Gay Parenting Should Not Be Encouraged Statistics from the United States (ACLU Fact sheet, 1999) estimate the there are between 6 and 14 million children being raised in same sex parent families. Whilst some significant advances have been made by the pro gay parenting movement, current legislation is for the most part geared against same sex marriage and adoption, this status quo should be maintained. Gay parents rights group argue that being raised by two parents of the same sex provides a balanced and healthy approach to parenting. This is untrue, being raised by gay parents means that the family unit has an unbalanced ratio of male and female role models in the home environment, you could reasonably expect that this imbalance would spread into the parents circle of friends and the people that the family socialise with on a regular basis. Children look for both a mother and a father and benefit from having both in the home. Ellis (2001) stated, "Gender plays a large role...we may not think these differences are politically correct but, by God, they're developmentally correct. One argument that gay parents have is that children don't need two sex couple role models. Having two parents of the same sex deprives the children of the chance to see how males and females interact in a family situation. Even though gay parents argue the children are exposed to their fair share of traditional male and female relationships, these may be somewhat censored as the visiting child is not part of that family and most families tend to keep certain things within the family. Parents are very strong role models and children are known to mimic what they see. "Men and women parent differently, each contribute different and positive ... ... middle of paper ... ...y.proquest.com">http://gateway.proquest.com Schiffen, L. (2004, 29 Feb). How the judges forced the President's hand. New York Times. Retrieved Jul 30, 2004 from http://gateway.proquest.com Throckmorton, W. (2004). Do gay parents influence the Sexual Preferences of Children?. Retrieved Jul 30, 2004 from http://www.narth.com/docs/influence.html Unknown. (1999, Apr 6). Overview of gay and lesbian parenting, adoption and foster care. Retrieved Jul 30, 2004 from http://archive.aclu.org/issues/gay/parent.html Unknown. (2004). Facts and figures about kids with gay parents. Retrieved Jul 30, 2004 from http://www.colage.org/research/facts.html
Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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...
Jost, Kenneth. "The Federal Judiciary." CQ Researcher 8.10 (1998). CQ Researcher. SAGE Publications. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .
outcomes, and romantic relationships of adolescents with same-sex parents. Child Development, 75, 1886-1898. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00823.x
Meese, Edwin. "The Imperial Judiciary—And What Congress Can Do about It." Hoover Institution. Stanford University, 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Discrimintaion and equality in society is faced amongst people every day. One certain subject that seems to get most of this attention is whether or not homosexual couples should be able to adopt. Same sex couples should be able to adopt children for many reasons. Children that are raised by same sex parents are predominantly taught to be more open minded, have a greater sense of tolerance, and are thought of to be role models for equality in relationships and life. Most would say that these children will face issues regarding their parents sexual orientation, but this is not so. Children of same sex parents have studied to show very few differences in achievement, mental health, and social function as a child that is raised in a heterosexual household. Same sex parents will allow their child to express themselves through different talents and other attributes that there child seems to be indulged in. These children are often showing more loving, nurturing ,and outgoing behaviors that is exposed to them through gay parenting.
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.
Homosexual parents may or may not cause gender role confusion in young children. Critics love to comment on how homosexuals cause their children to be confused about gender roles, but as long as their parents explain and teach them how society expects a certain gender to behave, then the child should be fine. Times have changed, so the idea of women doing one thing, while men do the other is kind of going out of the window. As long as the child understands that each gender is different, and their bodies work differently, a child learning “gender rol...
Scientific studies have shown that children who grow up in one or two-parent gay or lesbian households fare just as well emotionally and socially as children whose parents are heterosexual. Studies have shown that children are more influenced by their interactions with their parents, than by their sexual orientation. (Kathy Belge, 2014)
Shapiro, Joseph P., Gregory Stephen. “Kids with Gay Parents.” U.S News and World Report. 121.11
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.
This paper has effort to generally show youths growing up gay. A number of issues have been presented involving gay identity formation, parental interaction, and disclosure. Homosexuality is a very controversial subject. By no mean does this paper try to say that it is “totally correct.” However, the paper does examine logical theoretical ideas of what gay adolescents endure, using and combining research and reports of other gay studies.
Homosexuality is becoming more and more accepted and integrated into today’s society, however, when it comes to homosexuals establishing families, a problem is posed. In most states, homosexuals can adopt children like any other married or single adult. There are many arguments to this controversial topic; some people believe that it should be legal nationally, while others would prefer that is was banned everywhere, or at least in their individual states. There are logical reasons to allow gays to adopt children, but for some, these reasons are not enough. The main issue really is, what is in the best interest of the child? This type of problem isn’t really one with causes, effects, and solutions, but one with pros and cons. Like any other adoption situation, a parent prove themselves to be responsible and capable enough to raise a child on their own, or with a spouse.
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