"There is nothing fundamentally new in the HFE bill, merely a recognition of reality."
Jeffrey Weeks is a sociologist from London’s South Bank University . His studies into the development of distinctive lesbian and gay identities have been the focus of several books and various articles. He has also explored the changing forms of social regulation of sexuality, the ideological debates on sexual behaviour, and the social policy implications of the recent rethinking of sexual values.
I spoke to him about the impact the recent bill’s changes will have on society…
Is society ready for the changes in the HFE bill which negates the need for a father figure?
We have over 2 million lone parents, most of them headed by women already, and a high proportion of them with absent fathers. There is nothing fundamentally new in the HFE bill, merely a recognition of reality. At the same time it recognises a basic right- of lesbian access to fertility treatment.
Is society still entranced with the nuclear family or has that model disintegrated?
We now have a variety of family forms, reflecting the increasing diversity of the culture. But most people still couple off, even if they break-up/ divorce more than in past. And if they break-up, most people then re-couple, again and again. We now have a broad model of serial monogamy amongst large parts of the population. Given this, I am not sure it is true that the nuclear model has disappeared. It's just no longer based on the idea of life long union with 2.4 kids.
Is it wise for gay parents bring up a child in a society that is hostile to gay parents?
The simple answer is yes, it is wise, and I am not sure there is all that hostility any more, except in the bigoted areas where you might expect it.
Abby Toney's MA research says....
Abby Toney did her M.A. dissertation on attitudes to lesbian mothers (for which she received a distinction).
Ms Toney conducted a questionnaire and circled it to her fellow students doing a social work M.A.
In it she gave the scenario that J a three year old who has been removed from his family for sexual abuse is now looking for a new family. Volunteers were asked which family they thought would be the most suitable for J:
Family A
Mr and Mrs P are a childless couple. Mr P is a care home manager and Mrs P is a housewife.
Family B
Ms X is a single mother. Ms X is a book keeper. Ms x has a fifteen year old daughter from a previous relationship. Ms X has had experience of fostering children.
Family C
Ms D and Ms L are a lesbian couple/ Ms D and L are both teachers however Ms D is a special educational needs teacher. Ms L has a seven year old son.
Out of the 31 students who replied – 7 (22.6%) placed J with the married couple, 3 (0.97%) placed J with the single mother, 19 (61%) placed J with the lesbian couple and 2 (0.65%) said they didn’t know – both stating they would need more information and to talk to each family.
They were then asked the question:
Do you feel it is important for children being raised/placed with lesbian mothers to have male role models in their lives?
Out of the 31 who replied 19 said yes it is important, 5 said no it wasn’t and 7 said it depends.
Of the 19 who said yes comments included “It’s particularly important for a boy”, “Yes it’s important for both boys and girls’ social development” and that “male role models can be found elsewhere”.
Of the 5 who said no comments included “Role models do not have to be within the house”; “Male role models permeate society through mass media and peer groups so children can find them here” and “It is a sexist attitude that presumes ‘traditional’ ale role modelling is positive and necessary for social skills."
Conclusions to be made by this (albeit limited) study are that although M.A. social work students were happy to place a child with a suitable lesbian couple, there was a strong desire to equip this child with a male role model – even if its not a parent or someone living in the same house.
Stonewall says...
Research conducted by Beyond Barriers in 2002 shows that approximately 1 in 5 LGBT people are parents, co-parents or have children.
Granted many of these children were born when their parents were in a heterosexual relationship – but gay rights charity stonewall claims the last decade has seen a sharp rise in the numbers of gay people having families. This is known as the “gay-by boom”.
Although many of these children were born when their parents were in a heterosexual relationship, the last decade has seen a sharp rise in the numbers of LGBT people (in particular lesbian and bisexual women) planning and forming families. Some people have described this period as the “gay-by boom”.
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