Family dynamics in homosexual women

Lesbians, Gay Men, and Their Parents: Family Therapy for the Coming‐Out Crisis*

“…Until the 1970s, the psychiatric profes-sion considered homosexuality a mental illness, and flawed research biased by this premise implicated dysfunctional family relationships in its etiology (Bieber, Dain, Dince, et al, 1962;Loney, 1973;Thompson, Schwarz, McCandless, & Edwards, 1973;West, 1959). The mental health field must bear its share of responsibility for adverse parental reactions to the news that a son or daughter is gay.…”

Female sex‐role deviance: Early identification and developmental intervention1

“…The majority of studies in this area indicate that the family backgrounds of most lesbians include a poor relationship with the father (Bene, 1965;Gundlach & Riess, 1968;Kaye et al, 1967;Kenyon, 1968;Kremer & Rifkin, 1969;Loney, 1973;Poole, 1972;Siegelman, 1974;Thompson et al, 1973). The fathers are often described by their daughters as hostile and detached (Kremer & Rifkin, 1969).…”

“…The parents of lesbians are often involved in marital conflict (Kenyon, 1968;Loney, 1973;Siegelman, 1974) and are more likely to divorce before their daughters reach the age of 10 years (Saghir & Robins, 1973).…”

When Interviewing “Family”

“…This failure to recognize and control for the biases related to an emic under-emphasis led to studies which seemed to stereotype third world and colonized people, as well as people of color in the United States (Aguilar, 1981;Chilungu, 1976;Ladner, 1971;Lewis, 1973;Moynihan, 1966;Rosaldo, 1993;Staples, 1976). An uncritical acceptance of the mid-twentieth century etic view that homosexuality was pathological, along with a failure to procure the emic perspective of a non-clinical sample of lesbians and gay men, led to a series of study findings that portrayed homosexuality as a mental illness (Apperson-Behrens & McAdoo, 1968;Bieber et al, 1962;Loney, 1973;O'Connor, 1964;Thompson, Schwarz, McCandless, & Edwards, 1973;West, 1959).…”