On how gay marriage doesn’t screw children up

One of the key cards continually being played by opponents of same-sex marriage is that having children grow up to two parents of the same gender will … turn them gay. I think. (Actually, it’s rather had to know what they say, exactly, amidst all the hysterics and paranoia, but that seems to be the crux of it.) They claim that children need a parent of each sex to act as both a male and female role model in their early developmental lives, and to this point, I do agree, somewhat. Yet, there is no credible reason to believe that being raised with loving care by two mothers or fathers would screw someone up on that basis.

Here is what actual experts – ie. people who are not tied to churches, of “family” organizations, or any other bigoted and biased party – have found concerning children raised by homosexual couples. Warning: it may shock you. You may wanna sit down. Ready? Okay:

In most ways, the accumulated research shows, children of same-sex parents are not markedly different from those of heterosexual parents. They show no increased incidence of psychiatric disorders, are just as popular at school and have just as many friends. While girls raised by lesbian mothers seem slightly more likely to have more sexual partners, and boys slightly more likely to have fewer, than those raised by heterosexual mothers, neither sex is more likely to suffer from gender confusion nor to identify themselves as gay.

More enlightening than the similarities, however, are the differences, the most striking of which is that these children tend to be less conventional and more flexible when it comes to gender roles and assumptions than those raised in more traditional families.

OMG!!!1!11!! You mean, kids who are raised with proper love and care, regardless of gender, do not turn into … uh … whatever the religious right constantly whines about them turning into? That they can be happy and balanced, and are, just like other kids? That they are quite secure in their own sexual identities, and that they aren’t all gay? And, worst of all, that they’re actually less bigoted and close-minded in general compared to other kids when it comes to stuff like minorities and gender roles?

So, does this mean that gay people can actually form excellent parents, and that to deny them the right to wed for teh children is a stupid excuse that doesn’t make a lick of sense?

It’s teh shock! I am shocked!!!

… Or, at least, I would be, had all this not been bloody obvious from the start, only to be ignored by right-wing demagogues and religious cranks.

(via @todayspolitics)
Technorati tags: gay marriage · same-sex marriage · gay · homosexuality