Couple access to medically assisted fertilization or adoption (included stepparent adoption). This mirrors a general trend – well documented in surveys on Italian population – of a growing acceptance of LGBT intimate relationships paired with a persisting and widespread opposition to LGBT parenthood. When it comes to lesbian and gay parenting, both the public debate and scientific research focus on the so-called “new generation” of subjects who plan to have children as a same-sex couple, raising awareness on their exclusion from reproductive and family rights in Italy. Much less visible, also in terms of political mobilization, is the social experience of lesbian and gay parents with children from heterosexual relations. This invisibility leaves out of the debate issues related to multi-parenting and the recognition – both by law and society – of same-sex blended families. Furthermore, their family arrangements challenge the simplifying contrast between same-sex and heterosexual families. The contribution is based on two qualitative research carried out between 2015 and 2020. In-depth interviews have been collected with 27 lesbian and gay intentional parents, and 23 parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships. The aim of the analysis is to point out the common claims they share as non-heteronormative parents, but also the plural family practices and claims they bring at political level and in everyday life.

What Counts as Family? Plural Practices, Intimate Networks, and Claims of Gay and Lesbian Parents in Italy

paolo gusmeroli
2021

Abstract

Couple access to medically assisted fertilization or adoption (included stepparent adoption). This mirrors a general trend – well documented in surveys on Italian population – of a growing acceptance of LGBT intimate relationships paired with a persisting and widespread opposition to LGBT parenthood. When it comes to lesbian and gay parenting, both the public debate and scientific research focus on the so-called “new generation” of subjects who plan to have children as a same-sex couple, raising awareness on their exclusion from reproductive and family rights in Italy. Much less visible, also in terms of political mobilization, is the social experience of lesbian and gay parents with children from heterosexual relations. This invisibility leaves out of the debate issues related to multi-parenting and the recognition – both by law and society – of same-sex blended families. Furthermore, their family arrangements challenge the simplifying contrast between same-sex and heterosexual families. The contribution is based on two qualitative research carried out between 2015 and 2020. In-depth interviews have been collected with 27 lesbian and gay intentional parents, and 23 parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships. The aim of the analysis is to point out the common claims they share as non-heteronormative parents, but also the plural family practices and claims they bring at political level and in everyday life.
2021
Abstract Book | 15th ESA Conference | Sociological Knowledges for Alternative Futures
15th ESA Conference | Sociological Knowledges for Alternative Futures
9782958158606
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