LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Gay Parents: Lesbians
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But just because gay parents have a higher percentage of gay offspring doesn't mean that their parenting styles are responsible. If homosexuality is largely genetic--as Bailey's own groundbreaking studies of twins suggest--then it makes sense that homosexuality would run in families. Alex Tinker has an aunt, one of Bonnie's sisters, who is ... a lesbian. And if being gay is at times a choice--as some homosexuals say--then it also is logical that kids with positive gay role models would be more likely to see homosexuality as an OK choice. After years of bad relationships with men--"they're bossy and controlling"--Connie Tinker started dating women. Her lesbian mothers, however, always had encouraged her dating of men.
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Contact an organisation like the Lesbian and Gay Co-Parents Programme if you aren't co-parenting with a friend. When you have joined and paid a registration fee, you will have access to a team of counsellors and prospective co-parents. Unless you are going through a clinic, you will need an insemination kit. You can buy these from the Lesbian and Gay Co-Parents Programme or the Pink Parents website (see help and info below).
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Gay and lesbian parents look like heterosexual parents. Studies, although usually based on white middle-class samples, indicate that sexual orientation has little effect on parent-child relationships ( Bozette, 1990). Gay and Lesbian parents tend to be child centered perhaps due to fear of judgement or loss of parenting rights (Gonsiorek, 1991).
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This exploratory study used focus groups to document both the individual and collective perspectives of gay/lesbian parents and school personnel. There were a total of six focus groups, with a parent group and a school group at each of three different geographic locations. The three sites were located in and around Chicago, Northampton, MA, and Washington, DC. The transcripts from the focus group sessions were reviewed and common themes were coded and analyzed.
There are a number of national and local support groups for lesbian and gay parents and their families, many offering a range of support services and social activities. Details of these groups can be found at Pink Parents UK http://www.pinkparents.org.uk the national organisation offering support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families. They have a telephone helpline on 08701 273 274 open Monday - Friday 9am - 12pm (excluding public holidays)
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The majority of lesbian and gay individuals become parents through heterosexual marriages before "coming out" or identifying themselves as gay or lesbian. Others... realize their goal of parenthood through heterosexual sex, adoption, alternative insemination with a known or unknown sperm donor, or surrogacy arrangements (Martin, 1993). Lesbian and gay individuals seeking adoption, donor sperm, or a surrogate through agencies or clinics, however, are often unjustly denied services based on their sexual orientation or single parent status.
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