Same-Sex Parenting
In the last ten years, many established gay men and lesbians have been increasingly undertaking parenthood through donor insemination, surrogacy, or fostering and adoption (McCann, 2005). Thus, a new type of family formation in American society has been generated. Due to the formation of same-sex households, gay and lesbian parenting is no longer a concept. This type of parenting has become a reality which society as a whole is struggling to accept (McCann, 2005).
In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau counted gay marriages in its survey for the first time in order to provide official data for researchers and policy makers (Wagner, 2010). Such data could help track trend in gay and lesbian family formation and impacts on children of these household types and of the policies affecting them. Heterosexual and homosexual-headed families finally have a chance to learn more about their similarities and differences in term of life experiences and challenges in raising children (Wagner, 2010).
In many western societies, gay males have not been supported as primary caregivers, but the desire to raise a child appears to be strong in gay men, especially in the United States. According to a 2007 study of adoption trends by the UCLA School of Law and the Urban Institute, more than 50% of gay men said they desired to be a parent, compared with 41% of lesbians surveyed (As Cited In Wagner, 2010). Gay fathers in the United Sates indicate that desire to have children is part of finding happiness and satisfaction in life. Like heterosexual parents, they also want to pass on their values and traditions to their children (Wagner, 2010).
It has been suggested that gay and lesbian couples should not become parents because they coul...
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...in parenting. Child development is not only affected by parental sexual orientation, but also the quality of the home environment and the ability of the parent to consistently meet the emotional, social and physical needs of the child (Paccione-Dyszlewski, 2008).
Works Cited
McCann, D., & Delmonte, H. (2005). Lesbian and gay parenting: babes in arms or babes in the woods?. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 20(3), 333-347. doi:10.1080/14681990500141840
Paccione-Dyszlewski, M. (2008). Children of same gender parents: What is known. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 24(2), 1-6.
Patterson, C. J. (2006). Children of Lesbian and Gay Parents. Current Directions In Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 15(5), 241-244. doi:10.1111/j.1467- 8721.2006.00444.x
Wagner, C. G. (2010). Homosexuality and Family Formation. Futurist, 44(3), 6-7.
The finding mean usually relies in the shadow of the fathers' absence. This could be changed if a father properly trains his son to be candid on his instilled values becoming a man. Therefore, it is not an uplifting question of why homosexuals occurs in the post-modern era. Genes may be related to the development of sexual orientation, recent studies shows that an increased choice of homosexuality in men whose mothers previously carried to many male children.
outcomes, and romantic relationships of adolescents with same-sex parents. Child Development, 75, 1886-1898. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00823.x
In today’s society, family structure has changed dramatically from the traditional nuclear family to the unconventional, such as single parenting or same sex families. Over the years, many individuals questioned whether or not a parent’s sexual orientation affected their child’s sexual preference. There is significant research that has shown that children with lesbian parents do not differ from children with heterosexual parents. Many individuals stated that it is the value of the parent’s relationship with the child and not the parent’s sexual orientation that affects the child’s development. Contrary to the popular belief, children raised by lesbian parents are not more likely to become gay than children who are raised by heterosexual parents. A parent’s sexual orientation has said to have little importance to children other than the family togetherness. In other words, the relationship of the parent and child is far greater important than the sexual orientation of one’s parents. To be a good parent to a child has nothing to do with one’s sexual preference, but how well one takes care of that child emotionally, physically, financially, and mentally. Before the 20th, century children were often seen as miniature versions of adults so there was little consideration to children development in cognitive and physical development. The interest of child development did not peak until the early 20th century. Conscientious parenting happens not only within traditional nuclear families, but also within homosexual families. Both traditional nuclear and homosexual families can have positive and negative effects on children’s cognitive, psychological or behavioral development due to their rearing.
Homosexual orientation depends on the difficulties in the parent-child relationship, especially in the early, formative years of life. When the child suffers from an unmet attachment-need to the parent of the same-sex, the child seeks affection from a member of the same-sex. In the case of the son, the deficit in the relationship with the father is the one being compensated. This theory is what Dr. Elizabeth Moberly holds, John F. Harvey noted.
Perrin, Ellen C., and Benjamin S. Siegel. "Promoting the Well-Being of Children Whose Parents Are Gay or Lesbian." Pediatrics 131.4 (2013): 1374-383. PDF file.
Second parent adoption is an important tool utilized by same-sex couples in an effort to protect their parental rights in states where same sex marriage is not recognized. Although gay and lesbian paren...
Entirely, gays and lesbians in the United States live under constant inspection and discernment. When it boils down to having a free and wholesome life, this classification is deprived of countless rights and unreasonably treated due to their sexuality. For this reason, coming out in itself is already a difficult step, than again where there are wives, husbands and children involved; it becomes a very delicate situation. “It is a process to accept a gay or lesbian parent and research shows that it is never too late for it to come out to children. While it may still be shocking, coming out to kids once they are grown up is a bit more difficult than coming out to young children and teenagers due to the fact that they are still in a developmental stage and have not had time enough to form their own opinions on ...
The argument sexual orientation interferes with ones parenting skills is common belief that Charlotte J. Patterson identifies as myth in her work, Lesbian and Gay Parents and their Children, suggesting the belief that “lesbians’ and gay men’s relationships with sexual partners leave little time for ongoing parent–child interactions.” In the Who is Mommy tonight? case study, how 18 lesbian adoptive parents, 49 lesbian parents who formed their families biologically, and 44 heterosexual adoptive parents experience and perceive their parenting role, how they respond when their children seek them or their partner for particular nurturing, and how the parents negotiate the cultural expectation of a primary caregiver (Ciano-Boyce & Shelley-Sireci, 2002) is looked at. The empirical data found proposes lesbian parent couples were more equ...
The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Report there were about 423,773 children in foster care in the United States only a couple of years ago (Watson). Each foster child in the system should have a chance at adoption so to deny gay couples the right to adopt is not only heartbreaking for both the child and the gay couple but also unconstitutional. A requirement of being a parent shouldn’t focus on a person’s sexual orientation; it’s not an aspect that should matter. The main things to look for when evaluating a person’s worth as a parent should be whether the person is caring, devoted, and stable. An example is Jon Campbell and Danny Stewart, found a recently-born baby on a subway and adopted the baby, thinking that it might be their only chance in adopting a child. Another example of how much gay couples value having children is shown by Bircher, a 44-year-old hair salon owner, when he said, "Our prisons are full of people who were in foster care, and those people were in, quote unquote, straight family homes, if I can provide a loving, stable home for my little boy, that 's the goal" (Watson). These articles show how much gay couples value having children and it shows that they could great parents, despite irrational arguments against them
Traditionally, a family has been considered to consist of a heterosexual couple and their children, but many forms of family life exist in contemporary society. Homosexual people also form family units, either as single parents or as couples, with children, who are included in the family through a variety of circumstances. Many have children who were born in previous families (Johnson & Piore, 2004) and many have children who were born in a previous heterosexual marriages. A gay man or lesbian women or couple can enlist the help of a surrogate to have a baby while other homosexuals adopted or foster children (Sherman, 2002; Virtel, 2007).
Since the 1970s, studies on the effect of same-sex parenting on children have been conducted in the United States. Sociological debates have occurred from the idea of allowing same-sex couples to parent. Some groups feel that allowing this would undermine the traditional ideology of marriage and skew the perception of gender roles for their children. Sociologists continue to produce empirical research that studies samples of the approximately 125,000 same-sex couples raising nearly 220,000 children and comparing their roles as parents and the adult personalities of their children to children raised by heterosexual couples. Current scientific research comparing the outcomes of children raised by gay or lesbian parents with children of heterosexual parents consistently shows that same-sex parents are just as capable of raising “psychologically healthy and well-adjusted” children as heterosexual parents. Research comparing children raised by same-sex couples and heterosexual couples found no differences in the adjustment or mental health of these children as adults.
Even though some people believe gay parents can raise children equally like hetrosexual parents, gay parents do not have the mother and father figure children yearn for. Although this may be true in the Same sex adoption is not a game article it states “ numerous reports indicate that infants and toddlers prefer mothers to fathers when they are hungry,afraid or sick... . Fathers excel when it comes to providing discipline, play and challenging children to embrace life’s challenges” (Fitzgibbons). A gay couples of two men can not assist a girl with her menstrual cycle, learning how to be a women and emotionally relate to them like a women will. A gay couple of two women can not teach a boy to be a man or relate to them emotionally or physically.
No matter how we treat homosexuals or same sex couples, children living with parents of the same sex, have now become daily realities for us. However in the past 10-15 years only several countries allow same-sex couples to adopt children, while most jurisdictions prohibit them from doing so. The United States was a first country in the word that allowed LG (stands for lesbian and gay) couples to adobe children in 1993, under certain circumstances. Although same-sex marriages were first made legal in the U.S. in Massachusetts in 2003 (Human Rights Watch). In the article by Istar Lev, the author mentions that there are more and more children that live in LG families, according to the U.S. census in 2000, one third of lesbian-headed couples and one fifth of gay-headed couples were raising
There indicators of child developmental outcomes were categorized into parent and child relationship quality, children’s cognitive development, children’s gender role behavior, children’s gender identity, children’s sexual preference, and children’s social and emotional development. There analysis showed that children with same-sex parents fared equally to children raised by heterosexual parents when comparing developmental outcomes. Same-sex parents also reported a significantly better relationship with their children than heterosexual parents, which was measured by the parent or child perception of the quality of their relationship. This goes back to the argument that parent sexuality has no impact on the child but rather the relationship between the parent and the child has is the most impactful. In Crowl, Ahn and Baker (2008) meta-analysis study also found that the parent sexual orientation had no effect on gender identity, cognitive development, psychological adjustment, and sexual
Adopting children in that environment would lack both mother and father figure in their life. For example, “Children without a father figure would have higher risks of early sexual activity and teen pregnancy; however, children without a mother figure deprive emotional security and unique advice that mothers provide (Pro Con).” The question is raised, should adopted children be reared and educated into a lifestyle that isn’t natural before they are old enough to understand the discrepancies? Young children that grow up in same-sex marriage environment may experience confusion and embarrassment in public surroundings; likewise, young adults and teenagers who have family members or who are personally members of the LGBT community may experience embarrassment and unusual social pressure. Children in a stable family with both mother and father figure would provide the best environment for them to mature and be responsible. Some same-sex family dynamics are from previous heterosexual marriages; therefore, this could affect the relationship between children and the immediate family members. Being part of the LGBT community could influence immediate and extended family on whether they accept or reject their relationship to the