And Tango Makes Three

With gay marriage becoming an increasingly popular discussion topic there exist constant feuding between which is right or not. We must think through it logically and ask ourselves: how does a homosexual couple not constitute as much of a family as a heterosexual couple? Gay marriage in American culture but more closely religious culture is primarily not accepted but in Evan Wolfson’s “What is Marriage”, what really constitutes a marriage these days

Arguments for gay and lesbian families is a concern for the sanctity of marriage is often accompanied by a discomfort with the idea of gay and lesbian families, based on misinformation about the quality of those relationships and their impact on children (Kimmel 184). Arguments that support gay and lesbian families are mainly focused on having the same equal rights as heterosexuals. Many gay and lesbian couples want to get married because of the benefits they acquire such as the right to inherit from a spouse who dies without a will, the right to consult with doctors and make crucial decisions (Kimmel 184). A meta analysis of social studies of gay and lesbian parenting suggests that children are more accepting of homosexuality and maybe more likely to indicate a willingness to consider homosexual relationships themselves (Kimmel 186). Another great example is daughters of lesbian and gay parents are more assertive, confident, and ambitious, and sons are less conforming to traditional masculine aggression and domination and have a better understanding of their gender identity (Kimmel

We have all seen the classic television scene, where a happy family consisting of one mother, one father, and two children is hovered around a table or a couch. Although still prominent, this scene is becoming less common nowadays as more families become non-traditional. More families than ever are consisting of one mother and children, one father and children, grandparents and children, and even two mothers or two fathers and children. These households, although not what most people consider a normal household, are becoming more common and regular in today’s society. Homosexual parents and families are indeed different from more traditional families, but not for the worse. This trend is not increasing

Over the years, the issue of family values has evolved from the conservative view of distinct gender roles to the prevailing situation where men and women have equal rights. The most notable change from the traditional to the modern values of the family has been the issue of gay marriages. Whereas it was a taboo for gay couples to declare their relationship status openly in public, today the situation is different as is evident with the two texts under discussions. The story titled An American Childhood by Annie Dillard depicts gender roles in the 1950s America while the article by Andrew Sullivan titled “Why Gay Marriages are Good for Straight America” expounds on the issue of gay rights and freedom of modern day America.

Same-sex parenting is taken both in positive and negative sense but even then it is regarded more as a family issue. There is a concept that where lives a same-sex couples, there must be children raised by them. Then it comes to mind that which sort of children? Such children may be divided into three groups: (Kurtz, 2004)

The purpose of this essay is to give a clear understanding of gay and lesbian families. This essay will discuss relative information and problems of this client group focusing on the demographic, history, polices, issues faced by the group as well as relevant support groups and programs available. This essay will discuss these topics by drawing on existing published scholarly literature and relevant, credible published sources. The second part of this essay will be a reflection of an event that relates to the LGBTIQA Community. This reflection will discuss the event as well as thoughts and feeling of a participant in the event. For the purpose of this essay Gay and lesbian will be defined as “A person who is attracted primarily to members of the same sex. Although it can be used for any sex e.g. gay man, gay woman, gay person, “lesbian” is sometimes the preferred term for women who are attracted to women.” ("LGBT Terms and Definitions | International Spectrum", 2016).

In today’s society, the topic of same sex relationships is highly debated; with the issue that is of most concern being the social and emotional wellbeing of children who are raised in same sex relationships. “How might a child’s general well-being be affected by these primary caregivers versus have a more traditional family?”(Journalist Reference, 2015) is one of the many questions being asked as a part of this debate. This study meets the ‘Socio Cultural’ Area Of Study because it is investigating the social and emotional wellbeing of a child and the family structure in which they are in.

Children being raised by same-sex couples is not uncommon and not different compared to different-sex couples. The only difference between childhood development with same-sex parents, as opposed to different-sex parents, is that more same-sex households have to deal with the biological parents of the child (“Same-Sex” 1). The child’s development is not altered by the gender of the parents but by society shaming their family and the biological parents metaling in the child’s

The article “The Family of a Different Feather”, written by Sarah Yoest Pederson, touches deeply on the issue of same-gender parents and how to explain it to a curious, yet ignorant, child using a well written children’s book. Pederson proposes that children are mostly “egocentric”, unable to grasp the emotional simplicities between two parents of the same gender. Pederson goes on to explain that it is unfortunate our society has deemed a children’s book as “most challenged and inappropriate material for its age group” only based on the taboo of same-sex parenting.

I chose to analyze the book Queering Marriage: Challenging Family Formation in the United States by Katrina Kimport for this book analysis. The book is written in a way that specifically focuses upon Kimport’s findings on how the act of same-sex marriage is capable of altering or affirming heterosexual assumptions that are contained in the institution of marriage, which has been heavily based upon the concept of heteronormativity. Because the American culture never acknowledged same sex marriage and was heavily focused upon heteronormativity, the gay and lesbian Americans, who had put so much effort into constructing and establishing their set of relations and the culture, had to endure so many years of exclusion. Even with the recent breakthrough

According to CBC news, Canada, “Bill C-38, the law giving same-sex couples the legal right to marry, receives royal assent and becomes law.” (NewsCBC, 2012) Same sex marriage is legalized by the law and lots of people follow this law as they marry. It is important to teach students that there are different families: like two mothers and two fathers related to different backgrounds. In The Star, it says, “They’re still a small minority,but today’s toddlers and preschoolers being rasied by two moms and dads are much more likely to see families like theirs in playgrounds and classrooms.” (GordonAndrea, 2013) It is important to teach and make students understand personal differences on the topic. Lots of students have two moms or dads, instead of one mom and dad. The number of these students is growing. Now, it is the time to teach students about a new concept of marriage as giving the examples of different family backgrounds like two moms or dads. Having two mothers and fathers is not the problem or consideration when they have the relationship with them. When students make new friends, they should not care about their sexuality or family

The readers of this article could possibly be those who do not accept same-sex couples raising kids. The opposite could be true and the audience might be for gay people who are interested in the development of laws allowing them to marry and raise kids. The author’s position recognizes the controversy behind same-sex couple raising children and the confusion with explaining it to children. However, she believes that people should learn to accept and respect these new developments in our

Every little girl fantasizes about her big day, her wedding day. She has every little detail in her head, planning the venue, decorations, her wedding dress, and the most important, the man she will marry. A father’s most emotional day will be when he walks down his little girl down the aisle to give her to her future husband and his little girl will no longer be his little girl. Now times have changed, and little kids are confused about their sexuality, and as they grow up, they experience with different kinds of relationships. More and more little girls no longer think of the man they will marry, they may think of the woman they will be marrying. The father no longer hands his little girl to her future husband but to her future wife. Children are seeing gay relationships as normal, and are being taught about it in some schools. Having two moms and two dads in the 21st century, is legal in the United States. In biblical times, gay people were shamed upon, and if there were many of them, they would have been destroyed like the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Many people feel different about the topic of gay marriage, and for years people have been fighting to make same-sex marriage legal. There are many strong viewpoints on gay marriage, and in reality there are two main camps one can reside in: Is gay marriage morally right or wrong?

The daily life of children in homosexual families will help to further advance a better understanding of the daily family life of children with parents of the same sex. Research shows that children within these same-sex families have an “inclusive and flexible” (Bosisio 9) representation of family. Along with this representation in, “Peer Relations Among Adolescents With Female Same-Sex Parents” this “suggests that important decisions about adolescent lives (such as custody determinations) should be made not on the basis of parental sexual orientation, but by focusing instead on the qualities of adolescents’ relationships with parents” (Wainright 125). Quality of parent-child relationship is an important factor in any family. As this is seen as a similarity between the heterosexual and homosexual families, there is also that one up that a statement has to be made about child on behalf of their parent’s sexual orientation. “Children are uniquely vulnerable. A range of international human rights laws aim to protect the family rights of children and recognise that the family often makes a vital contribution to the happiness and security of children’s lives” (Hodson 519). Children in general do not have a choice to what type of family dynamic they become involved in. Whether they are born into a family, or adopted into one, it is not based on the choice of the child. Because of this, the happiness of these children comes into question. A valid family by law is not continuous throughout the world, so if the family is not recognized as real, it effects the children, and leads them to question then what they are. In opposition to Bossio’s claim that children have a inclusive and flexible description of family is the work of Jacky Coates’ and Richard Sullivna’s, “Achieving Competent Family Practice with Same-Sex Parents,” they claim that “we do not yet live in a post-heterosexist world, and

The issues that arise in lesbian- and gay-parented families are a function of two things: One is the rich variety of family constellations they comprise, and the other is the fact that they are living in a society which does not yet value rich variety. The tension created by this situation generates unique needs for the approximately 5 million gay and lesbian parents in this country whenever they present themselves to the legal system, the educational system, the mental health profession, religious organizations, the medical profession, or the insurance industry just named a few.