Provide a definition of the term family. What, if any, are universal themes that

a group consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit: she moved in with her boyfriend%u2019s family


The issues that arise in lesbian- and gay-parented families are a function of two things: One is the rich variety of family constellations they comprise, and the other is the fact that they are living in a society which does not yet value rich variety. The tension created by this situation generates unique needs for the approximately 5 million gay and lesbian parents in this country1 whenever they present themselves to the legal system, the educational system, the mental health profession, religious organizations, the medical profession, or the insurance industry - to name just a few.

To begin with, it is important to know that family constellations among lesbian- and gay-parented families are largely quite different from the heterosexually-parented nuclear family. Our conventional notion of a parenting family contains many presumptions: that there will be two parents, that they will be one of each gender, that they will be romantic partners of one another, they will live under one roof, that they will both be biologically related to the children they raise, and that they will be recognized legally as a family. This Mom-and-Dad nuclear family is not merely the baseline model in our culture against which all other models are deviant, but it is also assumed by most to be an optimal structure for child development, compared to which all other constellations are viewed as having deficiencies which must be overcome.

This is a model, however, which applies to no lesbian and gay parented families. Gay and lesbian parents are heading families with one, two, three, or even four parents. Sometimes there are no men among the parents, sometimes there are no women. Sometimes there are men and women but they are not romantic partners of each other. Some families intentionally comprise more than one household. Sometimes both biological parents are included in the family and sometimes not. Often there is a biological parent who is not a family member at all. Usually there is at least one parent who has no biological relation to the child. And perhaps most important, there is almost always a parent-child relationship that the law does not recognize or protect.

By this time, the ability of lesbian and gay parents to provide just as adequately as heterosexual parents for the social and emotional health of their children has been documented repeatedly in the research literature.