Science proves: Gay parents are awesome Part 2

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Are you ready to get the next proves that Gay parents are awesome? You can read the first part of this research here.

Parenting that is sound and stable is no question an expectation of every adoption allowed in today’s society. Children that are brought into this world have no choice of who their parents are, nor how sound and skilled they may be at the art of parenting. The studies on the effects of being reared by homosexual parents are considered by anti-gay pundits to be too small to merit an official position. However, a report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics one week prior to the US Supreme Court case on gay marriage, stated that 3 decades of research showed that gay parents are doing quite well.

“Many studies have demonstrated that children’s well-being is affected much more by their relationships with their parents, their parents’ sense of competence and security, and the presence of social and economic support for the family than by the gender or the sexual orientation of their parents,” stated Benjamin Siegel, a School of Medicine professor of pediatrics, coauthor of the report.

Unfortunately, one of the limitations on the support of gay parenting is that most studies have smaller numbers than hoped for, but still carry tremendous weight since all are in agreement. The gold star in scientific research is the controlled, randomized study- which is the admitted limitation in most studies on same-sex parenting. At the time of Siegel’s article, it was estimated same-sex and single parent families were raising more than 2 million children in the US. The majority of children assessed by studies are weighted from families with lesbian parents, simply due to their ability to bear children. It is suspected that when more data is available on the parenting of gay men, that they will represent the “best parents on average,” as reported by NYU sociologist Judith Stacey, along with Tim Biblarz, a USC sociologist in a 2010 review of nearly all research on same-sex parenting. If lesbians have to plan for their parenting role, gay men have to do so even more.

In the first article of this series, the most compelling issues that favor same-sex parentage were discussed. However, now we shall delve into the proposed benefits a bit more.

Students with lesbian parents have been shown to have superior academic performance

“The 17-year-old daughters and sons of lesbian mothers were rated significantly higher in social, school/academic, and total competence,” stated Siegel. This was based on the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study that began nearly thirty years ago. In addition, a report from 2012 showed that the 17 year old students overall GPA resulted in an A-/B+ average., showing higher than average academic performance.

Although studies on academic performance are fewer in number, the trend of equal to superior academics seems to be quite promising.

Same-sex parents have been shown to rear children who are more tolerant and open-minded

Children with same-sex parentage have “perspectives on family, on gender, on sexuality have largely been enhanced by growing up with gay parents,” stated Goldberg in an article from the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry in 2007. One 33 year old adult child stated that he had become more well-rounded from his upbringing in a same-sex home, reporting that his “mom opened (him) up to the positive impact of differences in people.” Goldberg studied teenagers and young adults from same-sex families again for an article published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in 2012. This revealed that they reported “legal benefits and social acceptance” as the rewards of potentially legalized same-sex marriage, and were clearly in support of the proposed right.