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Parenthood and families

Culture and society reflect a narrow view and concept of family that revolves around the ideal of an opposite sex couple. Despite increased emphasis at all levels of government on the importance of family to the fabric of society, there is limited acknowledgement that same-sex couples are capable of constituting a family, and that same-sex couples, as well as gay people who are not in a relationship, have children, or have caring responsibilities to others within their immediate family, or indeed are members of their immediate family.

Two key legislative developments have made a difference. First, the Adoption and Children Act 2002 in England and Wales enables same-sex couples to be considered for adoption, and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 makes explicit reference to the responsibilities of a civil partner to their family. The Civil Partnership Act also grants next of kin rights to same-sex couples. These legislative developments, however, do not necessarily reflect general progress. For example, there is still a degree of invisibility at school, within the workplace, and within government policy, and this has a significantly detrimental effect on lesbian and gay people and their families. When lesbian and gay families are acknowledged, it is often in a negative context. It is erroneously assumed that gay parenting has a negative impact on the upbringing of children, and does not constitute a "real" family. This makes it difficult for same-sex couples to feel able to be open about their relationship and family status to health care practitioners, or to social care providers.

Research

• Same-sex couples and same-sex-parent families: relationships, parenting, and issue of marriage, Ambert (2004)
• All our families: new policies for a new century: a report of the Berkeley family forum, Mason et al (2003)
• Guidance for nurses on 'next-of-kin' for lesbian and gay patients and children with lesbian or gay parents, Royal College of Nursing (2003)
• No place like home: relationships and family life among lesbians, gay men, Carrington (2003)
• Queer families, queer politics: challenging culture and the state, Bernstein et al (2003)
• Eating fire: family life, on the queer side, Riordon (2002)
• Gay fathers and their children: what we know and what we need to know, Barrett et al (2002)
• Same Sex Intimacies: Families of Choice and Other Life Experiments, Donovan et al (2001)
• The gay & lesbian marriage & family reader: analyses of problems and prospects for the 21st century, Lehmann (2001)
• From this day forward: commitment, marriage, and family in lesbian and gay relationships, Stiers (2000)
• Children's Play Narratives: What they tell us about Lesbian-Mother families, Golombok (1999)
• Children With Lesbian Parents: A community study, Golombok (1999)
• Children raised in fatherless families from infancy: A follow up of children of lesbian and single heterosexual mothers at early adolescence, Golombok (1999)
• Changing family values: feminist perspectives, Jagger et al (1999)
• Lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities in families: psychological perspectives, Patterson et al (1999)
• The Different Dimensions of Gay Fatherhood, Dunne (1999)
• Growing up in a lesbian family: effect on child development, Anderson (1997)