GRSJ224/LGBTQ Parents’ Difficulties in Adoption

World same-sex adoption

Society have now raised their attention to LGBTQ subjects. Individuals are now more open to talk about LBBTQ topics, as more people showing their support on different platforms, it has become a popular headline. LGBTQ is combining with social topic and sex identification among different races, greying out the traditional gender division. As the way LGBTQ people can live their lives has changed dramatically over the last thirty years, it indicates that the generation has shifted in the character of social control, repression and discrimination (Joos and Broad, 2007).

LGBTQ families going through the process of adoption may face some difficulties. According to Suzanne Brown et al, "Policies and laws in some areas of the country are designed to prevent or discourage LG persons from adopting" (Brown et al, 2009). Bisexual, transgender, and queer are not named, but are assumed to be included in this prevention and discouragement. Although this situation doesn't apply to every families, the difficulties that faced by LGBTQ parents are significant.

Adoption itself is a complicated process, it is especially hard for LGBTQ families. The intersectional differences between sexual orientation, race and class are likely to have long-term implications for the health and well-being of LGBTQ-led families (Ross et al, 2014).

Barriers to Adoption as LGBTQ Parent(s)

Research studies have shown that the limited support for LGBTQ parent(s) in pre- and post-adoption is causing mental health issues of LGBTQ adoptive parents. Such as discrimination perceived during the process of adoption, lack of information and emotional support, personal doubts. "Adoption assessments by some agencies have been reported to hold lesbian and gay prospective parents to a higher standard than heterosexuals", and that "there was a 41% response rate to the survey, and in follow-up telephone calls, more than one-third of the agencies who did not respond to the survey reported that they do not work with gay or lesbian prospective adoptive parents" (Ross et al, 2014), seeing that not all agencies work with gay or lesbian families which will further cause mental health problem.

According to Ross et al, "Nearly all of our single and same-sex partnered participants were asked by their workers whether they would be able to provide their adopted child with appropriate gender role models" (Ross et al, 2009).

Which implies that LGBTQ parents should give children an appropriate gender role model, assuming children need them as their growth. The construction of gender has other implications for transgender who wish to start a family with adoption.

Challenges Faced as Current Adoptive Parent(s)

Pride Flag

The barriers in the pre-adoption process is not the only difficult part. The challenges faced as current adoptive parents are also the difficulties that LGBTQ parents need to faced, such as legal concerns, according to Brown et al, "many parents lived with fears as they attempted to finalize either the initial or second-parent adoption or dealt with the consequences of having only one legal parent" (Brown et al, 2009). Stigma, other discrimination, school challenges such that the need to explain the situation to school, and the "acknowledgment of the child's feelings about being adopted" (Golombok et al, 2013) are other challenges after the adoption process in the agencies. Similarly, youth experience distress resulting from stigmatization, that not only will parents result mental health (Kelleher, 2009).

Parenting Style

According to Golombok et al, "children in adoptive same‐sex parent families showed less sex‐typed behavior than children in heterosexual parent families, this appeared to reflect less masculine play by boys in lesbian mother families rather than less feminine play by girls with gay fathers" (Golombok et al, 2013). Leading to the question about the what parenting style that LGBTQ parents wants to apply. Although "it is true that children with LGB parents may be socially skilled and have high-quality relationships with friends, but at the same time be bullied due to parents’ sexual orientation" (Goldberg et al, 2014), The identities that can not change by parents, leading to the possibilities to bullying issues is another challenge.