1.24.2010
Same-sex parenting
Here is some research that is sure to knock the bigots' socks off. An analysis of 81 studies shows there is no research support for the belief--widely held but with no evidence to back it up--that the gender of the parents matters to a child's well-being--specifically, that a child needs oppposite-sex parents to develop fully. On measures of self-esteem, social adjustment, and performance in school, children raised by same-sex parents score the same as children raised by married male-female couples. The study, reported in USAToday (1/21/10, p. 4D) and conducted by sociologists Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, is scheduled to be published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. This is unlikely to deter those who are determined to deny civil rights to same-sex couples but it sure makes you wonder where they're coming from and what their real agenda is.
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I am heterosexual and personally find it deplorable that, despite evidence to the contrary, there are many children in the U.S. who are stuck in our foster care system and do not have permanent homes, all because of the biased attitudes of many individuals in this country concerning same sex couples raising children. I think a lot of people fail to consider that, even with a heterosexual couple raising a child and serving as its role models, there is no insurance concerning the sexual orientation of that child, nor is there any insurance concerning the child’s mental and emotional well-being, level of intelligence, etc, even if the child is heterosexual like its parents. Aren’t there children of heterosexual parents who have become the subjects of child abuse by one or both of their parents? Aren’t there children of heterosexual parents who have emotional and mental problems and end up in state run institutions for the mentally ill? In my own family, I have a first cousin who, many years ago, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was committed to a state run institution for the mentally ill, out of fear that he was a danger to other family members, yet he is the product of a heterosexual couple. Aren’t there children of heterosexual parents who are the victims of daily taunting and teasing by their peers for one reason or another-they may be overweight, introverted, have low self-esteem, not be popular, not choose to go along with the behavior of other children, etc. Aren’t there children of heterosexual couples who have become delinquents, who steal, who use drugs, etc? Aren’t there children of highly intelligent heterosexual parents who have ended up as slow learners or have various learning problems? Over the years, I have had a number of heterosexual colleagues in the teaching profession who themselves had children with special learning needs, who were in special ed programs in their own school districts. Aren’t there heterosexual parents who are unfit to be parents-they may be alcoholics, drug users, etc? It’s time for our society to start giving equal rights to gay and lesbian couples concerning the parenting of children. There is no evidence on any level to support the notion that the “gender of parents” affects a child’s ability to develop fully.
Love is love! Gender and orientation don't affect your capacity to love and care, nor does the lack of a female or male parent. Two parents are ideal, same-sex or male-female!
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