Mar 10th, 2006
That’s Dr. Queerspawn to you…
Researchers reporting on people of LGBT parentage frequently talk about, over, and around the subjects of their research — namely the oversampled offspring. (Read my explanation and impact of “oversampling.”) One very exciting development in the family liberation movement is the number of queerspawn who are growing up, getting advanced degrees, and joining academic discourse about LGBT families.
Here’s a call for participants from one of the “kids:”
Participants are wanted for a project exploring adult children of LGBT parents’ childhood school and peer experiences. Participants will be asked to fill out several questionnaires, and to make recommendations for how to make schools safer and more supportive for children of LGBT parents. Participants will also have their name drawn to win $200.00. This project is being conducted by Dr. Goldberg, a faculty member at Clark University, who also has a bisexual mom.
Besides being notable research because the principal investigator is a queerspawn, it is also important because it addresses safety in school for kids of LGBT parents — a topic often ignored or glossed over in safe school discussions. And no, my well-intentioned queer youth advocates, the vast majority of services and resources you create to make schools safe for queer students do not address the needs of students of queer parents — nor do the services address the homophobia these children face at a much earlier age than their starting-to-come-out peers.