Same Sex Parentage

Much interest has developed in the overall fitness of same-sex parents over the last few years. As the concept of same-sex marriage is debated in both the court of public opinion and the judicial system, the subtopic of parenting a child in a same-sex household has been widely discussed. Currently there are between one and nine million children in America that have been raised, or are being raised by a parent or parents who are lesbian or gay (Perrin, 2002). Much research has been done on this subject and all relevant sources have determined that the children of gay and lesbian parents do not have any psychosocial or adjustment problems different than those children raised in a heterosexual environment.

In the 1960s most children of gay or lesbian parents were the result of a heterosexual marriage and subsequent divorce. The homosexual parent almost never received custody and often received limited visitation if he or she admitted to their sexual preference. Things began to change for these children and parents in 1967, when the California Court of Appeal admonished a trial court for presuming that a mother was unfit simply due to her sexual preference (Kendall, 2003). While many states now believe that private consensual adult sexual conduct is not pertinent to custody cases, some states still reject this opinion. In 2002 the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a trial court decision that denied custody to a lesbian mother. The judge stated that homosexuality was an, "inherent evil and an act so heinous that it defies ones ability to describe it." (Kendall, 2003). As adoption opportunities increased and artificial reproductive methods expanded and became more affordable, the number of children of homosexual parents has also increased (Palmer, 2003). The issue of the "best interests of the children" must always predominate in child custody cases. To effectively determine the best interests, a decision must be made regarding the possible negative consequences on a child raised by a gay or lesbian parent.

The impact of the sexual preference of a parent is of interest to many disciplines, but particularly psychologists. These reasons include both the practical and theoretical. Since psychologists disseminate knowledge through teaching, papers and textbooks, as well as provide counseling and therapy, it is imperative that their knowledge be complete and accurate. This practical application further applies to the opinions requested in child custody and other matters involving the children of same-sex parents. Psychologists are interested in the theoretical aspects of these children to possibly identify the sources of individual choice within society (Anderssen et al, 2002).

There are seven standards that have been identified in determining the proper adjustment of children with regards to differences between homosexual and heterosexual parents (whether in couples or single). These standards include: emotional functioning, sexual preference, stigmatization, gender role behavior, behavioral adjustment, gender identity, and cognitive functioning (Anderssen et al, 2002). Many studies have examined the impact of gay and lesbian parents on these aspects of child development. The first recognized and published studies with regard to this topic began appearing in 1978 (Anderssen et al, 2002). Since that time, many studies have followed and all apparent aspects of childhood, adolescent and adult development. Some studies used normative values in comparison to the children raised by a homosexual parent; others used comparison studies between those children and children raised by a heterosexual parent. Most studies were based on lesbian parentage, though few did study those children of gay male parents. Among the many studies, various types of data collection were used included standardized tests, interviews and surveys. All studies determined that the parent's sexual preference did not appear to have any affect on the development of the child.

The emotional functioning of a person is the "range of phenomena which most generally may be referred to as the inner life of the participants other than aspects related to sexuality, gender, and cognitive capacities (Anderssen et al, 2002)." In the Anderssen meta-study, this aspect was assessed by individual interviews with the mothers or fathers, interviews with the children, assessments made by teachers and assessments made by psychologists in a blind or double-blind situation (2002). In all, there were twelve studies assessed and all indicated that there is no significant disparity between the children of lesbian mothers (or gay fathers) and the children of heterosexual parents. A study by Golombok, et al. (1983) followed many children in their original study into adulthood to determine if they maintained their emotional functioning throughout adolescent and into their adult years. They also determined that there was no difference between the offspring of the two categories (Anderssen et al, 2002).

Sexual preference is "the individual's physical sexual activity with, interpersonal affection for, and erotic fantasies about members of the same or opposite biological sex (Anderssen et al, 2002)." Sexual preference and confusion are often stated as a feared result of same-sex parentage. The meta-study reviewed nine separate studies. Three of these studies were related to gay father, six were of lesbian parents (Anderssen et al, 2002). In all studies there was no significant difference in sexual preference between the children of gay or lesbian parents and the statistics of homosexual tendencies in the general population (approximately 10%). Of the children of gay fathers, 86% reported heterosexual preferences and 14% identified as homosexual. The only significant finding of these studies was in regards to the children of lesbian parentage. Those children of lesbian mothers were more likely to consider a lesbian or gay relationship than their peers raised in heterosexual families. Furthermore, they were also more likely to have experience same-gender sexual relationships than their peers. The reviewers believe that this is related to the open mindedness of the upbringing of the children and the more expansive family identification that they have experienced. Overall, the children of lesbian parents were not more likely to identify themselves as homosexual however (Anderssen et al, 2002).

Stigmatization is defined as the harassing, bullying or teasing that is often common in children. This is often the overbearing concern of the homosexual parents of children. They fear that their children will suffer emotionally, and even physically, due to the parent's lifestyle. This factor has also been cited as one of the strongest factors in court judges' decisions in the United States (Anderssen et al, 2002). This fear is founded in the reality that the homosexual community is often stigmatized by the homophobic. King and Black (1999) found that in the Midwest of the United States, 15-19% of the college students were not willing to have a spouse who had a parent that was homosexual (Anderssen et al, 2002). However, there is little need for concern. In the Anderssen et al. meta-study, the studies found that the children were rarely stigmatized but did feel that they were teased more than their peers (2002). This may be as a result of the over-sensitization of the children of homosexual parents and may be a perception rather than a reality. However, the studies did demonstrate that the fear of being stigmatized was significant in children's lives. Though they did develop healthy peer relationships that mirrored those of heterosexual families, many expended a great amount of energy trying to conceal their parent's lifestyle from fellow classmates (Anderssen et al, 2002). It appears that while the children may not have been negatively affected in their relationships, they did feel they were teased more often and felt the need to 'cover' for their parents.

Gender role behavior is the behaviors that are culturally associated with men or with women (Anderssen et al, 2002). Some studies assessed this by identifying favorite toys or activities and classifying them as male, female or neutral. Other studies also included clothing preferences, peer relationship preferences, roles played in fantasy games and the future vocational aspirations of children. In nearly all studies, no significant differences were noted in boys or girls of gay or lesbian parents. However, in a study by Green et al. (1986), the researchers stated that the daughters of lesbian mothers were more likely to prefer some boy-typical activities, some boy clothing and vocational roles identified as male. The vocational roles identified as male included doctor, lawyer and astronaut (Anderssen et al, 2002). It is quite possible that these girls were being raised in a non-gender biased environment and considered all of these as gender neutral activities or occupations rather than the male-identification placed on them by the researchers.

Behavioral adjustment is the "degree to which children behave according to expectations about social behavior (Anderssen et al, 2002)." All the studies were conducted among children of lesbian mothers and none of the studies indicated a higher prevalence of behavioral problems in these children. These studies were often assessed using standardized tests or interviews administered to parents, teachers and children. This way various aspects of the child's behavior could be analyzed. None of the studies regarding standardized tests found that the children of lesbians differed from the norms of the test. Those studies conducted with interviews were compared to heterosexual families and further found no comparative difference between families (Anderssen et al, 2002).

Gender identity is the "individual's basic conviction of being male or female (Anderssen et al, 2002)." These studies also focused on children of lesbian mothers and extensively used multiple tests to assess the gender identity of these children. Some tests also included gender role behavior, which is often indicative of gender identity in younger children. None of the studies showed that the children of lesbian mothers had any difficulty with their gender identity (Anderssen et al, 2002).

Cognitive functioning is the results of assessments of intelligence based on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children or the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (Anderssen et al, 2002). The concept of a cognitive difference between the children of lesbian mothers and heterosexual mothers seems obscure at best; however, this was widely studied in the early 1980s. In the three studies conducted, there was absolutely no group difference between the intelligence of children of lesbian mothers and the children of heterosexual mothers (Anderssen et al, 2002).

The results of numerous studies are a necessary indicator to the justice system to determine the best interests of children of gay and lesbian parents. These standards of child development must be analyzed with regard to homosexual parentage to assist in the development of standards for judicial rulings on various family court decisions. Many court cases have ruled against the custody of gay and lesbian parents, and often awarded custody to uninvolved parents or even grandparents, because of the common perception of the damage caused to a child raised in a homosexual household (Rubenfeld, 1994). This is in direct conflict with a universal accepted standard that continuity of placement of the child is paramount in the settling of custody disputes (Rubenfeld, 1994). It is recognized that the displacement of a child is so detrimental that it should only be done in cases where immediate and irreparable damage to the child will result from the current living situation. Yet the universal standard of best interests of the child and the minimization of displacement are not being applied to children of lesbian or gay parents. Some states have even stated that a divorced parent is prohibited from living with an unmarried partner while the child is under age (Kendall, 2003).

All of these cases revolve on the singular basis of the parent being declared 'unfit' due to their sexual preference. Children of same-sex parents are particularly vulnerable to the damage of the court system. Since same-sex parents are not allowed to legally marry; only one parent can be recognized by the courts. In the event of the death of that parent, the child can be removed into the social services system or given to a non-custodial relative. This is despite efforts of using wills and powers of attorney to augment the current court's rulings. Since these are only recognized as the desires of the parent, they are not recognized as permanent parental relationship. Adoption is not an option for the non-biological or adoptive parent either. Most states require that for a person to adopt a child they must be a step-parent or the rights of the biological or original adoptive parents must be terminated (Palmer, 2003). Furthermore, if the co-parent is injured, disabled or killed, the child is not recognized as their own and therefore is not entitled to the benefits provided by pension plans, social security or other assistance programs. The co-parent often is not recognized as a parent within their state, resulting in the inability of them to participate in the Family Medical Leave Act in the event of the child's birth or severe illness (Perrin, 2002).

The societal pressures of heterosexuality are ignoring the data in favor of long held beliefs that homosexuality is detrimental to the positive and healthy development of a child. Not only do the numerous studies dispute this fact, entire organizations have been formed to impugn this widely held belief. The adult children of gay and lesbian parents have formed COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) and the membership is climbing (Johnson, Piore & Dorfman, 2004). Many of these adult children have found their voice and are using it to help those children currently being raised in homosexual households. Some of these children and adults call themselves 'Queerspawn' (Hart, 2005). COLAGE has formed summer camps for children and encouraged them to recognize that their family arrangement is neither injurious or that different from other families (Johnson et al., 2004).

The empirical data overwhelmingly indicates that there are no harmful effects to children being raised in homosexual households. In fact, much data indicates that it is the support and structure of the family, rather than the sexual preference, that most strongly determines the healthy development of a child. The children of lesbian and gay households are now speaking out in favor of their upbringing and encouraging judicial systems and legislative bodies to alter the out-dated laws that govern child custody and adoption cases. There is little doubt that children of lesbian and gay families are no worse of than their peers raised in heterosexual families and the families should therefore be recognized as equal under the law.

References

Anderssen, N., Amlie, C., & Ytteroy, E.A. (2002). Outcomes for children with lesbians or gay parents, a review of studies from 1978 to 2000. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 43, 335-351.

Hart, Melissa (2005, Nov-Dec). Meet the 'queerspawn'. The Gay & Lesbian Review, [12(6)], 32-33.

Johnson, D., A. Piore & D.I. Dorfman (2004, Oct 18). At home in two worlds. Newsweek, [144(16)], 52-54.

Kendall, K. (2003).Lesbian and gay parents in child custody and visitation disputes. Human Rights: Journal of the Section of Individuals Rights & Responsibilities. [30(3)], 8-10.

Palmer, T.L. (2003).Family matters: Establishing legal parental rights for same-sex parents and their children. Human Rights: Journal of the Section of Individual Rights & Responsibilities. [30(3)], 10-12

Perrin, E.C. (2002).Technical report: Coparent or second-parent adoption by same-sex parents. Pediatrics. [109(2)], 341-344.

Rubenfeld, A.R. (1994).Sexual orientation and custody. Human Rights: Journal of the section of individual rights & responsibilities. [21(1)], 14-17.