The Invisible Diversity Of Families With Same-Sex Parents In The United States

1157 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender and sexuality in todays society

Throughout history people have defined a traditional family dynamic as containing a female mother figure, a male father figure, and the possible children of the household. Societal development has allowed expansion of the definition to include same sex, gay, and transsexual households. Much controversy and opposition has erupted over the change in the family model. Opinions of the public, dictated social norms, and attitudes of existing family members can make life for a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender) family structure difficult. These biases and discriminations can be direct or indirect. The child or children raised in these households are subject to the same ridicule. One question still of debate is, are there negative effects to a child or children raised in these households?
A statistic presented in the article "The Mamas And The Papas: The Invisible Diversity Of Families With Same-Sex Parents In The United States", by Lucy Rimalower* and Caren Caty states that, “According to the US Census Bureau (2000), eight to ten million children are being raised in households …show more content…

Misunderstanding and public perception, make many same sex parental units hesitant, and at times fearful, to disclose their family structure to the child’s school system or to live openly amongst their peers. LGBT parents that live in strong predominately gay communities are shown to be more confident and open regarding their lifestyle compared to others in communities where conservative values are expressed. Additionally, Rimalower and Caty cite, “Litovich and Langhout (2004) contend that while these children start school feeling proud of their families, negativity and disapproval lead them to become silent, necessitating that parents prepare their children for heterosexism and homophobia, from peers and teachers

Show More
Related

  • Same-Sex Parenting In Unhitched By Timothy J. Biblarz And Judith Stacey

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    This academic journal written by Timothy J. Biblarz and Judith Stacey is to attack the well-known idea of children needing both a mother and father role in their household. Biblarz is an associate professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California, while Stacey is also a professor of sociology at New York University, formerly working alongside Biblarz. Both are very passionate about gender, family, and sexuality studies, mainly emphasizing the effects of same-sex parenting. Stacey wrote the novel, Unhitched, which diminishes the popular belief about different gender parenting from her experiences. Biblarz and Stacey conduct a very detailed research study on both same-sex households, as well as heterosexual households to see what the similarities and differences are. Throughout this journal, the two conclude that children do not need a mother and father figure to function properly, as they are just as well off, if not better, with lesbian or gay parents.

    Read More

  • The Changing American Family by Natalie Angier

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, we must examine the assertions of “The Changing American Family”. From a pure research angle, the NYT article uses several graphs (regarding marriage rates, divorce rates, birthrates, gay and lesbian couples raising children, and children with incarcerated parents) from different sources, including Pew Research Center, the U.S. Census Bureau, and a couple national bureaus for economic and marriage research as well as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The graphs ran...

    Read More

  • The Spark That Lit the Gay Rights Movement

    1698 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Differences in Gender Identity of Children with Same Sex Parents

    1989 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against Gay Adoption

    2163 Words  | 5 Pages

    Note: This paper has a very long Annotated Bibliography. 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.

    Read More

  • Transgender Identity Essay

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    When two people are in love and plan on having a family, they look to the future and look at all the wonderful events to come. Yet, they do not think of any negative outcome that may lie in the future. No one likes to think that something different or unexpected can happen to his or her family, but rather image and focus on the great future that is yet to come. However, It seems that people are encountering more conflict with their gender identity and not only the individual but the families as well. This paper will point out how having a child who is gender confused suffers as much as the parents. It is hypothesized that parents who have a transgender child have a hard time accepting the child for who they are because of the negativity that

    Read More

  • The Challenges of Lesbian and Gay Youth

    2611 Words  | 6 Pages

    Despite the transition, little consideration has been given to understanding the growing population of gay adolescents. 25% of American families are likely to have a gay child (Hidalgo 24); In the United States, three million adolescents are estimated to be homosexual. Yet, American society still ignores gay adolescents. Majority of children are raised in heterosexual families, taught in heterosexual establishments, and put in heterosexual peer groups. Gay adolescents often feel forced by parents to pass as “heterosexually normal” (Herdt 2). As a result, homosexual teens hide their sexual orientation and feelings, especially from their parents. Limited research conducted on gay young adults on disclosure to parents generally suggests that disclosure is a time of familial crisis and emotional distress. Very few researchers argue that disclosure to parents results in happiness, bringing parents and children closer (Ben-Ari 90).

    Read More

  • Homosexuality And Stereotypes In It's Elementary

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    “What’s the big whoop?” asks a cute, blonde, elementary school aged boy when his teacher discusses homosexuality. He didn’t understand why people cared who other people loved. Little kids are perfect examples of how society’s negativity towards homosexuality creates homophobia. Children don’t understand why it matters who you love because they don’t see it as a problem and their opinions aren’t clouded by stereotypes. If LGBT issues were taught to these innocent, uninvolved children in elementary school, it would be more likely they would be accepting as they grew up. It is important to present LGBT in a positive light before parents, classmates, and media influence their perceptions.

    Read More

  • And Tango Makes Three: Bring it Into the Elementary Classrooms

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martino, Wayne, and Wendy Cumming-Potvin. "They Didn't Have 'Out There' Gay Parents--They Just Looked Like "Normal" Regular Parents": Investigating Teachers' Approaches To Addressing Same-Sex Parenting And Non-Normative Sexuality In The Elementary School Classroom." Curriculum Inquiry 41.4 (2011): 480-501. ERIC. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Effects of Same-sex Parenting

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Same Sex Parents

    2365 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Changing Families

    1780 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... the past several years is the same-sex family. Since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, changing attitudes have brought more tolerance to the gay and lesbian community. This has somewhat loosened the stigma previously associated with this segment of the population. Along with evolving public attitudes, economic and legal changes in the United States have also reduced barriers previously facing same-sex couples making it more likely for them to form families (Butler, 2004). On the other hand, continued strong institutional ties to marriage between one man and one woman continue to pose problem for this group and shape social agendas (Glenn, 2004; Lind, 2004). While several states and many employers have given recognition and benefits to homosexual partners, there is still no uniform policy in place which addresses their familial rights in the United States.

    Read More

  • LGBT Subculture

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baker, Jean M. How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community. New York: Harrington Park, 2002. Print.

    Read More

  • What Is My Family Essay

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    My father and mother both cook and clean, my father works on the vehicles and fixes broken products in my house. The roles are mostly shared and both of my parents help around the house. My parents both support my sister and I and they both go to work as well as take care of us. The family theme I choose has impacted me by showing me all the different family types and how inequality is evident in any other type of family other then neutral or extended family. I now realize that I am very fortunate and everyone should accept others no matter what kind of family they live in. This has given me the label of normal in society if I had same sex parent I may be looked at as an outcast or outsider. Since this is how I was raised I am alike to many people. Since both of my parents work and went to post secondary education, I have been able to participate in post secondary school. My family impacts my everyday interactions because I base my actions on what they have taught me. I have learned what is right and wrong from my parents and I continue to apply that knowledge everyday. I respect my parent’s rules and even living in university I still think about them when making everyday decisions and ask myself if they would approve of my actions.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Same Sex Marriage

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about The Invisible Diversity Of Families With Same-Sex Parents In The United States

Open Document