“[Gay and lesbian couples are] much more likely to be tolerant, to encourage for example, their children to play with a wider range of toys- to encourage a girl to play with both dolls and trucks”(Wilson). Parents are people who raises a child. Why does it matter if they’re homosexual or heterosexual? The only thing that matters is if the child, is loved and nurtured. Same-sex parents are more committed because it was on purpose to have a child. “Additionally, gay and lesbian parents, she suggests, provide a unique environment that promotes open-mindedness, tolerance, and gender equality”(Pappas). Children of same sex couples have the same or better outlook on life and same sex parenting is also beneficial because they adopt more children. Same or Better Outlook On Life Children of same-sex parenting, isn’t different from other children emotional functioning, sexual orientation, and gender role behavior. Plenty studies show children’s well being is genuinely affected by their relationship with their parents, not sexual orientation. Studies show homosexual family disclosed any evidence of harm or disadvantage to the children in any discernible way. Same-sex couples promote an open-mind, tolerance, and gender equality environment. Kids who are raised by homosexual couples have a great outcome on life as straight couples. Reports showed kids between three and four years of age show less aggressive, bossiness, and domineering attitude, raised by lesbian couples. Teenagers with same-sex parents are more connected in school. “Children of “Gay fathers” were more likely to vote; children of lesbians used alcohol less frequently”(Sprigg). Adolescents become role models for equitable relationship. Adoption “Research has dem... ... middle of paper ... ... 2012-2013. http://www.adoptionhelp.org/lgtb-adoption. Web. 5. Mar. 2014. Siegel, Benjamin, and Ellen Perrin. “Gay Parents As Good As Straight Ones.” Bu Today. American Academy of Pediatrics, N.p. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. www.bu.edu. Linnville, Deanna and Mayo O’Neil “Same-Sex Parents and Their Children.” American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. N.p., N.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. www.aamft.org. Farr, Rachel, Krivickas and Lofquist. “Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples Still On The Rise.” Adoptive Families. Adoptive Families Magazine, 2014 www.adoptivefamilies.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Sprigg, Peter. “New Study on Homosexual Parents Tops All Previous Research Council.” N.p., N.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Path: www.frc.org. Goldberg, Evan B. Donaldson, and David Btodzinsky. “Why Gay Parents May Be The Best Parents.” Live Science. N.p., N.d. www.livescience.com. Web. Mar. 2014.
outcomes, and romantic relationships of adolescents with same-sex parents. Child Development, 75, 1886-1898. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00823.x
Meezan, William and Jonathan Rauch. "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting,and America's Children." Marriage and Child Wellbeing 15 (2005): 2.
History has showed us that marriage helped stabilize heterosexual couple’s along with same-sex couple’s relationships and that same-sex couples can provide just as loving and protecting of a household for a child as would a heterosexual couple would. Many heterosexual parents raise their children with the same amount of love and care as any heterosexual couple
In the article “Foster kids do equally well when adopted by gay, lesbian or heterosexual parents” by Stuart Wolpert, high risk children from foster care are taken care of really well by parents or couples regardless of gender and sexual orientation. In Los Angeles County, 82 high risk children were adopted by lesbian, gay and straight parents and went through cognitive assessment. The children’s IQ levels raised by ten points and behavior remained stable. The children from birth had faced neglect, prenatal substances, and premature births, but their social development skills were stable after adoption. There are concerns regarding homosexual parents adopting children because in society a man and woman are the sole parents not two men and women.
Although sixteen states have legalized same-sex marriage, the idea of same-sex parenting remains a controversial topic in America. As American families continue to vary from the traditional heterosexual husband and wife headed families, developmental differences among the children reared by two lesbians or two gay men pique the interest of both the public and developmental psychologists. Perhaps children raised by two mothers or two fathers will exhibit much different gender role behaviors and identify differently with their gender than children reared by heterosexual parents. By observing children raised by different parental groups the possible differences, and subsequent benefits, in gender identity and sex roles can be discerned.
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.
One of the many issues that homophobic people have against homosexuals is that being brought up in an “untraditional” home is not good for the children. There have...
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms. Whether a created family is from previous heterosexual relationships, artificial insemination, or adoption, it deserves the same legal rights heterosexual families enjoy. Full adoption rights needs to be legalized in all states to provide a stable family life for children because sexual orientation does not determine parenting skills, children placed with homosexual parents have better well-being than those in foster care, and there are thousands of children waiting for good homes.
All of the research to date has come to the same conclusion about lesbian and gay parenting. “The children of lesbian and gay parents grow up as successfully as the children of heterosexual parents. In fact, not a single study has found the children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged because of their parent’s sexual orientation” (American Civil Liberties Union, 1999, p.2). Other findings show that there is no evidence to state that lesbians and gay men are unfit to be parents. Home environments of lesbian and gay parents support their child’s development just as heterosexual parents. Good parenting is influence by a parent’s ability to create a loving and nurturing home. Finally, children of lesbian and gay parents grow up as happy and healthy as children of heterosexual parents. In addition, the lesbian and gay “baby boom” will have a tremendous effect on the next generation. In reality, they will be raising their children who will be attending the same schools, playing in the same playgrounds, and leaving us to deal with this new level of diversity (American Civil Liberties Union, 1999, Lev, p.2).
Greenberg, Aaron S. and Bailey, J.Michael: Parental Selection of Children’s Sexual Orientation. Heidelberg: Plenum Publishing Corporation, 2001
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
Homosexuality as a whole has been and is still a very controversial topic globally. There are many different kinds of discussions about the LGBT community, such as gays and lesbians being parents. Some critics tend to believe that homosexual parenting is bad for kids, as if a person’s sexuality determines whether or not they are a good parent.. There is no definite proof that being homosexual makes you a good or bad parent. So, there is no way of being one-hundred percent sure that homosexual parenting results in gender role confusion, psychological harm, or a child being homosexual themselves.
The idea that lesbians and gay men may be parents is often perceived as impossible or immoral. Gay men and lesbians are often excluded from having children because sexual reproduction is related to men and women only. My approach to this controversial topic of gay parenting will be that of attempting to analyze the Pro side first. Gays and lesbians deserve equal rights in our society. Society has to realize that the modern family has transformed into many different forms in recent years in that the "nuclear family" is not necessarily the best.
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.
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