Gay Parents Research Articles

La homoparentalidad: un interés vigente de la investigación latinoamericana

Como profesionales estamos inmersos en las discusiones de coyuntura política y en América Latina las familias homoparentales han comenzado poco a poco a ser el foco central de las investigaciones científicas desde diferentes disciplinas, por lo anterior se identificó la necesidad de conocer la literatura sobre familias homoparentales. Objetivo: determinar las temáticas principales reportadas por investigadores latinoamericanos durante los últimos cinco años. Metodología: revisión integrativa de la literatura científica (revisión crítica) en bases de datos electrónicas. Se aplicaron 6 criterios de selección para una masa documental de 83 artículos, se priorizaron 21 que fueron leídos a profundidad. Resultados: los intereses más recurrentes en las investigaciones se enfocan en establecer la capacidad de las parejas homosexuales para ser madres/padres, y determinar si son familias que cuentan con una red social débil o fuerte, particularidades de su día a día, detección de vulneración de derechos y las implicaciones negativas o positivas que pueden darse en el desarrollo de los niños y niñas. Conclusión: al parecer no hay afectaciones negativas en su desarrollo psicológico, su desempeño académico no tiene diferencias particulares con sus compañeros. En contraposición, se ha encontrado que son más tolerantes con las diferencias, más permisivos con el establecimiento de roles de género, tienen un menor nivel de prejuicios, manejan un alto nivel de resiliencia y en general distan de un sistema heteronormativo dominante.

The New Sesquizygotic Twins and More: Exotic Twin Types/Twin Research Reviews: Parental Affection and Co-Twins’ Personality; Prenatal Demise in Twin Pregnancies; Heteropaternal Superfecundation; Selective Feticide in Dichorionic Twins/In the News: Identical Twin Oscar Winner; ‘Superfecundated’ Twins with Gay Fathers; Partly Living Apart; Which Twin Committed the Crime?

The second recorded case of sesquizygotic (SQZ) twins is summarized. It is suspected that SQZ twins result from the fertilization of an egg by two separate spermatozoa, followed by division of the fertilized ovum. Next, recent studies examining how differences in parental affection affect co-twins' personality profiles, the prenatal demise of fetuses during twin pregnancy, a forensic case of heteropaternal superfecundation and selective feticide in dichorionic twins are reviewed. Finally, summaries of newsworthy items featuring an identical twin Oscar winner, a case of 'superfecundated' twins born to a gay couple, identical twins who try partly living apart and new molecular techniques to distinguish an innocent identical twin from his or her guilty co-twin are presented.

What should we celebrate: father’s day, mother’s day or family day? a case study on school practices and the educational community’s perception of the inclusion of family diversity in Spain

In this article, we present a study describing the factors, which favor and hinder school intervention in family diversity. In a case study-based qualitative approach, we examined a public ECE (Early Childhood Education) and primary school in the province of Huelva (Spain) with homoparental families forming part of the educational community. The results achieved afford in-depth knowledge of the treatment dispensed to the new family models by educational organizations. The data obtained reveal the need to create a far-reaching debate within the school community and propose actions in educational policy, in order to advance towards recognition of the changes taking place in Spain.

Validation of the Beliefs about Children’s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families Scale in Italian University Students

ABSTRACT Assessing attitudes toward same-sex parenting has important implications for both intervention and prevention programs designed to foster the tolerance and normality of sexual and family diversity. Few empirically validated measures of rejection of same-sex parenting have been developed. The current study examined the psychometric properties of an Italian translation of the Beliefs about Children’s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families Scale, a 14-item scale distributed in two subscales that measure direct and subtle rejection toward same-sex parenting, for its use in assessing heterosexual people’s attitudes toward same-sex parents in Italy. The sample consisted of 344 Italian heterosexual university students (113 men) with a mean age of 20.48 years (SD = 1.60). The results showed that the scale has a good factor structure (via confirmatory factor analysis) and satisfactory reliability and acceptable criterion-related validity. Therefore, the BCASSFS can be used to measure opposition toward gay and lesbian parenting in the Italian context.

‘I want the heart of fierceness to arise within us’: maintaining public space to promote HIV-related health with House Ball Community members in an era of gentrification

The House Ball Community consists of sexual, gender and ethnic minority youth who form family-like houses and compete in balls. Many rely on community-based organisations as venues for socialising and accessing health-related resources. In recent years, urban gentrification has challenged the economic survival of the organisations that serve this community and its members. Between 2016 and 2017, we conducted 45 in-depth interviews with houses and gay families in the San Francisco Bay Area and regular participant observation at community events, including balls. In addition to forcing community organisations to close or move, rising rents have increased housing instability among Ballroom Community members, with some moving to distal locations. Participants felt nostalgia for organisations that provided HIV-related services and hosted balls in previous years, feeling the loss of space keenly. To maintain community and generate employment, the San Francisco Ballroom Community now offers Vogue classes at private dance studios. This allows participants to recruit new house members, welcoming a broader array of individuals into the community than those who have historically participated. However, accessing culturally appropriate sexual health services remains difficult. Health advocates should recognise that community organisations are necessary for diverse youth to build community and access sexual health services.

“Somewhere over the rainbow”

Abstract Somewhere over the rainbow: Reality, still a dream, or something between? The legal and social climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals varies across countries. The Netherlands, for example, is known worldwide for its liberal and tolerant climate regarding LGBT people; other nations have less tolerant attitudes and some even penalize homosexuality. But even in the Netherlands, a substantial proportion of the population has the opinion that a child needs a mother and a father for healthy psychological development, and a large percentage disapproves of adoption rights and public expressions of intimacy for same-sex couples. As a consequence, the Netherlands could be described as a society that values the tolerance of homosexuality, while also endorsing heteronormative beliefs. It is in this heteronormative society that children and adolescents are confronted with assumptions that their parents should consist of a mother and a father who identify as heterosexual and who view their gender in binary terms (i.e., female or male). It is also a society in which young sexual minority and gender nonconforming youth are growing up. Less is known about how the health and well-being of sexual minority and gender nonconforming parents and the offspring who are born and raised in these families are influenced by the assumptions of heteronormative society as well as what growing up in such a society means for these youth. In mine Chair position within the Department of Child Development and Education of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences I will concentrate on sexual and gender diversity in families and youth by encompassing research and education on (1) lesbian, gay, and transgender parenthood, and (2) sexual minority and gender nonconforming youth. In this slightly edited version of my inaugural lecture I describe why it is especially important to focus on protective factors and resiliency in lesbian, gay, and transgender families and in sexual minority and gender nonconforming youth.

Straight, LGB, Married, Living in Sin, Children Out of Wedlock: A Comparison of Attitudes Towards ‘Different’ Family Structures

Australia is one of the last Western countries to legalize marriage between same-sex couples. Research suggests that the delay in marriage equality may be a consequence of societies’ conceptual connection between marriage and family being an ultimately heterosexual experience. The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes toward same-sex parenting within the marriage equality debate. Members of an Australian sample (n = 436) were randomly allocated to 1 of 9 conditions, where they received a vignette of either a heterosexual couple, a male same-sex couple, or female same-sex couple in 1 of 3 family structures (marriage/no children; marriage/children; no marriage/children). Participants rated their level of acceptance toward their allocated vignette, deciding whether the couple deserved the same rights as anyone else. Results demonstrated a significant division between acceptance of same-sex couples and heterosexual couples getting married and having children, with more negative attitudes toward same-sex couples present. Findings also highlighted a prejudice toward couples having children out of wedlock, regardless of sexual orientation of the couple. The implication for marriage equality advocates is challenging society attitudes toward marriage and family, by educating the community about same-sex parenting as well as parenting beyond marriage.

A Remarkable Legacy: The Wayne F. Placek Fund Grant Program

ABSTRACTGregory M. Herek, PhD, made an important professional contribution through his service as chair of the Scientific Review Committee of the Wayne F. Placek Fund of the American Psychological Foundation (APF). The scholars funded by this grant benefited from the prestige of the grant, which provided an important credential for early career professional development. Many of them went on to become significant researchers in the field of sexual and gender minorities. The studies funded by the Placek Grant also had important political and social effects, such as on legalizing adoption by lesbian and gay parents, passage of same-sex marriage, and demonstrating that lesbians and gay men were at elevated risk for physical health problems. The purpose of the present article is to document the history and impact of the Placek Grant and to describe Greg Herek’s central role in this grant program.

Social Justice and the Future of Healthy Families: Sociocultural Changes and Challenges.

Given the pace of social changes, meanings of "family" and what makes a family healthy are changing. How can these changing meanings and understandings contribute to social justice for all families? First, I acknowledge how my personal history has intersected with research I do on youth and families. I define social justice with respect to healthy families, and then consider how contemporary scholarship helps define, redefine, and refine what is meant by "family." Examples are presented from research on cultural influences on parenting; parenting in same-sex couple or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) families; and coming out in adolescence as LGBTQ. These examples illustrate how the notion of family is defined, redefined, and refined to provide new vantage points on the complexities, possibilities, and potential for social justice among contemporary families, especially those that are marginalized.

Minority stress in an improved social environment: Lesbian mothers and the burden of proof

Minority stress describes the particular stress to which sexual and gender minorities are exposed, due to homophobia and heterosexism. The current study explores whether or not lesbian mothers still experience minority stress in a relatively accepting and inclusive community. Forty women living in planned lesbian families in Tel Aviv were interviewed. An analysis of their narratives indicates that these women struggle with an additional stress factor not mentioned in the original minority stress model: the pressure to prove to themselves and to the majority heterosexual society that they are capable and worthy mothers. We termed this pressure the burden of proof. The burden of proof was manifested by a need to prove excellence in mothering; hypervigilance and standing guard; the pressure to raise children who are both exceptional and “normal” (i.e., heterosexual and cisgender); and the burden of serving as role models for the GLBTQ community. The findings suggest that minority stress continues to operate as an essential and integral experience for same-sex families in an improved social environment. What served to distinguish lesbian from heterosexual families was not any defect in same-sex parenting but the experience of minority stress itself, including as it does the burden of proof.

Widening the lens on family processes and the development of parent-child attachment relationships

ABSTRACTThis commentary addresses the research conducted by McConnachie et al. (this issue) on attachment in gay father families, lesbian mother families, and heterosexual parent families. Strengths of the research included the inclusion of different family constellations, the focus on between-family and within-family differences, the longitudinal research design, and the age-appropriate assessment of attachment. Some limitations noted included the lack of control for age at adoption in analyses, the lack of information on parenting processes and parental mental health in the formation of attachment, and questions about information obtained from parent reports of children’s prior caregiving histories.

“We’re Just Family, You Know?” Exploring the Discourses of Family in Gay Parents’ Relational Talk

ABSTRACTTo date, little is known about how gay male parents discursively create and sustain family identity and how they position themselves in relation to the dominant heteronormative discourses of the traditional family. Framed relational dialectics theory – this study explored the meaning(s) of family and fatherhood in married gay fathers’ relational talk. I interviewed 13 married gay parent dyads and conducted follow-up interviews to collect data across time as well as member check initial results. Using contrapuntal analysis, I identified the discourses of traditional family structure and nontraditional family structure at play. I argue that the couples’ talk reflected discursive struggles to generate relational meanings for their family identities.

Father-child attachment in adoptive gay father families

ABSTRACTThe attachment security of children in 30 gay father families, 29 lesbian mother families and 38 heterosexual parent families was investigated using the Friends and Family Interview (FFI) at the second phase of a longitudinal study. Children in gay father families showed significantly higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment than children in heterosexual parent families, significantly lower levels of preoccupied attachment than children in either lesbian mother or heterosexual parent families, and significantly lower levels of disorganised attachment than children in heterosexual parent families. For children in gay father families, stepwise multiple regression revealed that neither hyperactivity nor emotional symptoms at Phase 1 were predictive of disorganisation at Phase 2. However, when entered alone, Phase 1 emotional symptoms predicted Phase 2 disorganisation. The results indicate that adopted children in gay father families are at least as likely to be securely attached as children in lesbian mother or heterosexual parent families.

Coming-Out Experiences of Irish Gay Fathers Who Have Been Heterosexually Married: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

ABSTRACT This study explores how Irish gay fathers, who married heterosexually in a heteronormative culture, assumed a settled gay identity in the Republic of Ireland. A purposive sample of nine men reflected on their experiences of marriage and separation, assuming a gay identity, and social and familial connectivity. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) indicated the suppression of gay sexual desires before marriage as a result of cultural homophobia. The coming-out process continued during the participants’ marriage. Extramarital same-gender sexual desires and/or transgressions co-occurred with existential conflict (remorse) and resulted in marital separation. The marital and family loss was experienced as traumatic, and suicidal ideation occurred for most. All the men assumed an openly gay identity after separating. Many established a family-orientated same-gender repartnership. Results highlight the individuality and significance of the marital and family loss for those who separate after coming out as gay.

Child attachment security in gay father surrogacy families: Parents as safe havens and secure bases during middle childhood

ABSTRACTChild attachment security and utilization of parents as safe havens and secure bases were compared in 33 surrogacy children with gay fathers and 37 donor-conceived children with lesbian mothers during middle childhood. Assessments included data coded from parent–child interactions, interviews, and questionnaires administered to children and both parents. Findings indicated that children of gay fathers perceived high attachment security and their scores did not differ from those of children with lesbian mothers or from normative scores of children with heterosexual parents. Children’s greater attachment security was associated with higher levels of parental warmth, responsiveness, and willingness to serve as an attachment figure; lower levels of parental negative control and rejection; and the child’s younger age. Finally, children used the primary attachment figure more as a safe haven and the secondary attachment more as a secure base, though they reported high levels of both types of support from both parents.

Same-sex parents’ experiences of schools in England

The experiences of same-sex parents in schools and other social institutions is an internationally under-researched area. This study uses interview data to examine the experiences of 17 same-sex parents in England in respect of school selection, disclosure of family set-up, parental engagement in school life, and perceptions of inclusivity. It gives an account of same-sex parents’ high engagement in their children’s educations as they seek to protect their family and children from potential negativity surrounding different family forms. A qualitative analysis using a constructionist grounded-theory approach produced a resulting model that presents that parents use protective strategies that contribute to their children’s positive experiences of school by (a) selecting inclusive schools, (b) being open about their families, (c) engaging in school life, (d) building relationships, (e) valuing diversity, and (e) building resilience in their children to deal with difference. The findings have implications for school policy development and training of school staff.

Toward a contextual perspective on the issue of gay fathers and attachment

Toward a contextual perspective on the issue of gay fathers and attachment

'Segura, Devolve e Arquiva': estratégias do Congresso Nacional brasileiro para impedir o reconhecimento de famílias homoparentais

O objetivo do presente artigo é analisar a tramitação dos projetos de leis que visam ao reconhecimento das famílias homoparentais noCongresso Nacional brasileiro. Trata-se de pesquisa documental envolvendo quatro projetos de lei que buscam a aprovação da união civil entre pessoas do mesmo sexo. Identificam-se as diversas estratégias que reforçam a opressão no âmbito do Legislativo federal, dentre elas a defesa do não reconhecimento da diversidade familiar com base no art. 226 da Constituição Federal de 1988. Tal defesa aponta, a nosso ver, a necessidade da construção de um amplo debate em torno da concepção de família e sua particularidade na ordem do capital. A luta pela aprovação precisa ser construída como parte do fortalecimento das lutas sociais anticapitalistas favoráveis à diversidade humana e sexual visando à denúncia e ao combate a preconceitos, à violência e à violação de direitos direcionados à população LGBT.

Attitudes and Beliefs of Italian Educators and Teachers Regarding Children Raised by Same-Sex Parents

Teachers and educators represent meaningful relationships for children, and their attitudes can have a major influence on a child’s development. This research examined the role of background characteristics, contact experiences, and sexual prejudice in determining beliefs about children’s adjustment in same-sex parent families. The sample consisted of 323 Italian teachers and educators working in nursery schools, kindergartens, and primary schools. The Scale on Beliefs about Children’s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families was used to assess adults’ beliefs about negative impacts on children raised in same-sex parent families. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the association between individual and normative opposition to same-sex parenting and background information, political and religious orientation, contact experiences, sexual prejudice, and beliefs about same-sex couples’ parenting abilities. Sexual prejudice, religious involvement, and negative beliefs about two-father couples emerged as strong predictors of individual and normative opposition to same-sex parenting, whereas political orientation and negative beliefs about two-mother couples predicted only the individual form of opposition. Empirical data are essential in understanding the level of prejudice and discrimination in schools in order to provide policies and programs designed to improve knowledge and competencies to deal with same-sex parent families and their children.

Queering Lactation: Contributions of Queer Theory to Lactation Support for LGBTQIA2S+ Individuals and Families.

In this article I explore some contributions of queer theory to the provision of lactation support services. In doing so, I also undertake an intersectional analysis of queering lactation, recognizing that forms of oppression do not impact all individuals equally or in the same ways. While recognizing the history of tensions between queer and feminist politics and activism, I argue that queering lactation holds significant benefits for supporting lactation among LGBT families, as well as opening up possibilities for rethinking gender and possibilities for gender equality more generally.