Pride and Prejudice : Lesbian Families in Contemporary Sweden

Abstract

To my children, Emil, Nils, Myran and Tove Färgen på barns ögon kommer från arvet, glittret i barns ögon kommer från miljön.The colour of children's eyes comes from nature, the sparkle in children's eyes comes from nurture. AbstractOptions and possibilities for lesbian parents have changed fundamentally since the turn of the millennium. A legal change in 2003 enabled a same-sex couple to share legal parenthood of the same child. An additional legal change, in 2005, gave lesbian couples access to fertility treatment within public healthcare in Sweden. The present thesis focuses on families where two women share legal parenthood of their children. It aims to provide knowledge about lesbian parenting couples and their children, and to focus on the interplay between family members within lesbian families, and between family members and their surroundings. Furthermore, the thesis aims to visualize and analyse notions of heteronormativity and homonormativity in contemporary Sweden. The thesis draws on interviews with 118 parents in 61 families, and 12 children in 11 families. The participants' stories, descriptions, reflections and discourses have been analysed using discursive psychology and thematic analysis.The thesis includes five empirical papers. Paper I focuses on encounters with healthcare professionals prior to and during pregnancy, at childbirth and during the early stages of parenthood. Paper II deals with the participants' experiences of second-parent adoption processes. Paper III focuses on equality in parenting relations. Paper IV focuses on encounters with fertility clinics within public healthcare. Paper V highlights the children's reflections and shows how the children talk about fathers and donors.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual parents’ experiences of nurses’ attitudes in child health care—A qualitative study

“…In some cases, even when a CHC nurse failed, the parents felt well treated and appreciated her efforts. Malmquist () described how LGBTQ parents cope with humiliation and discrimination by either describing it as an exception or whitewashing it to excuse the behaviour. In this case, parents diminished the importance of flaws in treatment by saying that the CHC nurse did her best and that she meant well.…”

“…In some cases, even when a CHC nurse failed, the parents felt well treated and appreciated her efforts. Malmquist (2015) described how…”

Two Decades of Same-Sex Marriage in Sweden: A Demographic Account of Developments in Marriage, Childbearing, and Divorce

“…Other research has focused on further aspects of samesex family life, such as parental leave use in same-sex and opposite-sex couples Boye 2017, 2018), retirement dynamics (Kridahl and Kolk 2018), and the educational outcomes of children with lesbian parents (Aldén et al 2017). Malmquist (2015aMalmquist ( , 2015b offered a set of studies with qualitative research on the different considerations that lesbian couples in Sweden face in relation to family building and family dynamics.…”

“…In 2003, registered partners in Sweden were allowed to jointly adopt a child; in 2005, medically assisted insemination was made available to women in same-sex cohabiting relationships. The legal changes in 2003 were particularly important: this was the first time the law acknowledged that a child can have two legal parents of the same sex (Malmquist 2015a). Crucially, the access to adoption was restricted to partners in a registered partnership or marriage.…”

LGBTQ competence wanted: LGBTQ parents’ experiences of reproductive health care in Sweden

“…Small gestures of acceptance, such as making eye contact, were also described to make impactful differences for the women . Studies on gay fathers’ , as well as transgender and queer parents’ experiences within RHC are sparse. Trans men have reported a lack of support, invisibility, isolation and loneliness throughout the RHC, as well as RHPs’ lack of knowledge and awareness about their unique needs .…”