• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Are gay parents more likely to raise gay children?

Are gay parents more likely to raise gay children?


  • Total voters
    33

Mensch

Mr. Professional
DP Veteran
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Messages
3,715
Reaction score
751
Location
Northern Virginia
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Independent
Last edited:
I think it's a combination of nature and nurture. I would agree that homosexual couples are more likely to raise homosexual children.
 
I think it's a combination of nature and nurture. I would agree that homosexual couples are more likely to raise homosexual children.

If you look at the chances... I wonder how many "happily married" straight males are banging the post man?

Think we can find a correlation between fake straight couples and homosexuality?
 
If you look at the chances... I wonder how many "happily married" straight males are banging the post man?

Think we can find a correlation between fake straight couples and homosexuality?

I bet if ya get caught its a federal offense if hes on duty. Homeland security would be forced to argue your fu%$#ing the government.
 
The problem is how do we for sure identify gay people. I think gay people are more likely to raise children who identify as gay as they are more likely to be open to the idea of being gay. If there is a genetic component to being gay(ie a gay gene or something similar) then gay parents of children would probably be more likely to have gay children, though that is not "raising" gay children.
 
If homosexuality is decided by an on/off genetic switch, then gay parents are no more or less likely to raise gay children than straight parents. Their gay kids may be more willing to acknowledge their sexuality, which could appear to skew the numbers, but the actual number of people who had their switch in the "on" position would be the same.

If homosexuality is more of a spectrum thing, then it's quite possible that being raised by gay parents could actually make children more likely to be gay.

This all assumes that the genetic aspect of homosexuality is not hereditary. If it is, and if the children biologically belong to one or both of the partners, then the numbers might change.
 
Unless I see statistics...
 
I don't think they are more likely to do it right now because the social norms in society have not encouraged it. On a biological level... well, I'm sure it's just as diverse as in the heterosexual world: some people feel inclined to do it while others don't. It's not really an all or nothing argument.

I think if marriage is an acceptable and viable option for gay people then we would be likely to see many more stable, long-term relationships that result in child rearing. As it stands now, gays are being relegated to second class citizen status where we aren't allowing them to officially enter into matrimony and that's wrong. Many accuse them of being immoral and promiscuous yet we do not allow them to be part of the institutions which could turn things around.

So yeah... there are many variables involved in this question you ask.
 
Last edited:
I believe that gay couples will probably raise more 'practicing' gay children (as in people who actually have homosexual sex on a regular basis, rather than those who are attracted to members of the same sex, but do not act on their attractions). I suspect this would be due to the kids being raised in an environment where they're around gay people much more and see it as more normal.

Overall, if you were somehow able to determine whether people were attracted to members of the same sex or the opposite sex, you would see similar levels of homosexual desires in people raised by hetero- and homosexual couples. I think the ones raised by hetero couples would just hide it more often.
 
No. I've posted a ton of research on this in the past. Gay parents are not more likely to raise gay children.

One thing to consider, though, something that is often missed when discussing this issue. Since we know that homosexuality is not a disorder and homosexuality in and of itself is not harmful in any way, what difference does it make? It's like wondering if left-handed parents beget more left-handed children. If they do or if they don't, who cares?
 
Last edited:
I believe that gay couples will probably raise more 'practicing' gay children (as in people who actually have homosexual sex on a regular basis, rather than those who are attracted to members of the same sex, but do not act on their attractions). I suspect this would be due to the kids being raised in an environment where they're around gay people much more and see it as more normal.

Overall, if you were somehow able to determine whether people were attracted to members of the same sex or the opposite sex, you would see similar levels of homosexual desires in people raised by hetero- and homosexual couples. I think the ones raised by hetero couples would just hide it more often.

Given that the vast majority of gay people come from straight parents, this is a patently absurd argument.
 
I believe that gay couples will probably raise more 'practicing' gay children (as in people who actually have homosexual sex on a regular basis, rather than those who are attracted to members of the same sex, but do not act on their attractions). I suspect this would be due to the kids being raised in an environment where they're around gay people much more and see it as more normal.

Overall, if you were somehow able to determine whether people were attracted to members of the same sex or the opposite sex, you would see similar levels of homosexual desires in people raised by hetero- and homosexual couples. I think the ones raised by hetero couples would just hide it more often.

In bold. Right on target. This is what studies show. The fallacy that more gay parents raise gay children is just that... a fallacy. What DOES happen is that because children raised by gay parents are raised in an evironment that is more open-minded to a variety of sexual orientations, it is more likely that the child will be more comfortable being open about their sexual orientation, if they are gay.
 
I'm a tad skeptical of the researcher given that he set out to prove something, namely that homosexuality is not genetic. He also seemed to be rather selective of the studies he used.

However, his evidence is a meta-analysis, which is considered one of the highest sources of evidence and I have seen no other study like this to date. It's currently very compelling evidence, and I'm sure it will show up in future cases regarding same sex marriage. I think most people already assume that gays and lesbians are more likely to raise homosexual children, so I don't see it having a great affect on public opinion.
 
I think most people already assume that gays and lesbians are more likely to raise homosexual children, so I don't see it having a great affect on public opinion.

Well fortunately, the opinions of the masses don't determine civil rights.
 
Well fortunately, the opinions of the masses don't determine civil rights.

Unfortunately, whether civil rights actually occur, as we've seen throughout history, the opinions of the masses DO determine them.
 
Unfortunately, whether civil rights actually occur, as we've seen throughout history, the opinions of the masses DO determine them.

Only when the overwhelming majority are against them and there hasn't been sufficient systemic change. I don't think SSM is stuck in that place anymore. A lot of people either don't care either way, or they are for it... enough, at least, to warrant this issue being dealt with now. This is and always has been about what is best for children, so ironically the conservatives are right when they talk about family values. They are just distorting what those values mean.
 
Well fortunately, the opinions of the masses don't determine civil rights.

I think this is actually a fortunate turn of events. If conservatives try to use this to push their battle against civil rights for gays, it would likely backfire. It opens up the "child" argument. Even if a child who was raised by a gay man or woman is more likely to identify as gay, that same research indicates that child's outcome is likely to be positive. The question is then purely whether homosexuality is acceptable in society and the ideological debate on that is almost purely based on religousity.
 
I think this is actually a fortunate turn of events. If conservatives try to use this to push their battle against civil rights for gays, it would likely backfire. It opens up the "child" argument. Even if a child who was raised by a gay man or woman is more likely to identify as gay, that same research indicates that child's outcome is likely to be positive. The question is then purely whether homosexuality is acceptable in society and the ideological debate on that is almost purely based on religousity.

Well, my main point is... even if it's true that a child of heterosexual parents is more likely to be gay (and it isn't), who the hell cares? That very idea has its roots in homophobia. We are still in many ways stuck at square one of this argument: gay people don't choose to be gay. Whether it's nature or nurture is not relevant to the fact that the orientation is fixed, so I don't see why these notions are even part of the debate. They are completely irrelevant to a person having the right to be with whoever they want and have equal ability to do it with an opposite-sex partner or same-sex partner.
 
I am shocked that anybody would vote yes in this poll. Thanks for giving into the bigoted notion that gay can somehow rub off:roll:
 
I went and did some more research on this issue. I'm questioning Dr. Schumm's objectivity. He was a witness for the plaintiffs in the recent Appeals court case in Florida on their gay adoption ban, which was overturned. He argued that gay parents should be determined by the courts on a case by case basis. His research methods also sound suspect.

Although Dr. Schumm is not a psychologist, a summary of his testimony is included in this section because he conducted a methodological analysis of the works of psychologists on homosexual parenting. When reanalyzing studies on outcomes of children raised by gay parents, he found some differences in outcomes as a factor of parental sexual orientation where the original researchers reported no differences (the null hypothesis). He suggests that his reanalysis, mostly unpublished, should be accepted over the analyses of well respected researchers in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Schumm admitted that he applies statistical standards that depart from conventions in the field. In fact, Dr. Cochran and Dr. Lamb testified that Dr. Schumm's statistical re-analysis contained a number of fundamental errors. Dr. Schumm ultimately concluded that based on his re-analysis of the data, there are statistically significant differences between children of gay and lesbian parents as compared to children of heterosexual parents. Dr. Schumm understands that much of the scientific community disagrees with his conclusions and concedes to the possibility that some gay parents may be beneficial to some children.

The fact that he keeps standing up for Paul Cameron is also troubling. Paul Cameron is one of the most virulently anti gay people in the country by any measure, and only the Westboro Baptist Church takes any of his unpublished research seriously.

I will have to wait until Schumm's research has been published and is subject to peer review, but I'm skeptical of his statistical methods and agenda.
 
Last edited:
I have to say that I honestly don't know. I'm not sure what role genetics or socialization plays in determining sexual orientation (and don't know of anyone who is), so I suppose its possible that gay parents could influence a child's sexual orientation if they're disposed to homosexual attractions.

I don't know what it matters, though. Raising the point as some sort of argument against gays raising kids implies that being gay is a bad thing; it is not.
 
I am shocked that anybody would vote yes in this poll. Thanks for giving into the bigoted notion that gay can somehow rub off:roll:

Anyone who comes out one particular way on an unsettled scientific question is bigoted? If you don't know what you're talking about, you shouldn't be calling names.
 
I am shocked that anybody would vote yes in this poll. Thanks for giving into the bigoted notion that gay can somehow rub off:roll:

It's not bigoted. I believe that homosexuality is a combination of nature and nurture. We don't know of any gay gene, but we do know hormones can influence behavior. We know there are psychological links within homosexuality too. Science doesn't completely understand everything about it. People who believe it is purely "rubbed off" aren't bigoted, they just have a different view of unproven and disputed science.
 
Back
Top Bottom