I’m a lesbian mom, and I’ve always known I was a good parent to my two kids. I’ve also admired the parenting of other lesbian moms, so I wasn’t surprised by the recent study released in Pediatrics (the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) that noted how well we are parenting.
Adolescent children of lesbians “rated significantly higher in social, school/academic, and total competence and significantly lower in social problems, rule-breaking, aggressive, and externalizing problem behavior than their age-matched counterparts,” the study concluded.
This flies in the face of public opinion against same-sex marriage and parenting. Conventional wisdom holds that a married heterosexual couple is the model for raising kids. And some right-wing religious zealots taunt us by saying, “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” — or in this case, “Eve and Eve.”
But the claim that married heterosexuals make the best parents — or the converse, that same-sex parents can’t do a good job — is no longer sustainable.
The study gathered data between 1986 and 1992 with 77 lesbian families who had raised children since birth. It focused on “key developmental outcomes, psychological adjustment, peer relationships, family relationships and progress through school.”
The study suggests that since lesbian parents use less corporal punishment and are more actively involved with their kids, their children are better adjusted.
The arguments against same-sex marriage are collapsing, one after another.
By the time my kids are grown up, may we all have the right to marry the person of our choice and to raise our children without prejudice.
Akilah Bolden-Monifa is a freelance writer based in Oakland, Calif. She can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.
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