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Lesbian and gay parenting: a feminist social constructionist analysis
thesis
posted on 2010-10-22, 08:49 authored by Victoria ClarkeIn this thesis, I explore the construction of lesbian and gay parenting in psychology (Part 1), in the
media (Part 2), and in lesbian and gay parents' talk (Part 3). My research brings together a
diverse range of influences and ideas from lesbian and gay psychology, feminist psychology, and
constructionist and discursive research. I draw on varied data sources: the psychological and
lesbian feminist literature on lesbian (and gay) parenting, television talk shows, documentaries
and newspaper articles, and research interviews with lesbian and gay parents. These data are
analysed within a feminist constructionist framework, using discourse analysis. The thesis is
divided into three parts. In Part 1.1 present my analysis of the psychological and lesbian feminist
literature on lesbian (and gay) parenting. In this part of the thesis, I treat the literature as data and
explore what it reveals about the social construction of lesbian and gay parenting. First, I provide
a historical overview of the literature on lesbians and parenting over the last one hundred years.
Then, I focus in detail on how discourses of sameness and difference and discourses of science
inform the construction of lesbian (and gay) parenting in the literature. In Part 2, I analyse media
constructions of lesbian and gay parenting. First, I identify arguments against lesbian and gay
parenting in talk shows and in newspaper articles. Second, I focus specifically on talk show
debates and analyse how these debates are constructed and identify the key themes informing
pro-lesbian/gay parenting discourse on talk shows. In Part 3, I focus in detail on lesbian and gay
parents' talk about two issues that significantly inform psychological and media debates about
their fitness to parent: homophobic bullying and male role models. I explore how lesbian and gay
parents engage with anti-lesbian/gay claims about homophobic bullying and male role models,
and the ways in which they construct bullying and role models in the process of discursively
managing their identity as 'bad' parents. In the final chapter, I discuss the contributions and
implications of my research, and indicate some future developments for research on lesbian and
gay parenting and for lesbian and gay psychology.
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Communication, Media, Social and Policy Studies
Publisher
© Victoria ClarkePublication date
2002Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.250997Language
- en