Unusual Families, Essay Example

The postmodern reality has been marked with the development of the new, unusual family forms. In her paper, Susan Golombok talks about lesbian and single-mother families. The author writes that lesbian families became possible due to the rapid development of the donor insemination technologies (295). Since then, whether to give or not to give lesbians the right to grow children has been the object of the active public discussion. Numerous studies explored the physical and psychological development patterns in children from lesbian families, and no difference between them and their peers from two-parent heterosexual donor-insemination families was found (Golombok 297). The only difference was in that lesbian mothers tended to be more open with their children regarding their conception (Golombok 298). Meanwhile, children from single-mother families display numerous psychological problems and are less likely to perform well at school, compared with their peers from two-parent heterosexual families (Golombok 298). Single mothers show lower levels of interaction with their children and lower sensitivity toward their needs (Golombok 299). However, how single-mother and lesbian families influence children and their psychological development over the lifespan is yet to be discovered.

Really, in our times, we can witness how different family forms emerge and develop. Several decades ago, single-parent and homosexual families were considered as queer and unacceptable. Today, the society is gradually becoming more favorable toward these family patterns, but single-parent and lesbian families continue being the objects of the peer public attention.  According to Golombok, they look “unusual”. Put simply, they differ much from traditional two-parent families and, as many believe, produce a multitude of negative psychological effects on children (Golombok 297). Such families seem to have no chance to become equal members of their society. They are fated to suffer isolation and social condemnation, because the society finds it difficult to accept and recognize families that deviate from accepted two-parent heterosexual norms. However, the global reality is changing, and so are families. Therefore, single-parent and lesbian families will hardly cease to exist; on the contrary, the coming decades are likely to witness the creation of the new family forms that reflect new social demands. It is high time the society stopped labeling single-parent and lesbian families “unusual” and turned to support these families in their child rearing endeavors. It is essential that these families and their children have all resources and public assistance needed to become full members of their society.

Works Cited

Golombok, S. “Unusual Families.” Pp. 295-99.