Should Same-Sex Couples Be Allowed to Adopt - Assignment Example

Debate: Should Same Sex Couples Be Allowed to Adopt Same sex couples should not be allowed to adopt due to the many different negative outcomes which children inside these relationships experience. The homosexual couple is one which statistically is more likely to break up than their heterosexual counterparts (post-gazette.com, 2002) which poses a risk to the developmental health of the child. Children tend to develop a form of attachment to their caregivers in any kind of parental relationship. When there is a constant risk of break-up within the relationship, or fighting which ensues over sociological situations, it is likely to cause emotional distress in the child. Unlike the heterosexual parents who seem to be able to handle internal household conflict more confidently and without risk of necessarily ending the relationship, the homosexual couple can set a model in the child’s mind that relationship arguments and break-ups represent the norm and are acceptable relationship behaviors. Also, same sex couples often cohabitate rather than being married in the legal fashion due to legislative and social restrictions regarding the practice. Cohabitators, in today’s society, are less likely to have joint bank accounts and are less likely to get married, therefore they have certain commitment issues (post-gazette.com). This again represents a risk to the child in the cohabitating relationship where issues of finance are handled individually which could impact the type of lifestyle which the child gets accustomed to. For example, one adoptive parent may be more frugal and less indulgent with the child while the other is more extravagant and enjoys showering rewards on the child. This could give the child a distorted sense of values or make the child favor one parent over the other which could cause problems in the relationship itself or with issues of how to reward or punish the youth. Additionally, “heterosexism, homophobic fears, oppression, and the general stigma that surrounds same sex couples are contemporary issues facing potential same sex adopters today” (Lobaugh, Clements, Averill and Olguin, 2006, p.185). During a child’s developmental years, they are developing a sense of self-worth and value, often comparing themselves to other peer and family relationships to help mold these images. If the child is continuously exposed to negative opinion or beliefs about the same sex relationship, it is likely they are going to develop distorted views of themselves, feeling somewhat out of touch with others in society. The following is a testimonial from a young girl with two homosexual fathers: “Having a gay father does create some challenges. When people call me and ask, ‘Who was that? That wasn’t your dad’, I have to make excuses” (Rekers, 2005, p.27). When a child is attempting to find comfort in social identity, but have to mask certain aspects of their lifestyle, it is likely that this child will find problems with social belonging and self-esteem development. This is not a healthy outcome for the adoptive child. It is also during childhood, in most cultures, where exposure to various religious beliefs begins and aspects of morality and ethics become integrated into the child’s overall value systems. In the Hispanic and Catholic communities, one child suggests that homophobia runs rampant. “The priests are constantly saying bad things about us. They say, ‘Keep away from those people. They’re bad. They’re sinners. They’re damned, and they’re all going to Hell” (Rekers, 2005, p.27). If the same sex parents are devoted to religious doctrine, they will likely be integrating aspects of these beliefs into the child. However, if the external social environment uses religious theory to devalue same sex partners, the child might find distorted viewpoints on religion which could have long-lasting emotional impact as the child tries to mature into adulthood. The impact of negative social or difference of opinion on religious understanding could be substantial if the child were strongly devoted to a certain religious faith. Same sex partners must be aware of the developmental needs of the child and understand how they mold their self-identity through social connection. It is during childhood where some of the most fundamental learnings regarding acceptable social behavior occurs and when the child develops their perception of gender role identity (Noppe, 2009). In same sex relationships, there is often a dimension of masculine versus feminine characteristics which, like any heterosexual relationship, need to have a form of balance to make the relationship work. Again from the social perspective, when most of society still holds stereotypical values of the female versus the male role in areas of career, household duties and finance, the child could develop distorted views on career and family issues. This view could be complicated even further by other members of one parents’ family instilling a different set of gender role values into the family belief system. Gays continue to be the victim of housing discrimination as well as verbal and physical abuse which can lead to hate crimes. Abraham Maslow developed a psychological model known as the Hierarchy of Needs which indicates that every person has a set of five needs which must each be fulfilled before they can explore a higher tier on this hierarchy. For example, basic physiological needs must be established before the child can find security, with security needed to find social belonging, etc. Issues of housing discrimination and physical/verbal attacks represent a very serious safety issue related to the child which would likely not be a factor of childhood in the heterosexual parent relationship. If today and in the future the child would be at risk of living in a stable home environment for fear of loan rejection or eviction, this is irresponsible parenting activity. The same sex parents provide too much safety and security risk from the physiological standpoint. The psychological impact on the adoptive child in the same sex relationship is too great to ignore and would require a change in the broader social mindset about the homosexual relationship in order to be stable enough to support a healthy childhood. Same sex partners need to be more committed to not only raising the child, but to their own relationships which are not always at risk of breakdown or dispute. Negative social scenarios which occur regularly in the same sex relationship can cause emotional damage in the child and distort their view of the world. All of the evidence provided indicates that same sex parents should not be allowed to adopt. Concerns over the child’s well-being both emotionally and physically, as well as guaranteeing their emotional health in relation to self-esteem and self-concept, make same sex adoptions too risky and with too many complications to give the child a successful future. Whether the negative outcomes come in the form of physical abuse or generic social comments about same sex lifestyle, such relationships can create a poorly-adjusted youth with confusion regarding their identity and its connection with the social environment. References Post-gazette.com. (2002). Forum on state Supreme Court ruling: What about the kids? Retrieved 19 Oct 2009 from http://www.postgazette.com/forum/comm/20020825edfamily1.asp Lobaugh, E., Clements, P., Averill, J. and Olguin, D. (2006). Gay-Male Couples who Adopt: Challenging Historical and Contemporary Social Trends Toward Becoming a Family. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, Philadelphia. 42(3), pp.184-196. Retrieved 19 Oct 2009 from www.proquest.com. Noppe, Illene C. (2009). Gender role development – The development of sex and gender. Childhood Development Reference, Vol. 4. Retrieved 19 Oct 2009 from http://social.jrank.org/pages/272/Gender-Role-Development.html Rekers, George A. (2007). Review of Research on Homosexual Parenting, Adopting, and Foster Parenting. University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Retrieved 18 Oct 2009 from http://www.narth.com/docs/rationalebasisfinal0405.pdf. Read More