Gay and Lesbian Parents and the Expanding Definition of Family- Rough Draft

Joshua Steele
October 13, 2012
English 115
Professor Macklin

Gay and Lesbian Parents and the Expanding Definition of Family

    The video begins with a teenage boy at a restaurant, eating and saying, “I gotta tell you something.” He then tells his fathers that he is straight, and they nod in approval. An announcer then tells the audience, “Children raised by homosexuals do not necessarily become homosexuals” (The Gayest Commercials). In this video, the message is clearly presented to the audience, especially with the announcer’s message at the end. The message is that being raised by gay or lesbian parents is perfectly normal and that it is perfectly normal for the children of gay or lesbian parents to identify as straight. In order to fully understand this public service announcement and this essay, the reader should be informed about the history of gay and lesbian parents and the current issues that they face.
    Until the 1960s and 1970s, adoption was limited to heterosexual couples who adopted a healthy white infant and adhered to traditional gender roles, where the father worked and the mother stayed at home. Single adults, divorced adults, older couples,  and couples with health problems were typically forbidden from adopting children, while gay and lesbian couples were never allowed to adopt children. One prominent historical example of the strict adoption laws of the past is the case of Joan Crawford’s legal battle to adopt her first child. In 1939, Crawford sought to adopt a child, but she was turned down by adoption agencies in California, since she had been married and divorced twice. She eventually was able to adopt her daughter, Christina, through an out-of-state agency (Her Own Private Idaho, Mommie Dearest).

Works Cited

1. “Her Own Private Idaho.” People Weekly. Time Inc., August 8, 1994. Web. October 13, 2012.
2. Perry, Frank, dir. Mommie Dearest. Paramount Pictures, 1981. Film.
3. “The Gayest Commercials.” Out. Here Media Inc., March 20, 2012. Web. October 13, 2012.
4. “The History of Gay Adoption.” Helium. RR Donnelley, September 22, 2009. Web. October 13, 2012.