Is it nurture over nature? – study indicates that children of gay parents are more likely to reject traditional gender roles – Brief Article
Chad Graham
Kids of gay and lesbian parents are less likely to adopt traditional gender roles and more apt to pick same-sex partners when they grow up, according to a new study out of the University of Southern California published in late April in the American Sociological Review.
Researchers Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz found that girls raised by gay parents are interested in activities that have masculine and feminine qualities. They are also more sexually adventurous and less chaste than girls raised by heterosexual couples, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Boys raised by gay parents are less masculine and more nurturing. They are also less promiscuous than boys raised by heterosexuals. In addition, six of the 25 children of same-sex parents had engaged in a gay or lesbian relationship. In contrast, none of the 20 children of heterosexuals had. The data was gleaned from 21 different studies dating back 20 years and focused mainly on children raised by lesbians.
Such studies may have a noticeable impact, on adoption, especially in states where a parent’s sexual orientation can determine custody rights. In April a New Jersey appeals court ruled that gays and lesbians can be denied custody or visitation rights if their same-sex relationships are kept secret.
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