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Featuring a spectrum of families from diverse backgrounds, this book reveals the joys and challenges of adoptive and foster parenting. The authors outline how the experience of adopting and fostering has changed for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people over the years, major changes in policy, and what the research can tell us about LGBT parenting. They interview families involved at different stages of the fostering and adoption process, from those undergoing assessments through to the experienced foster carers and adopters who were interviewed for the first edition of this book 20 years previously. While the number of LGBT people adopting or fostering has increased since then, some of the very real challenges still endure - including social stigma, homophobia and discriminatory policies - and families share some of the strategies they have used to help to address them. This is an essential source of information and advice for same-sex couples and LGBT single parents, as well as social workers, social work educators, sociologists of personal life, fostering and adoption panel members.
The practice of adoption has changed dramatically over the past half century, with profound implications for children and families. Perhaps the most remarkable and controversial transformation during this time has been the growing willingness of adoption professionals to place children with sexual-minority individuals and couples. Yet, despite considerable research showing that lesbians and gay men can make good parents, they continue to experience difficulties and barriers in many parts of the country in their efforts to adopt and raise children. Indeed, while progress in this area has been significant, it has been impeded by the homophobia and heterosexist attitudes of adoption professiona...
Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men is an interdisciplinary examination of the myths, misconceptions, research, and practice literature related to sexual-minority individuals' efforts to adopt and raise children. It also provides a blueprint for research and professional training and highlights best practice standards for working with this group of adoptive parents.
Get the inside story on a single gay man's struggle to adopt! Fatherhood for Gay Men: An Emotional and Practical Guide to Becoming a Gay Dad is the story of one man's journey down the road less traveled—a single gay man adopting and raising his two sons. Author Kevin McGarry recounts his passage into parenthood after years of having his natural fathering instincts stifled by the limits—real and perceived—of being gay. This unique book details the emotional, financial, practical, and social realities of the adoption process for gay men. From the author: "We take risks by coming out of the closet as gay men and at the end of the day, we are emotionally happier because we took those risks...
An essential step-by-step guide to adoption for lesbians and gay men, covering both the adoption process and the adoption experiences of several lesbians and gay men. Hill's book contains information that is relevant to both single adopters and same-sex couples and is the first of its kind to be published in the UK.
This compelling collection of personal narratives and articles explores the topic of adoption. The included articles address open adoption, issues specific to adopted children, and transracial adoptions and diversity. Readers will learn about the challenges faced by gay and lesbian adoptive parents, and challenges faced by adopted children from other countries and cultures. The essays present diversity of opinion on each topic, including both conservative and liberal points of view in an even balance.
The authors argue that there is little support for assuming that homosexuality has a biological basis. Recognizing the many pathways that lead to same-gender sexual orientation, the authors conclude that the cause is much less important than understanding the meaning of being homosexual.
While the topic of gay marriage and families continues to be popular in the media, few scholarly works focus on gay men with children. Based on ten years of fieldwork among gay families living in the rural, suburban, and urban area of the eastern United States, Gay Fathers, Their Children, and the Making of Kinship presents a beautifully written and meticulously argued ethnography of gay men and the families they have formed. In a culture that places a premium on biology as the founding event of paternity, Aaron Goodfellow poses the question: Can the signing of legal contracts and the public performances of care replace biological birth as the singular event marking the creation of fathers? ...
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face the same family issues as their heterosexual counterparts, but that is only the beginning of their struggle. The LGBT community also encounters legal barriers to government recognition of their same-sex relationships and relationships to their own children. Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families addresses partner recognition, parenting, issues affecting children of LGBT parents, health care, discrimination, senior care and elder rights, and equal access to social services. Sean Cahill and Sarah Tobias provide up-to-date, accurate analysis of the major policies affecting LGBT people, their same-sex partners,...