The National Lesbian Family Study: 2. Interviews with mothers of toddlers

N Gartrell1, A Banks, J Hamilton

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.

In this second report from a longitudinal study of lesbian families in which the children were conceived by donor insemination, interviews yielded the following data: Most couples shared parenting co-equally; the majority felt closer to their family of origin; adoptive co-mothers felt greater legitimacy as parents; biology and nurture received the same ratings for mother-child bonding; and political and legal action had increased among many participants. The impact of these findings and that of homophobia on lesbian family life are discussed.

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