April 15, 2024 12:00pm - 1:30pm What We Can Learn from LGBTQ+ Parent Families: Strengths and Directions for Research, Policy, and Practice

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Presented by ODEI and MedPride, this themed pair of talks will speak to both the study and lived experience of LGBTQ+ parent families.  
 
Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP here, or you can join remotely on Zoom.   

Speaker Details

Rachel H. Farr, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, conducts research about diverse families. For 15 years, she has directed a longitudinal study about parental sexual orientation and child, parent, and family outcomes among adoptive families across the U.S. Supported by the William T. Grant Foundation, Rachel is also studying racially, economically, and geographically diverse American youth with LGBTQ+ parents. Her findings, published in top-tier developmental psychology journals (e.g., Child Development, Developmental Psychology), have been covered by the New York Times, Huffington Post, and National Public Radio, as well as cited in numerous U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs. 

About the talk: “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) parents raise well-adjusted children. How do LGBTQ+ parents accomplish this feat despite stigma and discrimination? Psychological scholarship has typically compared LGBTQ+ and cisgender heterosexual (cis-het) parent families with deficit models based on biased assumptions. I recommend moving beyond comparative approaches by incorporating intersectional, queer theory- and strengths-based alternatives. Research on processes and socialization within LGBTQ+ parent families has uncovered that LGBTQ+ parents demonstrate flexibility, creativity, and intentionality, which are associated with children’s positive outcomes and resilience. I argue that a conceptual shift will generate greater empirical discovery of the unique strengths of LGBTQ+ parenting that positively impact children’s development. In turn, such research can provide insights about policies and practices to benefit all children and families. In this talk, I will describe what we can learn about the strengths of LGBTQ+ parent families. I will also highlight what next steps scholars can take to further strengths-based research that may inform policy, law, and practice related to LGBTQ+ people and their families.” 

Andrew Bond, MA, is an academic advisor for student success within the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. A former history teacher, and youngest of four, he is keen to assess the pervasive roots of enduring inequity.  Andrew is happily married to Nicholas Van Sickels, MD, and both remain smitten, though more than occasionally tested, by their two children, Jules and Finch. 

About the talk: Bond will tell the story of how he and his husband, Nicholas, met in 2003, their relocation to New Orleans, La., and initiation of adoption process in late 2010/early 2011 when discrimination against same-sex adoption and marriage was widespread. Despite eventual legal recognition of Nicholas as Jules’ father, he faced ongoing challenges proving parental rights. Andrew, lacking those easily challenged rights, explored various means to codify a relationship with Jules stronger than that of a babysitter. Also covered will be the path Andrew and Nicholas followed agreeing to join a lawsuit against the state of Louisiana regarding illegality of their marriage and subsequent adoption of Finch, in 2015.