Lesbian And Gay Parents And Their Children

The past several decades have seen increasing controversies over lesbian and gay parenthood. More same sex couples than ever are becoming parents, building their families while others debate their legal rights pertaining to marriage and parenthood. Against this sociopolitical backdrop, how do same sex couples transition to parenthood, and what are their experiences as parents? Furthermore, what are the experiences of their children? This book provides a comprehensive overview of the research on same sex parenthood, exploring ways in which lesbian and gay parents resist, accommodate, and transform fundamental notions of gender, parenting, and family. The book takes a family life cycle approach, beginning with research on how same sex couples meet and build healthy relationships, then describing how and why same sex couples decide to have children and how they grapple with the changing roles each partner must adopt. Their experiences raising children through young adulthood are explored, including the challenges of interacting with their children's schools and teachers. In the end, the book considers the perspectives of the children themselves, as young adults and adults speak out about their experiences having lesbian or gay parents. Integrating both qualitative and quantitative research, this book incorporates a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, sexuality/gender studies, and human development. It also highlights understudied aspects of same sex parenting, such as termination of couple relationships. With practical recommendations in every chapter, this book is a resource for those who research lesbian and gay mental health and family issues, as well as those who provide services to lesbian and gay parents and parents-to-be.

Through the voices of lesbian and gay parents and their children talking about their experiences, Martin shows how to build the kind of support network that all parents need.

PAPERBACK ORIGINAL A stunning new photobook featuring more than fifty portraits of children brought up by gay parents in America, sixth in a groundbreaking series that looks at LGBTQ communities around the world Judges, academics, and activists keep wondering how children are impacted by having gay parents. Maybe it’s time to ask the kids. For the past four years, award-winning photographer Gabriela Herman, whose mother came out when Herman was in high school and was married in one of Massachusetts’ first legal same-sex unions, has been photographing and interviewing children and young adults with one or more parent who identify as lesbian, gay, trans, or queer. Building on images featured in a major article for the New York Times Sunday Review and The Guardian and working with the Colage organization, the only national organization focusing on children with LGBTQ parents, The Kids brings a vibrant energy and sensitivity to a wide range of experiences. Some of the children Herman photographed were adopted, some conceived by artificial insemination. Many are children of divorce. Some were raised in urban areas, other in the rural Midwest and all over the map. These parents and children juggled silence and solitude with a need to defend their families on the playground, at church, and at holiday gatherings. This is their story. The Kids was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS).

In Radical Relations, Daniel Winunwe Rivers offers a previously untold story of the American family: the first history of lesbian and gay parents and their children in the United States. Beginning in the postwar era, a period marked by both intense repression and dynamic change for lesbians and gay men, Rivers argues that by forging new kinds of family and childrearing relations, gay and lesbian parents have successfully challenged legal and cultural definitions of family as heterosexual. These efforts have paved the way for the contemporary focus on family and domestic rights in lesbian and gay political movements. Based on extensive archival research and 130 interviews conducted nationwide, Radical Relations includes the stories of lesbian mothers and gay fathers in the 1950s, lesbian and gay parental activist networks and custody battles, families struggling with the AIDS epidemic, and children growing up in lesbian feminist communities. Rivers also addresses changes in gay and lesbian parenthood in the 1980s and 1990s brought about by increased awareness of insemination technologies and changes in custody and adoption law.

The author of Straight Parents, Gay Children offers an inspiring, thoughtful collection of stories of families that are confronting societal attitudes about homosexuality with tolerance and love. Original.

What is it really like to grow up with gay parents? Abigail Garner was five years old when her mother and father divorced and her dad came out as gay. Growing up immersed in gay culture, she now calls herself a "culturally queer" heterosexual woman. As a child, she often found herself in the middle of the political and moral debates surrounding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) parenting. At the age of twenty-two, she began to speak publicly about her family and has since become a nationally recognized advocate for the estimated 10 million children growing up with LGBT parents. The creator of FamiliesLikeMine.com, Garner has written a deeply personal and much-needed book about gay parenting, from the seldom-heard perspective of grown children raised in these families. Based on eight years of activism, combined with interviews with more than fifty sons and daughters, Families Like Mine debunks the anti-gay myth that these children grow up damaged and confused. At the same time, Garner's book refutes the popular pro-gay sentiment that these children turn out "just like everyone else." In addition to the typical stresses of growing up, the unique pressures these children face are not due to their parents' sexuality, but rather to homophobia and prejudice. Using a rich blend of journalism and memoir, Garner offers empathetic yet unapologetic opinions about the gifts and challenges of being raised in families that are often labeled "controversial." As more LGBT people are pursuing parenthood and as the visibility of gay parenting is rapidly increasing, many of the questions about these families focus on the "best interests" of their children. Eloquent and sophisticated, Families LikeMine addresses these questions, providing an invaluable insider's perspective for LGBT parents, their families, and their allies.

The past several decades have seen increasing controversies over lesbian and gay parenthood. More same sex couples than ever are becoming parents, building their families while others debate their legal rights pertaining to marriage and parenthood. Against this sociopolitical backdrop, how do same sex couples transition to parenthood, and what are their experiences as parents? Furthermore, what are the experiences of their children? This book provides a comprehensive overview of the research on same sex parenthood, exploring ways in which lesbian and gay parents resist, accommodate, and transform fundamental notions of gender, parenting, and family. The book takes a family life cycle approach, beginning with research on how same sex couples meet and build healthy relationships, then describing how and why same sex couples decide to have children and how they grapple with the changing roles each partner must adopt. Their experiences raising children through young adulthood are explored, including the challenges of interacting with their children's schools and teachers. In the end, the book considers the perspectives of the children themselves, as young adults and adults speak out about their experiences having lesbian or gay parents. Integrating both qualitative and quantitative research, this book incorporates a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, sexuality/gender studies, and human development. It also highlights understudied aspects of same sex parenting, such as termination of couple relationships. With practical recommendations in every chapter, this book is a resource for those who research lesbian and gay mental health and family issues, as well as those who provide services to lesbian and gay parents and parents-to-be.

Candlewick relaunches a modern classic for this generation with a beautifully illustrated edition. Heather’s favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, and two pets. And she also has two mommies. When Heather goes to school for the first time, someone asks her about her daddy, but Heather doesn’t have a daddy. Then something interesting happens. When Heather and her classmates all draw pictures of their families, not one drawing is the same. It doesn’t matter who makes up a family, the teacher says, because “the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love one another.” This delightful edition for a new generation of young readers features fresh illustrations by Laura Cornell and an updated story by Lesléa Newman.

'What about the children?' -- a concern commonly expressed about children raised by lesbian and gay parents -- is here addressed through the life stories of twenty sons and daughters of lesbians or gay men. With a combination of humour and serious reflection, they examine the effect of their upbringing on their adult lives and place the sexuality of their parents in perspective. Pejorative and stereotypical representations of lesbian and gay parents are firmly rejected in these stories, while associated problems are realistically and sensitively explored. At the core of the book is the belief that parents cannot be responsible for other people's bigotry, but they must aim to equip their children with the moral fortitude and integrity to deal with the prejudice and injustice that they may encounter in their lives. Some of the interviewees identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, most identify as heterosexual. They are aged from eleven to sixty-six and vary in class and race. Their stories are supported by an analysis of recent research on the children of lesbians and gay men, as well as consideration of the issues raised by interviewees: living with prejudice, what children need from parents, influences on sexuality and who counts as family. This book is essential reading for lesbian and gay people contemplating parenthood, for children raised in lesbian and gay families, for childcare professionals and anyone who wants to understand the diversity of today's families.

"Mom, Dad, I'm gay." When a parent hears these words, the initial shock is often followed by feelings ranging from anger and denial to fear and guilt. It's also the beginning of a difficult journey that, with understanding and emotional support, can lead to acceptance and beyond. Now fully revised and updated, Beyond Acceptance by co-authors Carolyn W. Griffin, Marian J. Wirth, and Arthur G. Wirth remains a ground-breaking book that provides parents the comfort and knowledge they need to accept the gay children and build stronger family relationships. Based on the experiences of other parents, this book lets them know they are not alone and helps them through the emotional stages leading to reconciliation with their children.