Gay and Lesbian Parenting Essay Example

Unlike in the past when homosexuality was something that could not be addressed publicly, today it has become rampant and is being considered in some places. For a long period, the LGBT community in the US tried to advocate for their rights, but their efforts bore no fruits until Barack Obama (the first African American to be president of the US) became president. Obama insisted on considering LGBT community rights. He appointed people who were gay to be part of his administration. And on June 26, 2015, all states were to license and consider same-sex marriages due to a decision by the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges.

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Due to these adjustments in the gay rights in the US, there has been an increase in the number of people in the LGBT community. A Gallup poll conducted in 2017 shows that 4.5% of adult citizens in the US are LGBT, 5.1% were women while 3.9% were men. There has been an increase in LGBT community considering their population was only 2.7% in 2008. The number of same-sex households in the US in 2018 is estimated to be around 1,487,280. Some of these households have adopted children. The 2010 US census revealed that approximately 115,000 children are raised by same-sex parents. Thus the LGBT community also plays a role in the parenting of children in the US. (Riggs, 2007)

But there is one question that begs to be answered. Is raising a child in a heterosexual household similar to a child in a lesbian or gay household? Many people would opt for heterosexual families due to the basic perception that the children will eventually result in homosexuality just as their parents are. But on the other hand, you find that there are people who are LGBT, yet they come from heterosexual families. So these rules out the fact that children raised in same-sex households will be gay. Though it might in some way make them vulnerable to ending up being homosexual, it is in not automatic. What is certain is that there might be some differences and similarities in the lives that these children live due to the sexuality of their parents. A poll in 2014 by Gallup indicated that 63% of the population in the US supports adoption of children by same-sex couples. People are convinced that same-sex couples can effectively bring up children efficiently, especially the older people in society. (Marks, 2012)There are some challenges that same sex couples face in bringing the children they adopt; it also comes with some advantages. Children raised by same-sex parents may lack either male or female role models in their life which might result to psychological maladjustments; this can possibly be solved by same-sex parents seeking for some assistance from their friends from the opposite sex. Parents play an integral role in equipping the child with skills relevant in relating to the opposite sex and also overcoming challenges that might be as a result of their gender. For example, a mother in a heterosexual marriage will play the role of grooming her daughter into well behaved and principled lady; the father will at the same time guide the daughter on how to relate with men. This kind of parenting can be so hectic to achieve in either a lesbian or gay marriage.

All parents are obliged to instill discipline and morals to their children so that they can easily co-exist and relate with other people. Parents should be strict in instilling discipline to their children; they should also teach them values such as hard work, commitment and time management. In this aspect of parenting, both LGBT and heterosexual families can achieve that effectively since it majorly involves the parents. In this case, the sexuality of the couple does not matter, what matters is the conduct of the parents. The behavior or values that are seen in a child are accredited to the parents who brought them up; in such a case we can say that the parents have achieved good parenting (Taylor, 2009).

There are many problems and indiscipline issues, many parents find themselves in endless conversations with heads of schools begging for a second chance for their children in their respective schools. Mostly because their kid was rude to the teacher, bullied a fellow student or vandalizing school property. These instances leave parents so stressed and worried about the fate of their children, but they could have just avoided this by instilling discipline in them while there are still young. Sparing the rod doesn't only spoil the child but also guarantees parents a lot of trips to the principal's office and worst of all police stations. A more serious problem comes up when children start abusing drugs and sometimes end up being addicts and in both traditional and LGBT families face problems in substance abuse and delinquent behavior . When it comes to performance in academic institutions, children from both family setups tend to have similar grade progression. The sexuality of their parents doesn't in any way affect their performance at school.

The issue of LGBT parenting is partly refuted and partly supported by literature. Many studies that have been conducted to try and establish the effects associated by either their parents being heterosexual or homosexual have found no significant impact that can in any way result to personality or behavior problems, this because the same challenge is still evident in traditional family setups. Whether a parent is either homosexual or not, problems in behavior, sexual identity in a child can still be present, what matters is how the parents take up his or her role in bringing their child up (Tasker & Bigner, 2013). Though the larger percentage of literature strives to point out on the negative impact lesbian and gay families have especially in sexual identity of the children they raise, we should tend to concentrate more on devising ways that will assist these families to efficiently raise their children in a similar way to traditional families.

Since the law has already permitted the LGBT community to adopt children, the best we can do to ensure that the adopted children can be able to lead normal lives just like their counterparts in heterosexual families. Though many people will always be so quick to judge and hate on those who opt to be gay, lesbian or even transgender, what we should understand is that the LGBT community is already part of our community, and even if we might have our principles and doctrines regarding sexuality, we should not in any way violate their rights. We should help them in bringing up their children since the children have nothing to do with the sexuality of their parents. Due to the increase in the number of LGBT in our country, and the current laws that have been put in place to protect their rights, the number of gay and lesbian families will also increase (Goldberg & Allen, 2013). It is therefore very essential that research is done in fields like psychology to make sure that these families are adequately supported in bring up their children since the children need to live normal lives without being affected by either their parents being gay or lesbian.

Conclusion

In twenty years to come, the gay culture will have gone through a lot of drastic changes and we will witness the approval of additional laws that will seek to address the problems that LGBT community and their families face, maybe by that time the LGBT community will have a better place in the society since the young generation is very diverse and will have no option but to cope with the changes in the family setup. Therefore more literature should be worked on to support LGBT families. An important point that I noted in this research is that what matters most is how a child is brought up and the morals imparted to him, whoever is tasked to this job doesn't matter at all. There should be no difference in children from same-sex parents and heterosexual parents because what matters is what the parent has to offer. Furthermore instilling of discipline and morals to the young ones is a collective responsibility in the society.

References

Goldberg, A. E., & Allen, K. R. (2013). LGBT-parent families : innovations in research and implications for practice. New York: Springer .

Marks, L. (2012). Same-sex parenting and children's outcomes: A closer examination of the American psychological association's brief on lesbian and gay parenting. Social Science Research, 41(4), 735-751.

Tasker, F., & Bigner, J. J. (2013). Gays and Lesbian Parenting: New Directions. Abingdon: Routledge.

Taylor, Y. (2009). Lesbian and gay parenting: Securing social and educational. New York : Palgrave Macmillan.