Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). The size of the LGBT population and the magnitude of anti-gay sentiment are substantially underestimated. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Ĭoffman, K. No place like home: Relationships and family life among lesbians and gay men. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27(3), 388–407.Ĭarrington, C. Constructing family: A typology of voluntary kin. W., Baxter, L., DiVerniero, R., Hammonds, J., Hosek, A., Willer, E., & Wolf, B. Journal of GLBT Family Issues, 9, 425–448.īraithwaite, D., Bach, B. A new American family? Public opinion toward family status and perceptions of the challenges faced by children of same-sex parents. The notion of families of choice continues to resonate, but chosen family members mostly complement rather than replace other kinds of family in definitions of one’s current family.īailey, S. Results show that constructionist definitions remain prominent in abstract conceptions of family, but also that LGBT people frequently define biological and legal relatives as members of their current family, and few define their current family as only consisting of chosen family. Earlier research had clearly established the importance of friends as chosen family in this population, but a growing emphasis on same-sex marriage and increased gay and lesbian parenting might be expected to cause some LGBT people to shift toward more traditional definitions of family. The study sought to determine whether constructionist definitions of family (“families of choice”) remain dominant among LGBT people. Respondents were asked how they would define “family” and whom they consider to be their current family.
This paper uses data from a study of 105 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to examine conceptions of family in LGBT communities.