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So something im curious about...

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by europeanguy, Jan 27, 2016.

  1. europeanguy

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    so if you have gay parents does that make it easier to come out? im just curious because wouldn't it be normalized this way so make it mentally easier to say something?
     
  2. Euler

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    Statistically it would seem so. Gay parents on average have more gay children than straight parents. Now, assuming that gay parents don't convert their children to be gay then it seems that it's easier for the children to come out.
     
  3. BioChemist

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    I think it would be easier to come out if both parents are gay. You can pretty much expect a loving response from them which is always nice when sharing something so personal.
     
  4. Canterpiece

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    Wait...what? Where are you getting these statistics from? :confused: :dry:
     
  5. LogicNoSense

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    Interesting point, and maybe. Because both your parents are openly gay, and the child knows that the mindset they have on their sexuality is accepted. Of course, like what Euler said, unless the parents are (un)consciously influencing their child to be gay, I would guess a higher number of children from gay families come out.

    Just like how children from strict homophobic families are less likely to come out to their parents. The real question is: what if one parent is openly bi?
     
  6. Euler

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    There was a gay marriage debate in my country some time ago. The opposition used this statistic as "proof" of gay parents converting the children gay. The study itself was valid but it doesn't prove what the opposition said it did. I can try to find you the original study if you are interested.
     
  7. Quem

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    I'm interested. =) Could you please place it either here or on my wall? :icon_bigg
     
  8. Lipstick Leuger

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    Yes. I have three and 2 are gay and one is straight. As gay parents, you are more aware of them possibly being gay so it usually comes as no surprise when they tell you. Or they talk about the person they are dating.

    My son is straight as they come, so on National Coming Out Day, he thought it would be funny to come out to us. I initally did worry though that he would feel weird in a family of gay people, like I did in a family of straight ones. He goes to Pride with us and is fine if guys hit on him, he says it's proof of how hot he is. LOL He is completely comfortable in his own skin so that is when I stopped worrying. Like he pointed out, he has always had gay parents so no big deal.(My ex was transwoman and lesbian).
     
  9. bookreader

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    Yeah, it's pretty much easier.
     
  10. Chip

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    I, too, would like to see this study. While there is evidence of a familial/hereditary link, if we are talking about gay families, I've never seen anything to indicate that children of gay parents are any more likely to be gay than children of heterosexual parents.
     
  11. Euler

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    Well, strictly speaking this was not the finding of the study (and actually this was not even what the study was about although from the raw data it was found that gay families have marginally more gay children than the society in general). It was basically a fairly large survey where they asked a bunch of questions including about the sexual orientation of the respondents' and their parents'. Those who had gay parents were slightly more likely (about a few percent differential which was statistically significant) to report being non-straights than those whose parent's were not gay.

    Since this was a self-reported study and because no further inquest was made to this differential the most likely explanation is that the true rate of homosexuality is the same across the different groups but children growing up in gay families are more likely to feel safe about coming out than those who grew up in traditional families. So this would basically be a reporting bias.

    Finding the exact study might take some time as the study was presented in a TV debate and the study wasn't even really about gay families but was connected to something else. I got vague impression that it was conducted by the Statistics Canada but I'm not sure. I do remember the MP who used the study as an argument so if everything else fails I guess I could email him and ask. :slight_smile:
     
  12. Euler

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    OK, I'm not 100% sure that this was the same study they referenced in the TV debate but I did find this through one of those "traditional family" blogs in a post that dates back to the time the debate was on TV.

    Basically it's seems to be some sort of "infamous" study by Mark Regnerus study (Wikipedia) that has received criticism regarding multiple aspects of how it was conducted. However, these aspects should not materially affect the results with respect to the self-reported probability of being non-heterosexual.

    Summary of the relevant part:

    SBP (straight biological parents)
    LM (lesbian mothers)
    GF (gay fathers)
    SF (step family)
    SP (single parent)
    AS (adopted by strangers)
    BSPD18 (biological straight parents who divorced after the respondent turned 18)

    1) Percentage of the respondents who "identifies as completely heterosexual":

    SBP: 90%
    LM: 61%*
    GF: 71%*
    SF:81%*
    SP: 83%*
    AS: 82%
    BSPD18: 83%

    Bolded means statistically significant difference compared to SBP (p<5%).
    * means statistically significant difference compared to SBP controlled for socio-economic factors (p<5%).



    2) Percentage of the respondents who "is in a same sex romantic relationship":

    SBP: 4%
    LM: 7%
    GF: 12%
    SF: 13%*
    SP: 3%
    AS: 23%
    BSPD18: 5%

    Bolded means statistically significant difference compared to SBP (p<5%).
    * means statistically significant difference compared to SBP controlled for socio-economic factors (p<5%).


    So to give a verbal summary it would seem that there is a statistically significant probability for a child to identify as not completely heterosexual if they grew up in a non standard family. However, there does not seem to be statistically significant differences among the groups of actual self-reported percentages of being in a same sex romantic relationship. Curiously enough it appears that respondents who grew up in step families have more same same sex relationships compared to standard families and the difference is statistically significant.

    I'll try to find the TV debate to check if this actually was the study they referenced to. I got a feeling that this was not it but it's been a few years already so my memory could be failing.