Amanda K. Baumle

The decision to have a child is seldom a simple one, often fraught with complexities regarding emotional readiness, finances, marital status, and compatibility with life and career goals. Rarely, though, do individuals consider the role of the law in facilitating or inhibiting their ability to have a child or to parent. For LGBT individuals, however, parenting is saturated with legality – including the initial decision of whether to have a child, how to have a child, whether one's relationship with their child will be recognized, and everyday acts of parenting like completing forms or picking up children from school. Through in-depth interviews with 137 LGBT parents, Amanda K. Baumle and D'Lane R. Compton examine the role of the law in the lives of LGBT parents and how individuals use the law when making decisions about family formation or parenting. Baumle and Compton explore the ways in which LGBT parents participate in the process of constructing legality through accepting, modifying, or rejecting legal meanings about their families. Few groups encounter as much variation in access to everyday legal rights pertaining to the family as do LGBT parents. This complexity and variation in legal environments provides a rather unique opportunity to examine the manner in which legal context affects the ways in which individuals come to understand the meaning and utility of the law for their lives. The authors conclude that legality is constructed through a complex interplay of legal context, social networks, individual characteristics, and familial desires. Ultimately, the stories of LGBT parents in this book reflect a rich and varied relationship between the law, the state, and the private family goals of individuals.

The decision to have a child is seldom a simple one, often fraught with complexities regarding emotional readiness, finances, marital status, and compatibility with life and career goals. Rarely, though, do individuals consider the role of the law in facilitating or inhibiting their ability to have a child or to parent. For LGBT individuals, however, parenting is saturated with legality – including the initial decision of whether to have a child, how to have a child, whether one's relationship with their child will be recognized, and everyday acts of parenting like completing forms or picking up children from school. Through in-depth interviews with 137 LGBT parents, Amanda K. Baumle and D'Lane R. Compton examine the role of the law in the lives of LGBT parents and how individuals use the law when making decisions about family formation or parenting. Baumle and Compton explore the ways in which LGBT parents participate in the process of constructing legality through accepting, modifying, or rejecting legal meanings about their families. Few groups encounter as much variation in access to everyday legal rights pertaining to the family as do LGBT parents. This complexity and variation in legal environments provides a rather unique opportunity to examine the manner in which legal context affects the ways in which individuals come to understand the meaning and utility of the law for their lives. The authors conclude that legality is constructed through a complex interplay of legal context, social networks, individual characteristics, and familial desires. Ultimately, the stories of LGBT parents in this book reflect a rich and varied relationship between the law, the state, and the private family goals of individuals.

A demographic portrait of gay and lesbian couples who live together in committed relationships. Addressing the lack of understanding regarding the lives of same-sex couples, this book examines the sociodemographic characteristics of partnered gay men and lesbians. The authors draw on U. S. census data to present quantitative analyses of topics pertaining to gay men and lesbians that have previously been relatively unexamined or assessed mainly through qualitative studies. They explore where gay men and lesbians live, why they choose those residences, income inequality, occupations, dimensions of family attachments, relationship commitments, and family structures. The census data allows the authors to provide a more detailed representation of many of the essential features in the lives of gay men and lesbians compared to those of married and cohabiting heterosexuals. In certain cases, the data and analyses reinforce current stereotypes, while in other cases they challenge preexisting beliefs. Ultimately, this book provides a foundation for future research, policy, law, and understanding regarding gay men and lesbians.

A demographic portrait of gay and lesbian couples who live together in committed relationships. Addressing the lack of understanding regarding the lives of same-sex couples, this book examines the sociodemographic characteristics of partnered gay men and lesbians. The authors draw on U. S. census data to present quantitative analyses of topics pertaining to gay men and lesbians that have previously been relatively unexamined or assessed mainly through qualitative studies. They explore where gay men and lesbians live, why they choose those residences, income inequality, occupations, dimensions of family attachments, relationship commitments, and family structures. The census data allows the authors to provide a more detailed representation of many of the essential features in the lives of gay men and lesbians compared to those of married and cohabiting heterosexuals. In certain cases, the data and analyses reinforce current stereotypes, while in other cases they challenge preexisting beliefs. Ultimately, this book provides a foundation for future research, policy, law, and understanding regarding gay men and lesbians.

The discipline of demography, much like the population processes which comprise its focus, changes theoretically, methodologically, and substantively as the world's populations respond to internal and external forces. These disciplinary shifts are often identified and examined by demographers in academic journals and at annual population studies conferences. Demography in Transition is a compilation of seven studies presented by demographers at the Southwestern Sociological Association's 2005 Annual Meeting. The works selected for this volume provide unique insight into complex demographic issues, as well as highlight many of the growing foci in the discipline. There has been a movement in demographic research towards focusing on understanding population processes for more heterogeneous, rather than homogenous, populations. This movement has resulted in an increase in research concentrating on outcomes dependent on gender, race, and ethnicity. Changes in population structures within the United States have resulted in another notable disciplinary focus. Aging populations, altering family structures, and a rise in Asian and Latino immigration to the U. S. have all attributed to novel areas of research for demographers. These timely issues, and their intersections, are central to the research explored in the chapters contained in this volume. In their chapters, these demographers examine the manner in which race and ethnicity affect access to heath care; the consequences and concerns associated with an aging population; the factors affecting Asian migration patterns; and the demographic implications of changing family structures. These chapters provide a glimpse into the current insights provided by demographic research, as well as directions for its future.