Homosexual and transgender parenting

In this chapter, we examine a selection of research findings on the characteristics, advantages and drawbacks of homosexual and transgender parenting experiences. The phenomenon of homosexual parenting (also homo-parenthood – a term that includes all those families in which at least one adult who defines him/herself as homosexual is the parent of at least one child (Nadaud, 2002; Gross, 2003) – has for some time now been an emerging reality in many Western societies, above all following the growing visibility of homosexual mothers living with their partners and their children. Homosexual parenting must be observed from several angles. We must not only consider the desire for motherhood or fatherhood in gays and lesbians, but also the paternal and maternal responsibility of all those homosexuals who have ‘procreated’ in their previous heterosexual relationships. Lesbian and gay parents and their children are a diverse group.

Equally topical and important is the relationship between parenthood, transgenderism (please see transgender in the Glossary) and transsexuality. We may speak of transgender parenting (also trans parenting) when at least one adult, the mother or father of at least one child, decides to make the transition from one gender to the other. Transition is the process through which a person modifies his/her physical characteristics and/or manner of expression to satisfy the standards for membership in a gender other than the one assigned at birth. Transitioning may include changing one's name, taking hormones, having surgery or changing legal documents (eg driver's licence, Social Security record, birth certificate) to reflect their new gender. Also in the case of trans parenting, we must both consider the desire for children in transgender persons, and the paternal and maternal responsibility of all those persons who already have children.

In our opinion, addressing homosexual and transgender parenting poses a major challenge to contemporary scholarship; it requires an analysis of the experience of intimacy within the context of sexual orientation and gender transition, a consideration of the impact of gender transition upon partnering relationships, and a recognition of the ways in which sexual orientation and gender transition are negotiated within parenting relationships (Hines, 2006).