ABSTRACT
The legal system has been unaccommodating or hostile to gay and lesbian families. Gays and lesbians are commonly disfavored or banned from being adoptive and foster parents. Children with homosexual parents are aware of societal disapproval and are often compelled to secrecy. However, children of lesbians are no more likely to lack self-esteem or feel less social acceptability than their peers. Teachers, counselors, and administrators can make school life joyful for these families by fashioning a gay and lesbian-positive school culture. A number of empirical and clinical studies have been conducted to investigate the mental health of homosexual parents, the quality of their home environments, and the effects on children of their parenting. Many Americans have been conditioned to believe that successful child rearing requires the presence of two opposite gender parents in the home.
