Gay and Lesbian Parents and the Expanding Definition of Family

Joshua Steele
October 17, 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. This advertisement relies on the use of pathos when the teenage boy anxiously tells his fathers that he is straight. The use of pathos is also used to encourage the audience to view the fathers and the son in a positive light. In this video, the use of logos is present when the announcer tells the audience, “Children raised by homosexuals do not necessarily become homosexuals” (The Gayest Commercials). In the advertisement, ethos is missing, due to the fact that the advertisement was created and funded by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, which lobbies for LGBT rights across the globe (ILGA).  However, the advertisement could contain ethos if it was produced and funded by an apolitical organization, such as a medical or mental health organization. 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 was 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 and lived alone. She was eventually able to adopt her daughter, Christina, through an out-of-state agency (Her Own Private Idaho, Mommie Dearest). Decades later, adoption laws were liberalized in response to massive changes in American society.
    Today, single people, divorced people, older individuals and couples, and same-sex couples are all allowed to adopt children in California. However, previous governors have attempted to issue regulations that would prohibit same-sex couples from adopting children. In 1987, Governor George Deukmejian issued a memorandum to the California Department of Social Services and to county adoption agencies, urging them to reject efforts by same-sex couples and heterosexual unmarried couples to adopt children (San Francisco Chronicle). This memorandum was widely ignored by state and county officials. In 1996, Governor Pete Wilson ordered the Department of Social Services to regularly reject efforts by same-sex couples and unmarried couples to adopt children (Los Angeles Times). Three years later, Governor Gray Davis ended the state’s ‘de facto ban’ on adoptions by unmarried couples and same-sex couples (San Francisco Chronicle). The ‘de facto ban’ on adoption by same-sex couples was motivated by the homophobia of Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson and their desire to please right-wing extremists in California and across the country, based on the notion that gays and lesbians were “unfit” parents (Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle).
    In conclusion, unmarried people, single people, older couples, couples with health problems, and same-sex couples were prohibited from adopting children. Since the 1960s and 1970s, laws have been changed to allow same-sex couples, unmarried couples, single people, older couples, and couples with health problems to adopt children as long as they are viewed as capable.

Works Cited

1. “Davis ends de facto ban on gay adoptions.” San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Newspapers, November 18, 1999. Web. October 17, 2012.
2. “Gays, Singles Also Targets of Adoption Rule.” Los Angeles Times. Tribune Corporation, September 8, 1996. Web. October 17, 2012.
3. “Her Own Private Idaho.” People Weekly. Time Inc., August 8, 1994. Web. October 13, 2012.
4. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, 2009. Web. October 16, 2012.
5. Perry, Frank, dir. Mommie Dearest. Paramount Pictures, 1981. Film.
6. “The Gayest Commercials.” Out. Here Media Inc., March 20, 2012. Web. October 13, 2012.
7. “The History of Gay Adoption.” Helium. RR Donnelley, September 22, 2009. Web. October 13, 2012.