parenting

The Inevitable Attacks on the ‘Lesbians Make Better Parents’ Study Commences (With Concerned Women for America)

So far our favorite attack comes from Townhall‘s Janice Shaw Crouse, a senior fellow at Concerned Women for America’s think tank, and a “recognized authority” on “women’s concerns.” That study from the Gill Foundation and the Lesbian Health Fund of the Gay Lesbian Medical Association, which claims children of lesbian parents are better off?

“The hype for the study was remarkable, with over 116 newspaper headlines blaring the news: ‘Children of lesbian couples do well,'” writes an astonished Crouse. “Few of the articles questioned the fact that the children’s mothers were reporting on their “little darling’s” well-being, social functioning, behavior, and achievements; nor did publications usually note the lack of cross-checking with objective outcomes. Not mentioned, as well, is that over half of the original lesbian-couple participants in the study were separated by the time their children were age six (mean age), though such family upheaval is typically quite difficult for children. Nor did the laudatory reports question the fact that the 78 children in the study contributed their own assessments about their lives and well-being. Without comparing these personal observations with objective outcomes (teacher/counselor evaluations, school report cards, etc.) the study is highly unreliable. The study is neither objective nor comprehensive.”

Crouse’s main problems are with the data collecting (the mothers self-reported on the children, and the parents mainly came from Boston, D.C., and San Francisco). But there’s also the sample: The “only” 77 lesbian couples, and their demographics are problematic: “the sample population [was mostly] Caucasian (93 percent), predominantly college educated (67 percent), mostly middle and upper class (82 percent), professional or managers (85 percent) and a median household income of $85,000.”

And then there’s the conspiracy theory: “A close reading of the Pediatrics article reveals a broader agenda promoting donor insemination, praising female parenting in contrast to having a father present, and, typically, condemning straight society as homophobic — a disproportionate amount of attention is given to descriptions of the children’s negative experiences related to their parents’ sexual preference (but the harassment didn’t affect their well-being, you understand).”

[Townhall]

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