The Voices of Accepting and Supportive Parents of Gay Sons

Lee, Michelle M.; Lee, Robert E.

doi:10.1300/j461v02n02_01

Cited by 14 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…While this is not a causal relationship, it does support research that suggests that positive disclosure experiences are related to existing positive family dynamics (Savin-Williams & Ream, 2003). Most of the participants in the study also described that parents became more accepting over time, which is consistent with previous research (e.g., Beeler & DiProva, 1999; Goodrich, 2009; Lee & Lee, 2006; Phillips & Ancis, 2008; Potoczniak et al, 2009; Savin-Williams & Ream, 2003). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Becoming the Parent of a GLB Son or Daughter

Grafsky

2014

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

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Recent research has documented the importance of parental reactions to disclosure for sexual minority youth (SMY) (e.g., Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009). The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of the parent perspective of the disclosure to family experience of SMY ages 14-21. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight parents in the United States who had experienced a child disclose their lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) orientation to them. Constructivist grounded theory and symbolic interaction theory informed the methodology and data analysis for the project. Analysis revealed that the process of becoming the parent of an LGB son or daughter is an appropriate narrative to conceptualize the parental experience of the disclosure to family process. The findings highlight how disclosure introduces new roles into the existing family system, which affects the consideration and interpretation of the salience of particular identities, such as being the parent of an LGB son or daughter. Understanding how parents experience the disclosure to family process - particularly, how they understand and re-envision the meaning of being a parent - is crucial for research and intervention to help families become supportive of SMY. Limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Becoming the Parent of a GLB Son or Daughter

Grafsky

2014

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

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“…One example is parents' membership in a religious group that is not accepting of the LGB community, which in turn might lead parents to have a negative response when their LGB child comes out (Butcher, ; Freedman, ; Gonzalez et al, ; Goodrich, ; LaSala, ; Lopata, ; Maslowe & Yarhouse, ; Philips & Ancis, ; Saltzburg, ). However, parents' membership in affirming religious communities can have a positive effect on their reactions (Grafsky, ; Lee & Lee, ; Maslowe & Yarhouse, ; Pearlman, ; Wakeley & Tuason, ). For example, one mother said that her Christian ministry provided guidance on ways to “communicate and love” her daughters, which allowed her to feel more “equipped to be a better mom” (Maslowe & Yarhouse, , p. 360).…”

Section: New Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Parent Reactions to Coming Out as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual: A Theoretical Framework

Chrisler

2017

J of Family Theo & Revie

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Existing theories and the development of new theoretical models have been used to better understand the experiences of parents who have lesbian, gay, and bisexual children. However, these models tend to only capture a single aspect of the parent experience. This article combines existing theory and data from published research studies to propose a theoretical framework that can be used to explain parent reactions to coming out. Next steps include refining and empirically testing the proposed framework.

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“…More specifically, cultural historical activity theory (Vygotsky, 1978) provides a sociocultural framework for the study of individuals and their environment as a single interactive unit of analysis via the identification of individuals' uses of physical (e.g., Facebook), symbolic (e.g., sin), or abstract (e.g., heaven) entities, otherwise known as cultural tools (Daiute, 2006;Etengoff & Daiute, 2013;Vygotsky, 1978;Yamagata-Lynch, 2010). As prior research has established the applicability of descriptive and patterncoding techniques to this population (e.g., Lee & Lee, 2006), analysis initially focused on identifying broad-concept narratives regarding online tool use and mediation. As prior research has established the applicability of descriptive and patterncoding techniques to this population (e.g., Lee & Lee, 2006), analysis initially focused on identifying broad-concept narratives regarding online tool use and mediation.…”

Section: Sociocultural Narrative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Coming-Out Communications Between Gay Men and Their Religious Family Allies: A Family of Choice and Origin Perspective

Etengoff

Daiute

2014

Journal of GLBT Family Studies

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Gay men use social networking sites and blogs more than heterosexual men (Harris, 2010). However, little is known about how they communicate online while coming out. Yet, coming out often results in a loss of social support for gay youths from religious backgrounds, suggesting that alternative supports such as families of choice and online networks may be particularly beneficial (Saltzburg, 2007). The present study addresses this gap by focusing on how gay emerging adults (N = 23) and their religious family allies (N = 15) utilize Facebook to make sense of their experiences by communicating with families of choice and origin. Narrative analysis suggests that gay participants primarily make sense of familial and religious challenges by developing online peer supports (i.e., families of choice) in contrast to their family allies' focus on strengthening existing family-of-origin relationships via online information exchanges. Participants' reported online sociorelational benefits largely contradict recent research indicating that Internet use may lead to negative mental health outcomes (Kross et al. 2013;Krämer & Winter, 2008). The present study therefore highlights the need for further research to assess the generalizability of online sense-making benefits to other cultural, religious, and sexual minority groups that may be confronting coming-out challenges.

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The Voices of Accepting and Supportive Parents of Gay Sons

Cited by 14 publications

References 19 publications

Becoming the Parent of a GLB Son or Daughter

Becoming the Parent of a GLB Son or Daughter

Understanding Parent Reactions to Coming Out as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual: A Theoretical Framework

Online Coming-Out Communications Between Gay Men and Their Religious Family Allies: A Family of Choice and Origin Perspective

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