Last week, while on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Rick Santorum was quoted saying that a parent in prison was preferable to a gay parent – citing specifically children “without fathers”. As a lesbian and a mother I found this statement particularly offensive and I hope other parents did as well.
Not only is Santorum’s assertion that gay parents are unfit profoundly hateful, but it has been proven to be untrue. The U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, spanning 25 years, found that children in lesbian homes scored higher than kids in straight families on some psychological measures of self- esteem and confidence, did better academically and were less likely to have behavioral problems. Findings have also shown that our children are happy and experience a virtual absence of child abuse.
Still, I try to be open to all sides of an argument, so I began to ask myself, could there be some truth to Santorum’s suggestion? I mean maybe he’s on to something. As my toddler leaves infancy in the dust and tries on his independence, he has become increasingly vocal in his critiques of my parenting. Some examples that have provoked his reproach:
- When he asked me for cookies for breakfast and I outright refused serving him oatmeal instead, he loudly expressed his displeasure.
- When it was time to leave the park and I cut his swinging short, he made it very clear that we were not on the same timeline.
- I won’t get into specifics, but: bedtime. It’s not pretty.
Alright, obviously this is a bit tongue in cheek. I have made some mistakes and decisions I’ve regretted along the way – as all parents do. But, like most parents out there, I love my kid and I’m doing everything in my power to give him the best start in life. There isn’t an ounce of me that believes the fact that he has two loving parents that happen to be of the same biological sex puts him at a disadvantage. As far as Rick Santorum? This is just one issue on a very, very long list of things that I disagree with him about. It will be interesting to see how the republican primary shakes out. While I’m pretty certain I won’t be voting for the Republican nominee, the race will be an important one for our generation and the nominee will set the tone. Who are you rooting for?
I feel like that statement, is just more of his attack on women--ya know? Like he's gonna get women down however he can. If he can't oppress lesbians by being an patriarchal turd, then he will oppress us by telling us how shitty we are as mothers. I have no good words for the man. Yet I'm very terrified of what might happen should he get the Republican nomination.
ReplyDeleteRight, Marisa, it seems as though he's not necessarily even saying anything about gay couples, but about women. Like we can't give our children everything they need without a big, strong man by our side. Take a look at mothers you know, straight or not, and see how strong we have to be...
ReplyDeleteI agree with the rest, that he attacks women who don't have a man. Sounds like he is mighty threatened. I hope that the most outrageous republican wins so that he is more likely to lose the election. But that's the way some people thought about Bush. I just really hope that by the time our children are adults, they don't have to deal with this bullshit.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't even understand how you even collect your thoughts and don't fly into blind rage constantly. You are so strong. I can't imagine having my very lifestyle under attack, especially with a child. Rarely does a day go by where I don't want to just shake people. Kudos to you, and it's no wonder kids from lesbians are more well-adjusted. ;)