Marriage as Blindspot
Marriage as Blindspot
What Children with LGBT Parents Need Now
This chapter delineates the ways in which marriage equality advocates emphasized the needs and interests of primarily white and well-to-do lesbian and gay families while ignoring those of LGBT parents of color. It argues that because same-sex marriage advocacyoverlooked the family circumstances of the majority, and the most disadvantaged, of children raised by gay and lesbian parents, future advocacy must put the needs of those children at the forefront. It also questions the assumption by many in the marriage equality movement that the recognition of same-sex marriages will help solve the legal parentage questions arising from the formation of LGBT families. It urges advocates not to conflate marriage with parentage. By focusing so intently on marriage, advocates have ignored the fact, for example, that children sometimes have two parents who are not interested in marriage. The focus on marriage rather than on parentage, the chapter argues, has created troubling blindspots for the LGBT movement, blindspots that can be removed only if advocates recognize the need to separate parentage questions from those of marriage.
Keywords: LGBT parents, children, marriage equality, marriage presumption, LGBT advocacy, marital presumption laws
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