Just Molly and Me,and Donor Makes Three: Lesbian Motherhood in the Age of Assisted Reproductive Technology

SUMMARY

The psychological experiences of lesbian mothers, both coupled and single, are compared and contrasted with heterosexual and gay parents who use assisted reproductive technology, focusing on issues of parental desire, fertility, babies conceived from science rather than sex, presence of an outside party in conception, genetic asymmetry, social anxieties, legal protections, disclosure, and gender. The psychological meaning of the donor or surrogate as an “extra” and “missing” piece of the family, along with the interactive effects of homophobia and “reproductive technophobia” are considered. Lesbian families are recognized to be constructing a new narrative of a bio-social family as they define and live their experience.     

Genograms Redrawn

Abstract

One of the challenges faced by GLBT families is defining and representing family relationships in a way that is not constrained by heterosexist notions of family. This study explores the usefulness of asking lesbian couples to depict family relationships by adapting the genogram (family tree) techniques used in family therapy. Six lesbian couples were asked to construct their own family tree and to comment on the process. Genograms were found to be useful but needed to be redrawn, for example, with tiers and circles rather than traditional symbols. Drawing and redrawing genograms highlighted the importance of acceptance and affirmation versus homophobia and heterosexism in defining family relationships for the lesbian couples interviewed.     

A Lesbian Older Adult Managing Identity Disclosure: A Case Study

The aim of this study was to explore the experience of an older lesbian in managing the disclosure of her sexual identity. Specifically, the team wanted to better understand the ways she managed her identity in an assisted living facility. Using a qualitative case study methodology, 2 in-depth interviews were conducted. The following 5 themes were identified in the data: keeping her own counsel, maintaining “family” connection, celebrating second chances, living outside the L box, and staying morally centered. Practice and research implications are offered and the case study is used to expand understanding of disclosure management and resiliency theory.     

Coming Out of the Family Closet: Stories of Adult Women with LGBTQ Parent(s)

Research about children of LGBTQ parent(s) tends to be politically interested and evaluative, assessing the degree to which children with LGBTQ parent(s) are being raised well. As a consequence, much of that research glosses over the distinct experiences of children with LGBTQ parent(s) and how they tell their own stories. This article attends to that shortcoming by detailing how some children with LGBTQ parent(s) construct their identities. We draw upon data from interviews with 26 adult-children, specifically young, white women who were born to, or adopted by, heterosexual parent(s) who later divorced and began living as LGBTQ. We analyze the children’s interviews as coming out narratives, detailing how many tell a story of coming out as a process of growing up and negotiating specific family closets. We then discuss how these are gendered and racialized narratives of coming out, reflecting the way racism and sexism intersect with homophobia and the stories told about experiencing it. We also suggest that these are stories of a particular generation of adult-children, reflecting specific families and the homophobia of the times. We end by suggesting how future generations of adult-children with LGBTQ parent(s) will likely narrate their identities differently.

Three critical questions for future research on lesbian relationships

ABSTRACT

In this article I discuss three questions that should be priorities for future research on lesbian love and relationships. The first question concerns the very definition of “lesbian relationship,” given how many women may be engaged in same-sex relationships without identifying as lesbian. The second question concerns the potential influence of childhood neglect and abuse on adult women's same-sex relationships, a topic that has important implications for both psychological well-being and relationship functioning. The third question concerns the potential downsides of legal marriage for women's same-sex relationships, a topic that is particularly important in light of the newfound legal recognition of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Although there are many understudied questions in the domain of women's same-sex relationships, research on these three questions has particularly strong potential to advance our understanding of lesbian love and relationships in important ways.     

Outness among LGBTQ Social Work Students in North America: The Contribution of Environmental Supports and Perceptions of Comfort

This study examines various environmental factors that may impact a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) social work student's level of ‘outness’ (disclosure) with regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity. An internet-based survey was conducted, comprised of LGBTQ undergraduate and graduate students from social work programs across North America (n = 1,018). Utilizing Pearson's chi square analysis, significant associations correlated between outness and the following six areas: (1) LGBTQ student perception of other students' overall level of comfort with their sexual orientation or gender identity within the program; (2) the number of faculty that know about their sexual orientation or gender identity; (3) the number of students that know about their sexual orientation or gender identity; (4) how supported they felt with regard to their LGBTQ identity within the program; (5) the percent of faculty that are supportive of LGB and Q issues; and (6) awareness of openly LGBTQ administrators or staff members. Implications for social work education and practice are examined, as are suggestions for continued research.     

Where Risks and Protective Factors Operate Differently: Homeless Sexual Minority Youth and Suicide Attempts

Using a sample of 628 homeless youth and young adults from eight US cities, this study examines whether the relationship between having been in custody of social services and suicide attempts, and the relationship between engaging in survival sex and suicide attempts differ based on sexual orientation. Findings suggest that being in custody of social services is associated with a significant increase in likelihood of suicide attempts for heterosexual youth, it does not, however, significantly change the already increased risk of suicide attempts for sexual minority youth. Engaging in survival sex appears to be associated with increased risks of suicide attempts for both heterosexual and sexual minority youth, but the increase in likelihood is much stronger for heterosexual youth than for sexual minority youth. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Lesbian and Bisexual Girls in the Juvenile Justice System

This article examines the experiences of lesbian and bisexual girls in the juvenile justice system. Its purpose is to document how the juvenile justice system serves this population. The researcher interviewed six lesbian or bisexual youth and six staff participants who work with them and found that the system is lacking in its awareness and treatment of this population. Some problems include homophobia and heterosexism in policy, staff attitudes, and by other girls, disparate treatment of lesbian and bisexual girls motivated by stereotypes and misinformation, and little understanding of the role that sexual orientation may play in a girl's life. Implications for future practice and policy are offered.     

Negotiating the Digital Closet: Online Pseudonymity and the Politics of Sexual Identity

Online surveillance interferes with the individual's ability to control their expressive identity - to determine the scope of the social context in which their activities are to be seen and interpreted. Entrepreneurs have responded to these concerns by offering pseudonymizers, which employ cryptographic techniques to allow users to create several unlinkable personae and choose among them when engaging in various online interactions. This article investigates the tension between pseudonymity as a design paradigm for privacy technologies and as a lived practice for users. Because coming out - strategic revelation and the claiming of identity - has been at the core of the gay liberation movement, this article posits a politically and sexually active gay professional man as an ideal user of pseudonymity software, and places the design logic of pseudonymity within that particular set of social understandings. It reveals the conflicts, contradictions and trade-offs inherent in that use. Pseudonymity permits a very strong control of identity. It permits the user to segregate his public performances, and to engage in public debate without fear of bodily retribution. However, it is all but useless as a means of controlling the social context of those performances. It requires that decisions about self-presentation in certain contexts be made in ignorance of who is sharing that context, and with what resources or purpose. While it promotes the production of multiple selves, those selves are not easily lent to practices of intimacy or community. Pseudonymity also facilitates profiling practices that define and reify classes of people, even as it protects the individual from some of the repercussions of being defined as part of that class. In short, pseudonymity software is informed by a politics of heroics rather than of community.