While gay dads have always been around, the past couple of decades have seen them emerging from the closet. Owning up to one’s homosexuality always requires courage. However, it is even more difficult for gay dads who may be concerned about the effect of their ‘declaration’ on their children. There is, after all, the very real fear that their children may become the targets of abuse from people with a prejudice against homosexuality.
These are some facts regarding gay dads:
- With the legal and social stigma against homosexuality lifting, an increasing number of gay dads (and lesbian moms), who have been through a heterosexual marriage, have started coming out about their sexuality.
- Over the last two decades, the number of gay men (and lesbian women), whether single or couples, who are choosing to have children outside socially approved marriage norms, in also on the rise.
- Gay dads are as concerned about their children as heterosexual fathers—whether biological or adoptive—and work equally hard at providing them with a loving and secure home.
- Gay dads (and lesbian moms) continue to come up against hostile attitudes to their parenthood. This is partly in due to a commonly held belief that children of gay parents are more likely to become gays themselves. Research has however shown that there is no truth in this assumption.
Resources for gay dads are amazingly slim. However, here are a few sites to help gay dads to start with:
Gaydads.co.uk – UK’s largest site for the help and support of gay dads.
Gayparentmag.com – Online version of the oldest, free, nationally distributed publication dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parenting (LGBT).