Question:
Does raising a child in gay enviroment help them to become gay?
zsq
2008-03-24 12:37:44 UTC
Does raising a child in gay enviroment help them to become gay?
46 answers:
samantha l
2008-03-24 13:47:37 UTC
no t at all i was raised by straight parents and i am most certainly not straight. i dont think it really matters any way as long as the child is brought up in a loving enviroment thats all that matters
WACVET75
2008-03-24 13:18:30 UTC
No being gay is something you are born with, because of our culture children are told from the start there are girl toys and boy toys, little girls grow up to be mommys and to inforce that idea girls are given baby dolls, then graduate to Barbie dolls. Little boys are told they will grow up to be daddy's and they will go to work and support the family. As a teen most gays have be having fantasys they are told it is wrong, you'll go to he**. Your not normal and no one is going to accept you. Your an embarassment to the family, kids at school that find out belittle and pick on you. You come to the belief you have no choice. Thats partly the cause of such high teen suicides Your life is made a nightmare, so you do what you think you have to do. Find a girl/guy get married and have children.

Many men that are gay have been married and have families, as do the lesbians. They try to be that perfect couple living in the house with the white picket fence and having 2.5 children, a dog and a minivan. Then they face the truth and now there are all kinds of problems. What do I tell my wife/husband? What are we going to tell our kids. The messy ugly divorces, the kids used against one or the other parent. The condemnation, and the name calling. The threats of you'll never see your kids again. I am a lesbian and my daughter is not gay, she is married to a good man and has two wonderful kids. My partners daughter is straight and has three children. We are lucky our children accept and understand, the grandkids are taught it is alright to have two grandmas who live together, and a grandma and grandpa that live together.

The key is having respect for each other and your children. Communications, trust, love, encouragement, faith all these things are the same that make a straight marriage work, it also makes a union between same sex partners. Now days most families find it necessary to have both parents working, or you have a single mom/dad that often works two jobs to keep things going. It's the same for us. We have the same bills, the same worrys about getting the kids through college, are we putting enough away for retirement? Do we have enough insurance, what happens if there is a major illness? How am I going to pay for braces? The enviroment doesn't make you gay it may prevent you from facing the truth but it is not the cause of anyone being gay.
gehme
2008-03-24 12:51:07 UTC
Well, I'm gay and I was raised by a family in which everyone is straight in a town in which no gay people were visible. Neither, at that time, was there any source from which I could learn anything about homosexuality. In fact, I knew nothing about it. Then I should be straight by that reasoning, correct? But I'm gay anyway.

It stands to reason, then, I think, that the environment doesn't have that much to do with it. A child raised such as you propose might feel more free to experiment when they're young, but they will most likely be what they're going to be, regardless.
Melody
2008-03-24 12:44:40 UTC
That soully depends on who that child is. As a rule- NO it does not. Some people are just naturally geared this way and growing up in an accepting environment would most definitly encourage this behavior. But do you really believe that someone would force a child into being someone they didnt want to be- especially a gay couple?? That just seems illogical to me. These people arent fighting to make the world gay- we wouldnt be able to reproduce, they are fighting to make the world accepting.
2008-03-25 05:57:45 UTC
Well i became gay i wasnt raised like it but my friends parents are Gay but he is straight and engaged to a woman so no but if your into Homosexaulity as a kid then you will most likely turn Gay

I turned Gay at the age of 12 through a kiss with a boy in my school back then since then ive been in love with boys
john c
2008-03-24 12:48:56 UTC
No, does being raised in a straight family make a child straight?... sometimes it can make a child pretend to be str8, maybe thas wot children raised by gay partners do, personally i don't know i've never raised one, but i do know that people have to get over this idea that people are "made" their sexuality, people are born with it. Straight people are born straight... but most of them just can't seem to realize that gay people are born gay. It seriously infuriates me the ignorance of humanity!
Kedar
2008-03-24 13:01:46 UTC
No -- Homosexuality is not a choice, therefore it is wrong to suggest that gay parents will raise those children to 'become' gay -- The sexual orientation of a parent is totally irrelevant.
The Taste of Rain
2008-03-24 12:52:34 UTC
No, no, NO. The major cause(s) of sexual orientation are biological. A child with gay parents will probably be less homophobic than a child with straight parents, but that is the only different.



Want proof?

"Studies comparing groups of children raised by homosexual and by heterosexual parents find no developmental differences between the two groups of children in four critical areas: their intelligence, psychological adjustment, social adjustment, and popularity with friends. It is also important to realize that a parent's sexual orientation does not dictate his or her children's."

http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html#goodparents
wendyek
2008-03-24 12:45:41 UTC
No my Aunt, who has been with her partner for 30 years (longer than most hetrosexual marriages) bought up her 3 daugthers.



None of them are lesbians, they are all married to MALES and all have hetrosexual children.



They had a much better upbringing than most children I know and love and respect my Aunt and their mother.



If somebody is going to be shwon love and affection is does not matter gay, lesbian or hetrosexual as long as the child is cared for and loved x



I bet most of the people giving the thumbs down are homophobic x
shan
2008-03-24 12:42:32 UTC
I don't think so. I think that a child raised in a gay environment will actually turn out to be a more loving and non judgment person.
if you ask-listen for the answer
2008-03-24 12:41:59 UTC
NOOO! You don't make someone gay!!!! Raising a child in a gay environment is likely to make them a very open minded empathetic person
Eric S
2008-03-24 12:47:57 UTC
No evidence- Most gay men were raised in straight households.
Biba love
2008-03-24 12:47:43 UTC
Not necessarly if the child is raised in a proper manner , i know some pple raised in gay family but they were staright in life...so no worries ... just dont teach him to get involved...
jakedonahue
2008-03-24 12:41:04 UTC
As a heterosexual man, I can confidently say that there is not a single thing in this world that would make me 'become gay'.
effin drunk
2008-03-24 12:39:55 UTC
I doubt it. All the gay people I know were raised in straight families.
2008-03-24 12:54:53 UTC
of course not.you are born a specific sexualty and growing up with gay parents wont change that.most gay people are brought up in a straight house hold so that answers your question.
Human Cattle 555-55-5555
2008-03-24 12:40:34 UTC
No, there is no evidence for such a claim. If there is, I challenge you to find it from a credible scientific source.



If that were they case, why Am I gay. My parents have been happily married their whole life. Niether one of them has a gay bone in their body.
[Rei]
2008-03-24 12:52:35 UTC
Does raising a child in a heterosexual environment help them to become heterosexual? Yeah, that's what I thought..
AZBOY
2008-03-24 12:42:01 UTC
omg... you dont become gay..... however it does help them grow up to be less prejudice against race, and sexuality... maybe everyone should have gay parents what a better world it would be without all the hate
2008-03-24 12:40:57 UTC
Not really! I'm gay and I wasn't brought up in a gay environment.
2008-03-24 12:40:48 UTC
No, I don't see how it can. Raising a child in straight environment does not guarantee that the child will grow up straight does it?????
2008-03-24 12:40:37 UTC
No i don't think so, Think about all the Gay children who where raised in a heterosexual environment.

I dont think anything can "help" you to be gay...
epik555
2008-03-24 12:40:49 UTC
No it helps them to not become narrow minded jerks. It doesn't matter what kind of parents they have as long as they have love and support and a secure home. I'm a VERY PROUD MOM who loves my Girlfriend and we have a wonderful son.
sunkissedred02
2008-03-24 12:40:22 UTC
Absolutely not i think it makes them have an opened mind but they will not be gay just because their parents are.
Brett H
2008-03-24 12:41:09 UTC
I very seriously doubt it. I know straight people raised by gay couples and vice-versa.
2008-03-24 13:16:20 UTC
i dont think so. If anything helped me to be lesbian it was the terrifying abuse of my father and that was a very ugly and damaging thing,
2008-03-24 12:40:39 UTC
Not necessarily...like in that movie the Birdcage, that guy ended up with a girl and he had two dads!
2008-03-24 12:41:47 UTC
No of course not both my mothers loved eachother and me.....as for being gay......who gives a fig ......its a free world....(sometimes)
2008-03-24 12:41:20 UTC
No, you are born gay. It is not something that can be chosen or changed or influenced one way or another.
Larry
2008-03-24 12:41:41 UTC
No, but they may be more open to thinking it is a valid lifestyle.
don't stop the music ♪
2008-03-24 12:41:32 UTC
Although I think genetic factors play a role in one's sexuality, I do also think that there are some environmental factors involved. So in answer to your question, yes it can but not always. Well at least they would be more open about it anyway, take the middle east for example, there are practically no open gay people because it is just not accepted there.....
nic nac
2008-03-24 12:43:11 UTC
It won't make them gay, if that's what you mean.
2008-03-24 12:42:35 UTC
No. But I bet they will be less likely to hide their homosexuality if they happen to be that way.
2008-03-24 12:42:00 UTC
It could. I believe 50 percent of gay and lesbian is genetic and the other 50 percent is environmentally learned behavior.
B2B 11/08
2008-03-24 12:40:15 UTC
That really is unknown it depends on if you think that being homosexual is a trait you are born with or a trait the develops from the environment!
Calamitty
2008-03-24 12:40:54 UTC
No
Amy
2008-03-24 12:40:04 UTC
No
pearl_hoff
2008-03-24 12:41:13 UTC
no you are born that way
Moofie's Mom
2008-03-24 12:40:06 UTC
Tell me this is NOT a serious question??!!!



ROFLMFAO!!!
2008-03-24 12:42:02 UTC
ARE YOU SERIOUS. wOT A SILLY QUESTION OF COURSE IT DOESN'T .
Lurker
2008-03-24 12:55:19 UTC
No!
bijjee
2008-03-24 12:41:46 UTC
it may help
2008-03-24 12:40:48 UTC
No it turns them into killers
Tina T
2008-03-24 12:40:27 UTC
No...
MCSHughes
2008-03-24 12:58:59 UTC
It does, yes.



Here's an article about it.



Homosexual Parenting: Placing Children at Risk







Issue No.: 238

by: Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D.

A number of studies in recent years have purported to show that children raised in gay and lesbian households fare no worse than those reared in traditional families. Yet much of that research fails to meet acceptable standards for psychological research; it is compromised by methodological flaws and driven by political agendas instead of an objective search for truth. In addition, openly lesbian researchers sometimes conduct research with an interest in portraying homosexual parenting in a positive light. The deficiencies of studies on homosexual parenting include reliance upon an inadequate sample size, lack of random sampling, lack of anonymity of research participants, and self-presentation bias.

The presence of methodological defects--a mark of substandard research--would be cause for rejection of research conducted in virtually any other subject area. The overlooking of such deficiencies in research papers on homosexual failures can be attributed to the "politically correct" determination within those in the social science professions to "prove" that homosexual households are no different than traditional families.

However, no amount of scholarly legerdemain contained in an accumulation of flawed studies can obscure the well-established and growing body of evidence showing that both mothers and fathers provide unique and irreplaceable contributions to the raising of children. Children raised in traditional families by a mother and father are happier, healthier, and more successful than children raised in non-traditional environments.

David Cramer, whose review of twenty studies on homosexual parenting appeared in the Journal of Counseling and Development, found the following:

The generalizability of the studies is limited. Few studies employed control groups and most had small samples. Almost all parents were Anglo-American, middle class, and well educated. Measures for assessing gender roles in young children tend to focus on social behavior and generally are not accurate psychological instruments. Therefore it is impossible to make large scale generalizations . . . that would be applicable to all children.[1]

Since these words were penned in 1986, the number of studies on the subject of homosexual parenting has steadily grown. The fact that these studies continue to be flawed by the methodological errors warned about by Cramer has not inhibited the proponents of homosexual parenting from their sanguine assessment of the outcomes of children raised in homosexual households.

Silverstein and Auerbach, for example, see no essential difference between traditional mother-father families and homosexual-led families: "Other aspects of personal development and social relationships were also found to be within the normal range for children raised in lesbian and gay families." They suggest that "gay and lesbian parents can create a positive family context."[2]

This conclusion is echoed in the official statement on homosexual parenting by the American Psychological Association's Public Interest Directorate, authored by openly lesbian activist Charlotte J. Patterson of the University of Virginia:

In summary, there is no evidence that lesbians and gay men are unfit to be parents or that psychosocial development among children of gay men or lesbians is compromised in any respect. . . . Not a single study has found children of gay or lesbian parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.[3]

PROBLEMS WITH HOMOSEXUAL PARENTING RESEARCH

Upon closer examination, however, this conclusion is not as confident as it appears. In the next paragraph, Patterson qualifies her statement. Echoing Cramer's concern from a decade earlier, she writes: "It should be acknowledged that research on lesbian and gay parents and their children is still very new and relatively scarce. . . . Longitudinal studies that follow lesbian and gay families over time are badly needed."[4] The years have passed since Patterson's admission of the inadequacy of homosexual parenting studies, and we still await definitive, objective research substantiating her claims.

In addition, Patterson acknowledges that "research in this area has presented a variety of methodological challenges," and that "questions have been raised with regard to sampling issues, statistical power, and other technical matters (e.g., Belcastro, Gramlich, Nicholson, Price, and Wilson, 1993)." She adds, revealingly:

Research in this area has also been criticized for using poorly matched or no control groups in designs that call for such controls. . . . Other criticisms have been that most studies have involved relatively small samples [and] that there have been inadequacies in assessment procedures employed in some studies.[5]

Though she admits to serious methodological and design errors that would call into question the findings of any study, Patterson makes the astonishing claim that "even with all the questions and/or limitations that may characterize research in the area, none of the published research suggests conclusions different from those that will be summarized below." But any such conclusions are only as reliable as the evidence upon which they are based. If the alleged evidence is flawed, then the conclusions must likewise be considered suspect.

One suspects that the lack of studies with proper design and controls is due to the political agendas driving the acceptance of homosexual parenting, which favor inadequate and superficial research yielding the desired results.

In a study published in the Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, P. Belcastro et al. reviewed fourteen studies on homosexual parenting according to accepted scientific standards. Their "most impressive finding" was that "all of the studies lacked external validity. The conclusion that there are no significant differences in children raised by lesbian mothers versus heterosexual mothers is not supported by the published research data base."[6] Similarly, in their study of lesbian couples in Family Relations, L. Keopke et al. remark, "Conducting research in the gay community is fraught with methodological problems."[7]

A careful reading of studies used to lend support to homosexual parenting reveals more modest claims than are often attributed to them, as well as significant methodological limitations:

Nearly all of the existing studies of homosexual parenting have major deficiencies in sampling: They use a small sample size; they fail to obtain a truly representative sample due to sources of sampling bias; they do not use a random sample; or they use a sample with characteristics that are inappropriate for the crucial development research question involved in the study.[8]

Inadequate Sample Size. Studies examining the effects of homosexual parenting are weakened by inordinately small sample sizes:

• After finding no significant difference between a group of nine children raised by lesbians and a similar group of children raised by heterosexual parents, S. L. Huggins admitted, "The meaning and implications of this finding are unclear, and the small sample size makes any interpretation of these data difficult."[9]

• A report by J. M. Bailey et al. in Developmental Psychology, commenting on studies of the children of gay and lesbian parents, notes that "available studies [are] insufficiently large to generate much statistical power."[10]

• S. Golombok and F. Tasker admit in their follow-up study of children reared by lesbians, "It is possible that the small sample size resulted in an underestimate of the significance of group difference as a result of low statistical power (Type II error)."[11] Elsewhere they caution that negative effects of children reared by lesbians "could have remained undetected because of the relatively small sample size. Therefore, although discernible trends were identified, caution is required in interpreting these results."[12]

• In his study published in Child Psychiatry and Human Development comparing the children of homosexual and heterosexual mothers, G. A. Javaid frankly admits that "the numbers are too small in this study to draw any conclusions."[13]

• J. J. Bigner and R. B. Jacobson state in the Journal of Homosexuality:

Those who do study gay fathers may be frustrated by the difficulties of obtaining valid and adequate sample sizes. Most often, researchers must deal with many methodological problems in locating and testing gay fathers in numbers sufficiently large to make acceptable statistical analyses of data. For this reason, what is known currently about gay fathers is weakened by these methodological problems. It is practically impossible to obtain a representative sample of gay fathers, and those studies published to date frequently utilize groups of white, urban, well-educated males for study because of convenience sampling.[14]

• In her study of lesbian families, Patterson admits to sampling bias:

Some concerns relevant to sampling issues should also be acknowledged. Most of the families who took part in the Bay Area Families Study were headed by lesbian mothers who were White, well educated, relatively affluent, and living in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. For these reasons, no claims about representativeness of the present sample can be made.[15]

• Similarly, N. L. Wyers, in his study of male and female homosexual parents that appeared in Social Work, acknowledges that his study "cannot be considered representative" and that "therefore, the findings cannot be generalized beyond the sample itself."[16]

• By contrast
2008-03-24 12:40:06 UTC
Yes, they will adapt to their surroundings and become gay, most likely.


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