Gay Child Rearing

The sexuality and development of children with gay parents must be most affected by the rearing of the gay parents. Does having gay parents affect a child’s mental health and growth? Can education and socialization be decreased with the presence of gay parents? How could it be possible that children are not affected by having two parents of the same sex? Doesn’t this cause some gender confusion for the child? How can a child develop properly without the experience of both a male and female role model? Will the child be at risk for molestation of a homosexual parent?

A female teaches the child how to love, be caring, and offers a maternal nurturing that only a mother can give while a male teaches a child to be strong, disciplined, and offers a paternal upbringing. Don’t children need both of these gender advantages to be a straight, gender stable child? If this balance is broken, is it impossible for a child to be attracted strictly to the opposite sex? Will all children of same sex marriages become homosexual themselves in the future, or are people born homosexuals?

Is there a hormonal imbalance in gay men and women? There would have to be some type of female hormone that homosexual males have an abnormal amount of to become gay, and the females would have to possess a high level of male hormone to be a lesbian. Do genetics have anything to do with whether or not a person is gay? If so, how would we ever be able to tell if homosexuality is an inborn trait or is simply caused by the upbringing of a child? Homosexual children are born to heterosexual parents every day. So, why would a homosexual parent have to have a heterosexual child? And does it make a difference if the child is adopted or born through a surrogate with either the father or the mother being gay and looking to raise the child with their gay partner?

Review of Literature

A study was done with a two year old boy who was withdrawn in class. It was noted that he was raised by two lesbian women. Dr. Ellen C. Perrin of the New England Medical Center reports, “There is extensive scientific evidence that these children encounter no increased risks in their educational, cognitive, emotional, or sexual development compared with children who grow up with heterosexual parents.” (Steiner 2002). “Research suggests that the children of gay and lesbian parents have similar psychological adjustment...

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... comments. “In summary, there is no credible scientific evidence that children whose parents are gay or lesbian are at a disadvantage in emotional, cognitive, or social functioning compared with children whose parents are heterosexual. There do seem to be some differences in their interpersonal skills and emotional expressiveness that may set them apart from some of their peers.” (Perrin 2002).

I think that the conservative vote against gay marriage and gay parenting will make it difficult to increase that number of children in gay families. Although I support gay parenting, I was very surprised to find that the child shows absolutely no gender confusion or lacks a masculine or feminine role in the family. I think that there is enough studies and research to show that gay parenting has as much validity as heterosexual parenting, and this should be the deciding factor in allowing gay parenting not moral issues or standards. Everything should be in the child’s best interest, and if a gay parent can do the same job as a heterosexual parent without any significant differences, let them do it. After all, aren’t all men and women supposed to be created equal in the United States?