There are hundreds of thousands of children who are in foster care and need a home with a family who will love and care for them. Families lead by same-sex couples are viewed as “non-traditional households” and these parents raise their children in very much the same ways as heterosexual parents. These children grow with their adoptive families and if their parents have a stable relationship with each other and with their adoptive children, and have great support systems, then it should not be difficult for those children to thrive in the world as children of gay/lesbian parents. Families headed by gay and lesbian parents are just as diverse as families led by heterosexual couples (Thompson 36). The only difference in these families is there are two mothers or two fathers. They are seen as “unnatural” by most conservatives and religious organizations and their affiliates (Gateway Child Wellfare Information). The media usually portrays same-sex couples as “white, middle-class, two-parent families who have been together for many years. In actuality, these families are a small percent of the larger LGBTQ family community”. Because of the cultural and societal views of what makes an “ideal family” in the United States as “one mother, one father, and two children,” it is difficult for others to accept those that have two mothers or two fathers. These families are usually started by one parent who “came out” as lesbian or gay after divorcing a husband or wife. Additionally, blended families, which consist of one parent who remarried and the step-parent adopted the child or children that way, through artificial insemination and surrogacy, and there are couples who adopt children from the foster care system and adoption agencies (Thompso... ... middle of paper ... ...t to Adoption." Points of View: Gay & Lesbian Adoption. 2013. 11 Feb. 2014. Erich, Stephen, et al. "Early and Late Stage Adolescence: Adopted Adolescents' Attachment to Their Heterosexual and Lesbian/Gay Parents." Adoption Quaterly 12.3/4 (2009): 152-170. 30 Jan. 2014. Gateway Child Wellfare Information. "Gay and Lesbian Adoptive Parents: Resources for Professionals and Parents." n.d. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 28 Jan. 2014. . Gilgoff, Dan. "The Rise of the Gay Family." U.S. News & World Report 2004: 40-45. 30 Jan. 2014. The University of New Hampshire. "The Effects of Lesbian and Gay Parenting on Children's Development." Perspectives (2010): 1-15. 30 Jan. 2014. Thompson, Carolyn. "The Struggles, Experiences And Needs Of Children In LGBTQ Families." Diversity Factor 15.3 (2007): 36-42. 29 Jan. 2014.
Bos, H. M., Van Balen, F., & Van den Boom, D. C. (2007). Child adjustment and parenting in planned lesbian-parent families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77, 38-48. doi:
...a Tasker. "Adults Raised as Children in Gay Families." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 65.2 (1995).
Adoption has been a highly successful practice, it is beneficial to the children and the parents studies have shown but what if it was not the average family, is there a different outcome? Same-sex couples adoption compared to heterosexual couples adoption, does this become a cause in the child’s mental development? Adoption affects the social, behavioral, emotional, and academic learning of children. Over the years, the data that has been collected shows that more and more same-sex couples are starting to adopt. Many worry that the child will be affected and damage will happen causing the child’s mental development to be affected.
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.
While many people have different perspectives to whether gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt children, we have to keep in mind that it’s not all about what society says and what they think. It’s about the personal life of the child that will be affected. As humans we have grown up knowing that a family consists of a mother and a father, not both of the same sexes. That being said every child should have the privilege to have both a mother and father like everyone else. In “Growing up with Gay Parents” the 3 year old son of Jen Bleakley and Nina Jacobson asked his lesbian mothers if he had a father. It shouldn’t be like that, yes a mother can step in and try to take the fatherly image but never will it be the same, to the little boy who sees other boys out and about with their fathers. In t...
One of the major controversial issues in this era is adoption and parenting of children by sex same couples. It is depressing and overwhelming to know that while various people around the world disapprove this adoption thousands of innocent kids aspire to be loved and protected without stereotypes.
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...
Examining lesbian, gay-male, and heterosexual families that had adopted children two years prior to study allowed researchers to discover a correlation between...
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.
An estimated two million LGBT people are interested in adopting. Studies say gay parents seem to be more motivated than heterosexual parents because they chose to be parents and adopt the child. There are many different types of adoption, but this essay will only be about 5 of them, each adoption will show that LGBT parents are as capable of adopting and raising a child as heterosexuals are.
There are many reason why gay adoption is banned and why people object to it. Some people like Bill Maier, a child psychologist working with the conservative Focus on the Family, would say, “Children in foster care ‘are already scarred’ by abuse and neglect, we would want to do everything we could to place them in the optimal home environment” (Watson). Foster children would prefer a loving and nurturing home with a gay couple, rather than move around from foster parent to foster parent. Foster children are often victims of "foster care shuffle." For example, a child can live in twenty different homes before he or she turns eighteen. Anna Freud, a child psychologist, wrote “a child can handle almost anything better than instability”
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.
They need a stable environment and supportive parents to help them get on their feet and reach their potential. With a shortage of adoptive parents for the Foster Care Program and no statistical evidence that the sexuality of a child’s parents affects his or her development, what reason is there not to have same-sex parents available to adopt foster children? Many states require parents to be married to qualify as foster parents, thus, before gay marriage was legalized, this ruled out same-sex couples from fostering in several states. However, now, eight states support same-sex couples in adopting foster children by putting laws in place against discrimination. On the other hand, the remaining 42 states either restrict LGBT parents or are silent on the issue as of December twelfth of this year (Foster). These loving parents are only looking to help the children in the Foster Care Program by taking them out of the rotation of foster parents and keeping them in their stable loving
Baker, Jean M. How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community. New York: Harrington Park, 2002. Print.
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