ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses factors that might influence family reactions to same-sex relationships, several affect male and female couples differently. Different discourses on the origins and stability of male homosexuality and lesbianism might lead family to see lesbianism as less stable or more easily influenced by circumstances. While gender non-normative women are not automatically associated with lesbianism in Hungary, normative feminine expression is still an expectation not only towards family members but their female partners as well. The different approaches to motherhood and fatherhood in our culture create stricter expectations towards mothers, including suppressing their desires for their children's sake. The notions of kinship based on blood mean that frequently the social parent is not acknowledged as a member of the family; this is even more pronounced in the case of women, as motherhood is seen as more rooted in biology than fatherhood. Attitudes to same-sex sexual orientation are frequently influenced by the assumed causes of homosexuality.
