Different in Diversity: An Intersectional Reading of LGBT Parenting

Abstract

The acronym LGBT puts lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people under the same label. It was created in the 1980s in Anglo-Saxon circles to give recognition and visibility to the needs of all people with a sexual identity different from the dominant heteronormative model. Evidently, the acronym LGBT refers to a group of people with heterogeneous experiences, specificities, and social claims. These differences are even more evident when the focus shifts to LGBT parents. Parenting involving lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people can take place in dissimilar forms, conditioned by people’s sexual identity but also by other socio-demographic factors. Within the paradigm of intersectionality theory, this paper aims to highlight the challenges LGBT parents face in contemporary Italy, emphasizing the effects of the intersection of different variables on parenting beyond traditional heteronormative conceptions of family life. The paper is based on an analysis of a part of the data collected within the project of national interest (PRIN) “Constructions of parenting on insecure grounds (CoPInG),” aimed at understanding how parents living under uncertainty practice family life and their ways of coping with the challenges associated with parenting. Funding: The information used for this paper originated from the project “Constructions of Parenting on Insecure Grounds: What Role for Social Work? (CoPInG).” Grant Program: PRIN 2017—Funding from the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research for research projects of national interest (Grant number: 2017ZKSE5N).