Parenting by Gays More Common in the South, Census Shows

That's fascinating. I know it says the reason why is because a lot of gays end up in hetero marriages and have kids, but I'm wondering if that's the only reason why there's more gay parents in the south...It seems like that can't account for all of it, but I suppose it's hard to tell with faulty census data...

 

I think probably another reason is that there is a huge pressure on the youth to get married and have children in the South. One of the biggest problems that people have here with gay relationships (other than that whole hellbound thing) is that they perceive them to be perpetually barren, which is one of the reasons why a lot of parents freak out when they find out their kid is gay (OMG no grandchildren?! *tear*)

Southerners are clannish, and lots of gays (in the closet or out) have some pretty strong pressure to produce children, at least in my personal experience growing up in Alabama. I am one of only two single women my age from my grade that are not in long-term relationships, and most of the ones who are have had their firstborn by now at least, and are sometimes even working on a second child. I can see why a lot of gays in the South would be driven to procreation as a way to win society's approval.

OR...closeted gays in the South feel a lot more pressure to conform to the strongest traditions of heterosexuality, so they force themselves into early relationships with the opposite sex to establish a family ("Look, I can't be gay, I have a wife and two kids!") and end up coming out of the closet later.

It said 1/3 of lesbians are parents. Well that makes sense - if a lesbian is in a heterosexual relationship and has children, then comes out of the closet and divorces, in the South she's much more likely to gain custody of the kids, for one thing.

I would be interested to see how many of the children being raised by gay parents were conceived in a former heterosexual relationship vs. being the planned progeny of a homosexual relationship, either through surrogacy or artificial impregnation.

 

Ironic if you ask me

 

Southerners, in general, have more children. Gay Southerners are still Southerners, so this doesn't surprise me.

 

Child-rearing is still the worst term ever.