Lecture 20Outline of Last Lecture I. Chinese ParentingII. Common Child Rearing Terms in China1. Chiao-Yang2. GuanIII. Parenting Differences between China and the United StatesIV. Gender Differences in Chinese ParentingOutline of Current Lecture I. Lesbigay ParentingA. Lesbigay Parenting Effects on ChildrenII. Research on Lesbigay FamiliesA. 7 Issues Raised in Court Proceedings about Lesbian Mother ParentingB. Critics of ResearchIII. Lesbigay Parenting DifferencesIV. ConclusionsCurrent LectureI. Lesbigay Parenting- Lesbian and Gay Parenting- Historically, children were only a part of these families if the parent was in a heterosexual relationship, or marriage, and then divorced and identified as lesbian or gay.- Mothers are more likely to have custody so then they would take their children and move in with their partner- Nowadays, homosexual parents use donor insemination as a way of producing children.A. Lesbigay Parenting Effects on Children- Children’s experience may be different than heterosexual parenting- Children may have fathers that are not a part of the child’s life- The number of children in gay or lesbian families is very small. Only 3% of the population is homosexual.II. Research on Lesbigay Families- Due to the small number of lesbigay families, it is very difficult to study them. - Research is mostly done using convenience samples, meaning whatever is a convenient way of finding them. - The samples usually consist of White, lesbian, urban mothers who have a higher education than the general population.- These samples may be different regardless of lesbian status, - An issue with researching lesbigay parenting is advocacy research, which is when you have research to support an opinion. Most of the research done is for the purpose of increasing lesbigay rights. This research typically reports no difference between children raised in homosexual and heterosexual homes. However, lesbigay children are usually compared to children from heterosexual divorced homes, and not in tact heterosexual homesA. 7 Issues Raised in Court Proceedings about Lesbian Mother Parenting1. Mental health of lesbian mothers. Same or lower incidence of psychiatric disorders as regular mothers. FAS 370 1st Edition2. Parenting ability- Lesbian mothers are similar in caregiving behaviors.3. Mental health of children raised by lesbian mothers. Children may have more adjustment problems, but overall there is no significant difference between the mental healths of children raised in each home.4. Sexual molestation. Child molestation by lesbians is uncommon and by lesbian mothers are more rare.5. Gender role development of children. No major gender effects on children of lesbians. The daughter of a lesbian is likely to choose the same toys as a daughter of a heterosexual. However, daughter of lesbians are shown to have less traditional and more egalitarian gender roles. Boys are either traditionally masculine or overmasculinized when they are raised in lesbian families.6. Sexual orientation of children raised by lesbian mothers. No evidence that children are likely to be homosexual if their parents are homosexual7. Social Stigma. Most children of lesbians face teasing from peers. However, all children face teasing about something.*Very little information on children raised in families with gay fathers. This is because there are very very few gay fathers. Yet, the little research there is has shown no difference.**However, there is not universal agreement on these findings.*B. Critics of Research- Critics of research point to contradictory findings. They state that lesbigay parenting has a number of dangers for children and they found that researchers in the area have their own political agenda. Conservative groups and activist groups have their own agendas- They believe that research suffers from the hetero-normative presumption, meaning that heterosexuality is the standard to judge same-sex practices. - Most controversial finding is that the sexual orientation of girls in homosexual families that they are much more likely to adopt a lesbian adult orientation. - Teenage boys raised by lesbians are more sexually restrained, nurturing, and less aggressive.- Young adult girls are more sexually adventurous. Sons of lesbians display the opposite.III. Lesbigay Parenting Differences- Lesbian stepmothers were found to have higher levels of closeness with the child, greater co-parental compatibility, and higher parenting skills compared with stepfathers of heterosexual relationships. These differences were probably related to gender differences rather than sexual orientation differences. Men and women are different in their parenting roles.- Lesbian co-parental couples are more likely to break up than heterosexual parents. This has a worse effect on children.- The best research out there has found that there IS a difference between lesbigay parenting and heterosexual parenting.IV. Conclusions- More research needs to be done.- Research suggests that qualities of family relationships are more related to child outcomes than sexual orientation. Such as, if you are a single parent or not, how old you are when you become a parent,