Abstract
This chapter uses demographic data to examine the family structure of gay males and lesbians and their biological and non- biological children. First, I explore the background and data limitations. Next, I use National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) ASCI 2006–2010 data, merged with NSFG open access files, to explore the following research questions. First: how are individuals identified as heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual across behavior, attraction, and orientation? Second: what are the demographic characteristics of these individuals? Third: are there children, including foster children, in the households of gay and lesbian individuals? Fourth: do gay males and lesbians report a different presence of children and foster children than heterosexuals?
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Notes
- 1.
Gates and Newport (2012, 2013) posed that the Gallup poll of 206,186, surveyed more than either the General Social Survey, that surveyed about 2,000 adults annually a sexual orientation question 2008 and; or the NSFG that surveyed young adults aged 18 to 44, about 20,000 from 2006–2010.
- 2.
“…all of the states that have LGBT populations of at least 4 % have laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and allow same-sex couples to marry, enter into a civil union, or register as domestic partners. Of the 10 states with the lowest percentage of LGBT adults, only Iowa has such laws (Gates and Newcome 2013, p. 3)”.
- 3.
Miller and Ryan report “In designing a new question, the 2006 NSFG version was used as a point of departure because it was regarded as the best performing question to date on a survey. In order to improve upon the 2006 NSFG version, it was determined that the goals for the new question would be to (1) reduce misclassification of non-minority respondents, (2) reduce rates of ‘don’t know’ and ‘something else’ and (3), particularly for those respondents who do fall into ‘something else,’ be able to sort non-minority from minority sexual identity cases (2011, p. 6).”
- 4.
Refer to the Amicus Curiae American Sociological Association in Support of Respondent Kristin M. V. Perry and Respondent Edith Schlain Windsor for sociological research supporting same sex marriage.
- 5.
NACAC (2005) Policy statement on Gay and Lesbian Adoptions and Foster Care: “Philosophy-Children should not be denied a permanent family because of the sexual orientation of potential parents. Practice and Policy Recommendations- All prospective foster and adoptive parents, regardless of sexual orientation, should be given fair and equal consideration.
NACAC opposes rules and legislation that restrict the consideration of current or prospective foster and adoptive parents based on their sexual orientation.
Professional organization that support gay and lesbian adoptions: The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1999); The American Academy of Pediatrics (2002); The American Bar Association (1999, 2003); The American Psychoanalytic Association (2002); The American Psychological Association (2004); The Child Welfare League of America (2004); The National Adoption Center (1998); The National Association of Social Workers (2002) (Davis 2011).
- 6.
There is ongoing support for Gay and Lesbian Adoptions by multiple professional organizations:
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1999)
The American Academy of Pediatrics (2002)
The American Bar Association (1999, 2003)
The American Psychoanalytic Association (2002)
The American Psychological Association (2004)
The Child Welfare League of America (2004)
The National Adoption Center (1998)
The National Association of Social Workers (2002)
The North American Council on Adoptable Children (2005).
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Davis, M. (2014). Constructing Families: Gay Male and Lesbian Foster Families. In: Farris, D., Davis, M., Compton, D. (eds) Illuminating How Identities, Stereotypes and Inequalities Matter through Gender Studies. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8718-5_11
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