Parenting

Pollack, S., & Vaughn, J. (Eds.). (1987). Politics of
the heart: A lesbian parenting anthology. Ithaca,
NY: Firebrand Books. No abstract available.
Rafkin, L. (Ed.). (1990). Different mothers: Sons
and daughters of lesbians talk about their lives.
Pittsburgh: Cleis Press. No abstract available.
Savage, D. (2000). The kid: What happened after
my boyfriend and I decided to go get pregnant: An
adoption story. New York: Plume. No abstract
available.
Schulenberg, J. (1985). Gay parenting: A complete
guide for gay men and lesbians with children. New
York: Anchor Books.
A guide to help gay men and lesbian women with
issues of being gay or lesbian and a parent. Draws
from interviews with lesbian and gay parents and
their families. Issues covered are: coming out to
your children, co-parenting, artificial insemination,
adoption and foster parenting, and custody and visitation.
Also includes listing of other resources: support
groups, legal, counseling and health services,
religious organizations, gay/lesbian hotlines, and an
extensive bibliography on lesbian and gay parenting.
(Copyright © 1995 by the American Psychological
Association. All rights reserved.)
Weeks, R. B., Derdeyn, A. P., & Langman, M. (1975).
Two cases of children of homosexuals. Child
Psychiatry and Human Development, 6, 26-32.
Reviews the literature with reference to parental attitudes
related to homosexuality, sex-role typing, and
object choice. Two cases of children of oppositesexed
homosexual parents are presented with projective
testing indicating difficulties with gender role
identity. It is suggested that the manifestation of sexual
conflict in these homosexual parents expressed in
attitudes and behavior toward the child is not unique
and does not differ significantly from that of the heterosexual
parent who has sexual conflicts. Gathering
of more long-term data is recommended. (PsycINFO
Database Record. Copyright © 2002 by the American
Psychological Association. All rights reserved.)
Wells, J. (Ed.). (1997). Lesbians raising sons. Los
Angeles: Alyson Books.
Lesbians Raising Sons is an anthology of first person
writings examining the ideas of manhood, of motherhood,
of lesbians raising male children in yesterday's
and today's world. Divided into three segments, the
book takes an unflinching and entirely new look at
mothering: "New Lessons" examines the way in which
sons of lesbians grow up to be different men; "Making
a Family" looks at family constructs and "Facing
Losses" reveals the heart-breaking reality that many
women have had to confront when their families were
threatened by homophobic courts and traditions.
Lesbians Raising Sons was a finalist for the coveted
Lambda Literary Award, and informs prospective parents,
educators, social workers, and anyone interested
in family dynamics. (Reprinted with permission of
Jess Wells. Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.)
Weston, K. (1991). Families we choose: Lesbians,
gays, kinship. New York: Columbia University Press.
(From the cover) In recent decades gay men and lesbians
have increasingly portrayed themselves as people
who seek not only to maintain ties with blood and
adoptive relatives but also to establish families of their
own. In Families We Choose, Kath Weston draws upon
fieldwork and interviews to explore the ways gay men
and lesbians are constructing their own notions of kinship
by drawing on the symbolism of love, friendship,
and biology. She presents interviewees' stories of coming
out and of their subsequent relations with straight
families. She also discusses changes in gay communities
that have helped shape contemporary discourse
about the gay family. Finally, she addresses the political
implications of chosen families. (PsycINFO Database
Record. Copyright © 2002 by the American
Psychological Association. All rights reserved.)
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