal. The child is not worried about whether they act gender appropriate nor do they care about sexuality. Society is too focused on something t...

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...z, T. J., & Savci, E. (2010). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00714.x
Goldberg, N. (2010). Gay families and the court: The quest for equal rights. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 2(3), 216-218. doi: 10.1111/j.1756-2589.2010.00056.x
Patterson, C. J. (1992). Children of lesbian and gay parents. Society for Research in Child Development, 63(5), 1025-1042. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.ep9301201145
Lev, A. I. (2010). How queer!—the development of gender identity and sexual orientation in lgbt-headed families. Family Process, 49(3), 268-290. doi: 10.1111/j.1545- 5300.2010.01323.x
Tye, M. C. (2005). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered parents special considerations for the custody and adoption evaluator. Family Court Review, 41(1), 92-103. doi: 10.1111/j.174-1617.2003.tb00871.x

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