Doing family: The reproduction of heterosexuality in accounts of parenthood

Abstract

The cultural and legal landscape in the United States has shifted towards increased recognition of LGBQ-parent families. This shift raises questions about the everyday experiences of LGBQ parents and whether the cultural and legal changes also manifest in diminished experiences of discrimination. Drawing on data from 74 interviews with LGBQ parents, we analyze their accounts of whether they are read as a parent by others in their daily interactions. Our findings reveal the ways in which heterosexuality is a key component of how membership to the category of ‘parent’ is produced in social interactions. Our findings also illustrate how assumptions about heterosexuality are both racialized and gendered. Our focus on accountability foregrounds power in everyday interactions and provides a lens through which to understand how inequality and disempowerment for LGBQ people can persist in American society despite cultural and legal changes.

Experiences of and responses to disempowerment, violence, and injustice within the relational lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people

“…This resonates with Gabb et al's notion of paradoxical family practices. Kazyak and Park's (2020) research examines the everyday experiences of LGBQ parents in the USA, where there has been an increased recognition of LGBQ-parent families. Kazyak and Park ask, to what extent do the cultural and legal changes that have helped shape this recognition correlate with diminished experiences of discrimination.…”