{"id":1730,"date":"2017-12-14T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=1730"},"modified":"2017-12-13T16:28:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-13T22:28:36","slug":"lgbt-parents-widen-definitions-but-face-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2017\/12\/14\/lgbt-parents-widen-definitions-but-face-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBT Parents Widen Definitions but Face Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1731\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1731\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/quinnanya\/9181901536\/in\/photolist-eZnDrb-9SvjLZ-bxKmv2-HJHup-eicfTz-bxKmva-7XgFFV-bxKqpi-ghZwBV-ghZXit-gi1zJe-gi1N58-gi2QrD-c2TgZy-ghY5cJ-bVGe7B-ghZMQd-gi1KHH-gi1tjU-gi1GnL-7Fxf5k-gi2vuk-gi2fAK-ghYr54-8EsdbD-ghYdBQ-ghYNYC-ghZWtV-ghYjFc-ghYAFm-ghZmNZ-9dwopV-gi1eBS-ac2fPe-fxHwkq-7PqCG-eNBZ7a-aaEfDt-c2Tfim-c2TgDN-c2TgLu-YiPdus-gi2MpZ-c2Tfpb-Sogmvn-c2Tgmu-7XjVc9-nVLuz2-YgKanQ-c2TgpL\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1731\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/12\/9181901536_9e62b43d59_z.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/12\/9181901536_9e62b43d59_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/12\/9181901536_9e62b43d59_z-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/12\/9181901536_9e62b43d59_z-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1731\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Quinn Dombrowski, Flickr CC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LGBT families are increasingly visible in public life. From famous celebrity same-sex parents like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.today.com\/popculture\/neil-patrick-harris-writes-heartfelt-anniversary-message-husband-david-burtka-t109949\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0to same-sex family representations in popular television shows like Grey\u2019s Anatomy and Modern Family, it may be easy to forget the hurdles LGBT families continue to face. For decades, anti-same-sex parenting activists have challenged LGBT parental rights, arguing that same-sex parenting somehow harms the wellbeing of children. Social science research on LGBT parenting has generally refuted \u00a0these claims, providing evidence that good parenting occurs under a diversity of family arrangements.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Families have never truly resembled the so-called \u201ctraditional\u201d nuclear family, yet LGBT families have indeed expanded definitions of kinship and parenting. Beyond disrupting norms about gender and sexual orientation of family members, many LGBT families use adoption and various methods of assisted reproduction to have children. Some families include two parents, some include one, and others involve co-parenting between more than two people. <\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stephaniecoontz.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stephanie Coontz<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 1992. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/0465090974\/qid=1116530960\/sr=2-1\/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1\/103-2249932-0707853\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York: Basic Books. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usfca.edu\/faculty\/joshua-gamson\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joshua Gamson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2015. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nyupress.org\/books\/9781479842469\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Modern Families: Stories of Extraordinary Journeys to Kinship<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. New York: New York University Press. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite a range of options for family structures, LGBT families still face legal challenges to parenting. Legal rights pertaining to adoption and parental rights vary significantly across the United States, as do parents\u2019 understandings of and interactions with the law. In fact, parents\u2019 expectations of what family formation means are often shaped by the legal context in which they live. For instance, if adoption is not an option for the second parent, it may become less important to the parents\u2019 perception of how a family should look. <\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uh.edu\/class\/sociology\/faculty\/amanda-baumle\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amanda K. Baumle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uno.edu\/cola\/Sociology\/Faculty\/Compton.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D\u2019Lane R. Compton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2015. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nyupress.org\/books\/9781479857647\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legalizing LGBT Families: How the Law Shapes Parenthood<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York: New York University Press.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the past decade, research on the well-being and success of children with lesbian and gay (LG) parents has intensified. Evidence overwhelmingly indicates that these children do just as well as children raised by different-sex parents in social and cognitive development, academic performance, and avoiding substance abuse and delinquent behavior. Beyond wellbeing, LG parents may be less likely to enforce rigid gender norms on their children, instead offering a variety of gendered options. Studies have also found that children\u2019s activity preferences are less gendered when parental division of labor is more equally shared between both parents, and this egalitarian form of co-parenting appears to be more common among middle class, white lesbians. However, parents from all backgrounds may be less likely to endorse gender nonconformity with their sons than with their daughters.<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgsu.edu\/arts-and-sciences\/sociology\/people\/wendy-d-manning.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wendy D. Manning<\/span><\/a>,<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Marshal Neal Fettro, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uccs.edu\/soc\/esther_lamidi.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Esther Lamidi<\/span><\/a>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a02014. &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11113-014-9329-6\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Child Well-Being in Same-Sex Parent families: Review of Research Prepared for American Sociological Association Amicus Brief<\/span><\/a>.&#8221;\u00a0<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Population Research and Policy Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">33<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(4): 485-502.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/gender\/faculty\/emily-w-kane\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emily W. Kane<\/span><\/a>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 2006.<\/span>\u00a0&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0891243205284276\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No Way My Boys Are Going to Be Like That!&#8221;: Parents&#8217; Responses to Children&#8217;s Gender Nonconformity<\/span><\/a>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gender &amp; Society<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(2): 149-176.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.albany.edu\/sociology\/74861.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kate Henley Averett<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2016. \u201c<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0891243215611370\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gender Buffet: LGBTQ Parents Resisting Heteronormativity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gender &amp; Society <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">30(2): 189-212.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the research base on LG parents and family structures has developed rapidly, we know much less about transgender parents and transgender youth. Similarly, the experience of bisexual individuals has often been ignored or collapsed under LG experiences. This lack of research complicates the notion of LGBT as a comprehensive umbrella term in family studies, as social scientists know far less about the BT than the LG, and even less about queer and asexual identities (QA).<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pressroom.usc.edu\/timothy-j-biblarz\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Timothy J. Biblarz<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/meis.sfsu.edu\/page\/evren-savci\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evren Savci<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2010. &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.1741-3737.2010.00714.x\/full\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families<\/span><\/a>.&#8221;\u00a0<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Journal of Marriage and Family<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 72<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(3): 480-497.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LGBT families are increasingly visible in public life. From famous celebrity same-sex parents like Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka\u00a0to same-sex family representations in popular television shows like Grey\u2019s Anatomy and Modern Family, it may be easy to forget the hurdles LGBT families continue to face. For decades, anti-same-sex parenting activists have challenged LGBT parental [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2020,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,55,33,13,85],"tags":[9981,35,38543,8959,70,1489,38545,38544,38541,18910,321,2998,1434,21526,4374,8962,38546,306,100],"class_list":["post-1730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-gender","category-health","category-inequality","category-politics","tag-bisexual","tag-children","tag-culture","tag-families","tag-family","tag-gay","tag-gender","tag-health","tag-inequality","tag-kinship","tag-law","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbt","tag-lgbtq","tag-parenting","tag-parents","tag-politics","tag-transgender","tag-youth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1730"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1735,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1730\/revisions\/1735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}