The Role of the Father in Child Development by Lamb Michael E

Author:Lamb, Michael E.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2010-03-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Gay Fathers

SUSAN GOLOMBOK and FIONA TASKER

ALTHOUGH IT HAS always been the case that gay men have had children, it is only in recent years that children have been raised in gay-father families. This has occurred through several routes. First, children of previously married gay men are more likely to live with their father following divorce. Second, more gay men are adopting children both singly and as couples. Third, a small but increasing number of gay men are having children with lesbian women and sharing parenting with them. Finally, as a result of increasing accessibility to assisted reproductive technologies, gay men are beginning to have children through surrogacy arrangements. In their recently published report, the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (2006) concluded that requests for assisted reproduction should be treated without regard for sexual orientation. Consequently, there is likely to be a rise in the number of gay men who become parents through assisted reproductive techniques.

In spite of these new routes to parenthood, it remains the case that most gay fathers who no longer reside with the mother of their children do not have children living with them. This chapter traces the various ways in which gay men become fathers. We examine the experiences of those who had children in the context of a heterosexual relationship or marriage and those who planned their family after coming out as gay. The consequences for children are also explored, followed by a consideration of the implications of the existing body of research on gay-father families and the limitations of the findings.

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