Parents Sexual Orientation

William Saletan – a writer interested in political, scientific, and technological topics and a contributor to the online pop magazine Slate – published the informative and well-written article Back in the Gay in Slate Magazine. The main purpose of the article is to reveal whether same-sex couples are appropriate and harmless when it comes to parenting and raising a child. In order to strengthen his points and intensify the degree of persuasion in his argument, he provides us with various scientific studies and research concerning the addressed issue. William Saletan’s sole aim is to deliver the message to the readers that it is a common misconception and entirely false to claim that same-sex couples build a toxic environment as unfit parents,

“There is no scientific basis for concluding that lesbian mothers or gay fathers are unfit parents on the basis of their sexual orientation” (Armesto, 2002; Patterson, 2000; Tasker & Golombok, 1997). Ever since gay and lesbians have been parents people have questioned how the parents’ sexual orientation impacts child and adolescent development. Opponents of same-sex parents argue that sexual orientation has a negative impact on child development, while proponents argue that the relationship between the child and parents is what matters. National, state, and local governments are faced with the controversy surrounding same-sex parenting. People have very strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Children and adolescents who are under lesbian or gay parents have normal child development compared with children under heterosexual parents. These children develop normally socially, mentally, and academically.

(Chiles) This study confirms that parenting by same-sex couples is the same or better than heterosexual homes and are more welcoming and ready to provide safety to children in contrast what other people say. Some people argue that children raised in a same-sex home can cause psychological damage but “high-risk children adopted from foster care do equally well when placed with gay, lesbian or heterosexual parents, UCLA psychologists report in the first multi-year study of children adopted by these three groups of parents.”(Wolpert). These studies also confirm that same-sex couples are indeed doing well raising children. No matter what gender or sexual preference, everyone should be equally treated and have same rights as anybody else. It hasn’t been proven that same-sex parents affect the development of a child’s life, in contrast, they have the opportunity to grow up in a home surrounded by the values of compassion and love. Question is, shouldn’t the main issue be what the best interest of the child is? When evaluating a potential person as a parent the main thing should be if the person is caring, stable and devoted not the individual’s sexual orientation. Homosexual’s parental

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 US Census Bureau conducted scientific research on the children of thousands of homosexual parents and reported that those children were as healthy, psychologically in regards of social relationships, self-esteem and behavioral problems. It is the quality of the parenting that determines the wellbeing of a child, not the sexual preference of the parent.

Is it more traumatizing for a parent to find out his children are homosexual or for a child to find out his parents are homosexual? The answer to this question is never easy, but is increasingly important as homosexuals assert their rights to come out of the closet and to raise families more and more. Karen Peterson's article, "Looking Straight at Gay Parents" assesses varying aspects of the latter situation. Michael LaSala's article, "What to do When Your Child Says "I'm Gay!" explores significant ramifications of the former situation. A comparison between these articles indicates that it is more difficult for children to grow up with homosexual parents than for parents to find out their children are gay.

Gay marriage is a topic that is heavily debated in this day and age. Whether or not it should be legal for homosexuals to get married is a theme that authors Andrew Sullivan, who wrote “For Gay Marriage” and William J. Bennett, who wrote “Against Gay Marriage” use in there articles. The main points the authors both discus is the meaning of marriage itself, the social impact same sex marriage will have on society, and the influence on children and teens. Although, the authors have similar themes disused in their topics, there are more differences in how they view same sex marriage.

parenthood and will be extremely motivated and are well resourced. The purpose of this study was to investigate how parents’ sexual orientation can have an impact on their children’s lives. However, Goldberg & Kashy & Smith (2012) suggested that future studies should not only control parental characteristics, but also cautiously examine the children in each group of families. They concluded that investigators should be aware of the results before concluding what influence parental sexual orientation had on children’s gender development, due to the lack of clarity in the field. Goldberg & Kashy & Smith (2012) stated that some lesbian mothers contribute in many ways when it comes to fostering masculine traits in their sons and feminine traits in their daughters. Altogether, Goldberg & Kashy & Smith (2012) have progressed the debate on the idea that parental gender draws attention to the growing and continuing studies of parental sexual orientation and gender roles and how that affects child development, in order to educate society. Jacson, Ianlongo and Stollak (1986) studied the relationships between three parental factors and the presence of both masculine and feminine traits in young adults. Both parents and children self-related femininity and masculinity were also examined. There were a total of 184 participants (75 males and 109 females) chosen from a population of 1780 undergraduates who completed the Short Form of the Bem Sex Role Inventory at the beginning of the term.

Many couples would not be together today if marriage was only created to have children. Nevertheless, if a gay couple does want children, they can be made many different ways. For example, surrogacy, the process in which the sperm can be transmitted into a woman’s egg, of their choice, and when the baby arrives they can take care of it as any other parent. People tend to forget that many couples, choose not to have children simply because they do not want to. This signifies that marriage is not only done to reproduce but also to forge a stronger bond between the couple. Considering the amount of children in orphanages and foster homes, if a same-sex couple wants children they do have the ability to

Adoption among same-sex parents is a big awakening problem in our society today. The common issue of adoption of same-sex parents is the social behavior and psychological health of the child. Reviewing literature and studying articles on the issue has showed a strong sociological perspective in the view of same-sex adoption in our world today. Many articles have justified many pros and cons of same-sex adoption. Social relationships, psychological health, gender roles, religious values, the norm of the natural upbringing and social well being all tie into the perspective of why many Americans don’t primarily condone of this issue.

The development of children raised by homosexual couples is not significantly different from that raised by heterosexual couples. “Children whose parents are gay or lesbian have no more problems with self-esteem, psychological adjustment, intellectual capacity,

A study done on adolescents born to same-sex parents showed no significant difference except for one thing—the children were more sympathetic to differences and supported equality more than the “average” teen born into a traditional family. The study also found they felt a greater sense of connection with those in their school community (Patterson). Since these children or adolescents are less likely to discriminate against their peers they better connect with them. They are less gender-streo-typed because they are shown each and every day that their two moms or two dads raise them just as well as a mother and father. (Harris) Because the children are born into an untraditional household, they grow up to be more effective in handling social differences and

Raising children has always been a popular topic all around the world and many question the parenting techniques that adults may use when raising a child and if their techniques will prove to be successful in the future. When thinking of a traditional way of raising children one may see a mother and a father raising their children together and with perfection. However society has adapted a new meaning of family. Same-sex couples now have the right to love each other legally and many associate the word “love” with their children. One may question whether a same sex couple will have the ability to raise children the same way heterosexual couples raise their children. What separates heterosexual couples from homosexual couple’s ability to parent? How is it that those raised by same-sex couples turnout to be the most accepting and loving people?

When it comes to their children, they show no differences as they grow up when they are compared to the children from heterosexual couples. When a study of children between the age of five and fourteen years was conducted, the results showed that children of homosexual females depicted the normal pattern of development in gender identity (Patterson, 2005). Other studies have also confirmed that such children show normal gender-based behaviors and sexual orientation. Across a wide range of empirical researches, it has been found out that adjustments in such areas like school, family relations, and personality of children from same-sex couples do not differ with those of the children from heterosexual parents (Wainright et al., 2004). Therefore, assertions that the same-sex couples are unfit for parenting lack empirical basis.

Contrary to popular belief same sex parents, don’t affect a child’s well-being. Although many people feel that if a child has same sex parents then the child will be confused on their own sexual orientation, have health issues, and have social issues. Research has proven that children that grow up in a straight household are no different that a child in a same sex household. Same sex parents do not affect the kids, they grow up the same as kids with different sex parents.