Lesbian M/Otherhood: Strategies of Familial-linguistic Management in Lesbian Parent Families

In this article I examine how parental identities are negotiated in lesbian parent families. I argue that lesbian mothers' extraordinary maternity is not dependent on a feminist egalitarian ethic but instead comes from families' strategic articulation of same-sex parenthood, whereby gender...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology (Oxford) 2005-10, Vol.39 (4), p.585-603
Main Author: Gabb, Jacqui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Childrearing Practices
Children
Families
Families & family life
Family
Family Roles
Female homosexuality
Gays & lesbians
Gender
Gender identity
Gender roles
Homosexual Parents
Homosexuality
Identity
Language
Lesbianism
Linguistics
Management
Motherhood
Mothering
Mothers
Parenthood
Parenting
Parents
Parents & parenting
Sociology
Studies
United Kingdom
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Summary:In this article I examine how parental identities are negotiated in lesbian parent families. I argue that lesbian mothers' extraordinary maternity is not dependent on a feminist egalitarian ethic but instead comes from families' strategic articulation of same-sex parenthood, whereby gender is done and undone in multiple and contradictory ways. Focusing attention onto the 'other (non-biological) mother', I suggest that her lack of social status and (progenitor) maternal role disrupts simple readings of gendered parenthood. I demonstrate that children's creative familial-linguistic management of 'family' facilitates an inclusive conceptual framework, representing families as process. The data cited in this article comes from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 18 lesbian mothers and 13 of their children, who live across the Yorkshire region in the UK.
ISSN:0038-0385
1469-8684
DOI:10.1177/0038038505056025