An important thing I am coming to understand from taking this social policy class, is how broad the impact of how we decide to define "family" is on the lives of American families.I came upon an interesting article, Binational Couples and Same-Sex Immigration, which brought up a whole other issue I've never really considered before. Because the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 prohibits federal recognition of same-sex couples in the United States, American citizens who are gay or lesbian and have foreign partners are not able to bring their partners into the United States. There have been several attempts in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007 to remedy this, all unsuccessful. Now in 2009, the Uniting American Families Act has been introduced which would allow the same criteria used for heterosexual nationals to bring their partners to the United States to be extended to gay/lesbian nationals.
I've thought a lot the past couple of weeks about the many similarities between the current gay/lesbian rights movement and the civil rights movements of women and blacks. Back in the day (and arguably still today) these groups were seen as deficient. It was the common belief, both in general society and in the scientific community, that these groups were not as competent as white males. Studies verified this position, justifying discriminatory practices.
It makes me wonder about the many studies commonly referenced today which state that heterosexual families are much better for children and their development than are homosexual families. Is it possible that the methodologies and/or construct definitions utilized in these studies are biased against same-sex families? Perhaps, inadvertently, these studies were set up in such a way to ensure that heterosexual families come out on top. Are same sex families really so detrimental to children?
Also, is the difference between heterosexual and same-sex families due to inherent qualities of the family types or because of varying levels of support and acceptance afforded to each by society? If same-sex couples had all of the same legal rights and social supports as heterosexual couples, would studies find them more equal? Just some midnight musings...
ReplyDeleteInteresting point about binational couples. I had never considered that as another obstacle for the gay/lesbian community. I wonder what the trickle-down impact would be if the "Uniting Americans Families Act" passes? Maybe it would led to domestic gay/lesbian marriages in the US?
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that studies are biased towards the norm. How can they be any other way? A study run by GLBT will in all likelihood be slanted that way as well.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand they do have higher rates of familial dissolution, and their life expectancy is much lower. These may produce more difficult outcomes for children, but do not necessarily mean that they shouldn't have kids etc.