A Descriptive Empirical Study of Gay Male Stepfamilies

Social Stigma and the Situation of Young People in Lesbian and Gay Stepfamilies

“…Indeed, it was the main and sometimes the only disadvantage they associated with being part of a family headed by gay or lesbian parents. The results of this study thus tend to support the viewpoint of authors who have stated, based primarily on the opinion of lesbian and gay parents and step-parents, that social stigmatization is an important issue for the members of gay and lesbian stepfamilies (Berger, 1998(Berger, , 2000Crosbie-Burnett & Helmbrecht, 1993;Erera & Fredriksen, 1999;Ganong & Coleman, 2004;Hall & Kitson, 2000;Hare, 1994;O'Connell, 1993;Ray & Gregory, 2001;Stacey & Biblarz, 2001). Thus, even though these young people did not see themselves as having a socially undesirable characteristic, they felt the negative effects of stigmatization.…”

“…To participate in the study, the young people had to be or had to have been living in a gay or lesbian stepfamily either all the time or part time (a minimum of eight days per month) for at least one year. The decision to include young people who were only living part time in this family organization was based on the fact that this type of stepfamily was their reality and that it occurs frequently, particularly in father-headed stepfamilies (Baptiste, 1987;Berger, 2000;Crosbie-Burnett & Helmbrecht, 1993;Saint-Jacques, 2000;Saint-Jacques, Drapeau, Cloutier, & Lépine, 2003). Young people conceived through donor insemination techniques during a previous relationship and those who were living in a stepfamily after the widowing of a parent were excluded from the study population because it was assumed that these Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 07:44 04 November 2014 types of stepfamilies had certain particularities and functioned somewhat differently from other types of stepfamilies.…”

Talking About Family

“…Although they may risk rejection by telling others about their families, a positive consequence of disclosure might be relief from the burden of secrecy that these children sometimes bear (Baptiste, 1987;Pennington, 1987). Studies find that children who are encouraged to keep their parents' sexual orientation a secret tend to exhibit symptoms of depression and may feel lonely and isolated (Baptiste, 1987;Crosbie-Burnett & Helmbrecht, 1993;Pennington, 1987).…”

Lesbian and gay parenting: babes in arms or babes in the woods?

“…Another consideration for co-parents is how they wish to be addressed by the child: will there be two 'mummies' or two 'daddies', or, 'mummy and Jean', or 'daddy and John'? In one study, the factor most associated with family satisfaction was shown to be the degree to which the new gay partner had become integrated into family life (Crosbie-Burnett & Helmbrecht, 1993), and names have a particular significance in this process.…”