Gay Mothers and Early Childhood Education: Standing Tall

Abstract

lEGIslATIon In nEW ZEAlAnD would suggest there is a liberal and accepting attitude towards diverse families in this country, yet discrimination and heteronormative expectations are strongly evident. In this article I report the findings of a study of the experiences of lesbian-parented families in early childhood centres. Seventeen gay women from 12 lesbian-parented families were asked about their own and their children's experiences in a variety of early childhood education settings. The findings, which are discussed in terms of a theory of heteronormativity, describe the steps the women reported they needed to take to prepare their children to cope in a heteronormative world. I conclude that, despite seemingly supportive legislation, this group of gay mothers felt it necessary to protect their children from heteronormativity and to prepare them for coping with discrimination. 1 See for example, Homosexual Law Reform Act (1986), Human Rights Act (1993), Civil Union Act (2004). 2 'Queer' is used here as an inclusive term referring to people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and takatapui. Only one of the women in the study described herself as 'queer,' most of the women preferred to use 'gay.' The use of differing terms in this article is to reflect the mothers' preference and particular nomenclature of other studies. We've moved online ...

“Raised Eyebrows”: Working with Lesbian‐Parented Families — Experiences of Childcare Centre Directors in Australia

“…In contrast, only 6 per cent of participants noted experiences with gay‐parented families ( n = 4) and transgendered families ( n = 2) at their centres. It is possible that these findings may be underreported, as there remains a challenge in knowingly working with LGBT families, as this is dependent on the disclosure of their identities by either parents or children (Lee, ). Comments made by a director, for instance, illustrate the risks associated with possible disclosure in her locale: ‘There are no gay men in our community, full stop.…”

“…The concept of ‘family’ continues to be highly politicised (Robinson and Diaz, ). Lesbians are part of the fabric of childcare centres, as parents (Lee, ; Skattebol and Ferfolja, ) as children (Foulks Boyd, ), as educators and as friends of the family (Andrew and others, ). Lesbian parents and staff may be present but not visible because they choose not to disclose their identity in these settings (Burnett, ).…”

Towards creating inclusive environments for LGBTIQ-parented families in early childhood education and care settings: A review of the literature

“…Whilst societal understandings of ‘family’ may have progressed to include diverse family make-up, some LGBTIQ-parented families report that EC educators recognise and value the biological parent of a child more than the same-sex partner (Leland, 2017). Same-sex parents may be marginalised by school activities such as the celebration of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (Goldberg, 2014; Lee, 2010). In addition, EC education curricula and centre policies may fail to explicitly reflect children with LGBTIQ parents (Michaud & Stelmach, 2019).…”

“…Both responses have been shown to affect parent–educator relationships, which in turn has implications for their children’s psychosocial outcomes (Goldberg & Smith, 2017). Taking a different approach, some LGBTIQ parents respond to concerns regarding the inclusion of their children in ECEC programmes by enrolling their children in services reputed to be more inclusive (Hornby, 2011; Lee, 2010; Leland, 2017; Michaud & Stelmach, 2019); however many parents are unable to respond in this manner, highlighting the importance of all early learning programmes enacting high-quality inclusion practices. Once again, there is a need for evidence-based strategies to equip ECEC staff to create a more inclusive environment for LGBTIQ-parented families.…”

“…For example, in one recent study, LGBTIQ-parented families with children under five were excluded since older children were deemed to remember more than younger children about their family structure (Breshears, 2011). However, young children, their parents and their educators can attest to children's ability to understand and describe their experiences of diverse family structures (Lee, 2010;Cooper, 2015;Bentley & Souto-Manning, 2016;Kelly, 2013;Kim, Kwangok, & Carrola, 2017;Krikorian, 2016). For many people, an important first step is to understand what the term 'LGBTIQ-parented family' means.…”