Lesbian Adoptive Couples: Responding to Shifting Identities and Social Relationships

Abstract

Lesbian families are marginalized in contemporary society. Yet, shifting social mores and recent policy changes enable some lesbian couples to adopt children as a couple. Research is lacking about these unique families. The qualitative study presented here extends knowledge about lesbian couples’ internal and social experiences as they become adoptive parents. The findings indicate that these couples face unique challenges to internally held identities and in social relationships. They use, often simultaneously, normalizing and resisting strategies to address the challenges they face. The employment of strategies varies over time and across social contexts, adding to the complexity of tactics that lesbian families use to address heterosexism.