Fathers and children in homosexual family arrangements: the perspective of gay men and their children

Author(s)

Yurín Garcêz de Souza Santos

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2016-06-17

Examining board members

Manoel Antonio dos Santos; Henrique Caetano Nardi; Fernando Silva Teixeira Filho

• Advisor: Manoel Antonio dos Santos

Abstract

Affective-sexual relations between persons of the same sex have always existed in human history. However, the understandings of these relationships have changed in specific contexts and historical moments. These changes entailed repercussions for the notion of family to the extent that, today, many are the possibilities to define the term. Among the multiple possibilities of the family, there is the homoparental family, constituted by the homosexual couple and their children, family structure that challenges the heteronormative conception present in the common sense of what is to be family. Academic studies generally focus on comparisons between the so-called traditional family structures and those that diverge from the socially established standard, showing a lack of empirical studies that add the perspective of children inserted in those contexts. The aim of this study was to understand the formation and organization process of gay families constituted by male couples with children, from the perspective of parents and children. This is a descriptive and exploratory qualitative study, using the case study as a methodological strategy. In two, the paternity derived from one of the spouses\' previous heterosexual relationships and, in the other two, from joint adoption. The tools were a Socio-Demographic Data Form, a Semistructured Interview held with the homoparental couple together, a Semistructured Interview held with each spouse individually, a Semistructured Interview held with children over age, Genogram carried out with the parents and the Family Drawing done with both the parents and the children. The Queer Theory and the available literature on homosexual parenting guided the data analysis. Based on the analysis of the collected material, it was possible to elaborate, in ongoing dialogue with the literature, five thematic categories: \"Closet Demands\", \"Homosexual Conjugality\", \"Building the Family\", \"Being a Father\" and \"What is the family?\". The results showed how the heteronorm crossed the constructions of the subjects\' singularities, with repercussions for their forms of acceptance and of assuming their own sexuality. Moreover, the construction of the families has always been confronted with the relationship the participants established with their families of origin. The homoparental family seems to be constituted based on the same values that ideally constitute heteroparental families and all family members signify it as a place of emotional security, the sum and acceptance of differences and beyond blood bonds links. The data suggest that the homoparental families are distinct from other family models, mainly in the forms of construction and organization. On the other hand, other differences cannot be attributed to the parents\' sexuality. New questions emerge as possibilities for future studies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/02927-7 - Fathers and children in homosexual family arrangements: the perspective of gay men and their children
• Grantee: Yurín Garcêz de Souza Santos
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master