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“Lesbians, Gay Men, and Their Parents”: A Critique of LaSala and the Prevailing Clinical “Wisdom”
Author(s) -
Green RobertJay
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2000.39208.x
Subject(s) - lesbian , psychology , sociocultural evolution , social psychology , coming out , family values , gender studies , function (biology) , developmental psychology , sociology , psychoanalysis , anthropology , evolutionary biology , political science , law , biology
This article challenges the popular assumption that coming out to family of origin is important for lesbians and gay men's mental health and couple relationships. First, I present theory emphasizing the unique position of lesbians/gays in families of origin and the significance of “families of choice.” Second, I review the quantitative research on social support received by lesbians/gays from family of origin, friends, and other social network sources. Third, I demonstrate how the dominant clinical opinion about coming out to family is based on an unwarranted use of theory developed for heterosexuals and on overgeneralization of findings from studies of white, upper‐middle‐class, North American lesbians/gays. Fourth, I propose five determinants of lesbian/gay persons' decisions to come out to family‐of‐origin members. Fifth, I argue that such decisions are constrained by “realistic” costs/benefits in various sociocultural niches rather than being a simple function of individuals' levels of differentiation. Lastly, I offer an expanded contextual stance for the family therapist working with lesbian/gay clients.