Pictures of lesbian and gay parenthood in Italian sociology. A critical analysis of 30 years of research

The article analyses sociological research on lesbian and gay parenthood conducted in Italy over the past 30 years. By focusing on the typologies of the homosexual households of the participants in research projects, this work discusses how empirical academic and non-academic research has depicted same-sex families with children in the Italian context. An initial mainstream inattention towards lesbian and gay parents by sociological research at the beginning of the Nineties gave way to a particular interest in that experience, focusing on the newest form of homosexual parenthood defined as same-sex couples who are able to access assisted fertilisation technology and surrogacy. The new pattern can be said to have overshadowed the experience of homosexual parents whose children were conceived within heterosexual relationships. This simplification concerns to th

Same-sex families e genitorialit\ue0 omosessuale. Controversie internazionali e spazi di riconoscimento in Italia

Lesbian and gay parenthood is the most adversed topics of the recognition of lesbian and gay families, both from the point of view of the concession of rights and the one of social legitimation. In Italy, the sociological research on the recognition of lesbian and gay families with children is not comparable to the international one. Nevertheless, the development of a political discourse on the rights of lesbian and gay people \u2013 with or without families, with or without children \u2013 by European institutions is broadening the interest of Italian sociologists. The article analyses the experiences of 12 gay Italian lesbian and gay parents in order to understand how they negotiate and achieve social legitimation in front of their families of origin, local institutions and neighbours. Results show that lesbian and gay families with children give an important contribution for the pluralization of practices and meanings related to the family. At the same time, they reproduce some crucial features supporting the hegemonic interpretation of the family: the centrality of the couple and the importance of blood ties for the definition of kinship

Pluralizing the Debate on Same-Sex Parenting: Strategies and Narratives of Italian LGB Parents with Children from Heterosexual Relationships

In Italy, the most controversial debates surrounding same-sex families pertain to lesbian and gay parenting. Surveys on the social perception of homosexuality in the Italian population show a progressive convergence toward the recognition of intimate relationships between same-sex partners, whereas their experience/desire of parenthood still raises high levels of disagreement. The approval of the law on same-sex civil unions in 2016 mirrors this trend since it does not consider the access of same-sex couples to medically assisted fertilization or adoption (including stepchild adoption). In public debates and scientific research, the transition to parenthood of Italian lesbian and gay people is discussed from the point of view of a «new generation» of parents, who planned or are planning to have a child together with their same-sex partner. Same-sex couples with children are seen as the new frontier in family research and examples of innovative/challenging models of family living. As a consequence, lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships are often seen as the “rearguard” of a social change occurring elsewhere. These parents are commonly labeled as “post-heterosexual lesbian and gay parents” (PHLGP). The chapter analyzes the family practices and narratives of a sample of Italian PHLGP recruited between 2019 and 2020. The results shed light on the many possible ways of moving the boundaries between lesbian/gay chosen relationships and heterosexual institutionalized family arrangements. Focalizing the intersection between inventiveness and continuity, the aim is to pluralize the sociological reading of same-sex parenting and the social transformations it demands