Sameness and difference in research on lesbian parenting

By Victoria Clarke. 2002

128 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Most psychological, social science and feminist work on lesbian parenting searches for similarities and differences between lesbian and heterosexual parents. Using a feminist constructionist approach, I identify four dimensions of difference that inform research and theorizing on lesbian parenting. These construct lesbian parenting as (i) no different from heterosexual parenting; (ii) different from heterosexual parenting and deviant; (iii) different from heterosexual parenting and transformative; and (iv) different from heterosexual parenting only because of oppression. I consider why lesbian parenting is constructed in these ways, by and for whom and for what purposes. I also assess the political costs and benefits of sameness and difference and ask whether psychologists, social scientists and feminists should abandon their search for similarities and differences in favour of a more radical research agenda. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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