Marriage (In)equality: The Perspectives of Adolescents and Emerging Adults With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Parents

Abstract

The debate over whether same‐sex couples should be allowed to enter into civil marriages continues in the United States. Forty‐nine adolescents and emerging adults (ages 14–29) with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents were interviewed for the current exploratory study, which examined how individuals perceived themselves and their families as being affected by marriage (in)equality, as well as the factors that shaped their perspectives. More than two thirds of participants voiced unequivocal support for marriage equality, citing numerous legal and symbolic benefits that their families were denied. One quarter of participants articulated critical perspectives of marriage or the fight for marriage equality, while also acknowledging the benefits associated with marriage. As the first study to examine the perspectives of individuals with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents with regard to marriage (in)equality, this research has important implications for the marriage equality debate and provides a springboard for future studies on this topic.

Examining Cohort Differences and Resilience among the Aging LGBT Community: Implications for Education and Practice among an Expansively Diverse Population

“…As of this writing, marriage equality benefits the residents of 12 states in the United States, but the lack of federal recognition places older adults at a severe disadvantage while also providing differences with regard to perception of need for marriage equality among age cohorts (Goldberg & Kuvalanka, 2012). Regardless of partner status, younger cohorts may assume such legal protection is unnecessary or irrelevant while older cohorts oppositely believe marriage equality is a necessary protection to be guaranteed under law.…”

Discrimination and Mental Health Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths in Portugal: The Moderating Role of Family Relationships and Optimism

“…Additionally, other societal factors are related to high mental health levels and well-being of GLB individuals and their families, namely, the implementation of nondiscriminative legislation, such as the establishment of equal rights within marriage and family planning Bos, Gartrell, van Balen, Peyser, & Sandfort, 2008;Goldberg & Kuvalanka, 2012). Parents and persons who work directly with adolescents (such as teachers) must manifest their support in favor of non-discrimination and work to change the prevalent heterosexist social environment.…”

Communicating Qualitative Research: Some Practical Guideposts for Scholars

“…As stated, it is often appropriate to provide examples of each of the stages of coding and to illustrate the process of moving from one stage to the next. For the purpose of illustration, the following is an excerpt from Goldberg and Kuvalanka's () study of how young adults with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) parents think about and perceive themselves as affected by, marriage (in)equality:

First, we engaged in line‐by‐line analysis to generate initial theoretical categories (Charmaz, ). For example, we generated the initial codes “advocate of marriage equality” and “not an advocate of marriage equality” to describe individuals' general stance on marriage equality.

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