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LGBT-Parent Families pp 163–175Cite as

The “Second Generation”: LGBTQ Youth with LGBTQ Parents

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Abstract

The experiences of youth and young adults who report nonheterosexual and gender nonconforming identities, and who also have LGBTQ parents (i.e., the “Second Generation”), have received very little attention in the family and social science literatures. Nonacademic writers and queer activists, however, have been discussing the second generation—and providing many of them with community and support—for more than 15 years. Systematic examination of the experiences of the second generation may be beneficial in that challenges, as well as advantages, that are unique to this population could be revealed. In this chapter, social constructionism is presented as the frame for the present discussion. The chapter reviews what is currently known about the experiences of second generation individuals from both academic and nonacademic sources. Preliminary findings from the author’s current research, based upon in-depth interviews with 30 LGBTQ young adults with LGBTQ parents, are presented. Lastly, future research directions are discussed for expanding knowledge and understanding of the second generation and their families.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The labels LGBTQ and queer are used throughout the chapter to refer to all nonheterosexual and gender nonconforming identities in general, even though social science research has not included all participants with these identity labels equally. More specific terms (e.g., lesbian) are used when referring to individual study samples or self-reported labels of study participants.

  2. 2.

    These were convenience samples; thus, the relatively high proportion of LGBTQ-identified participants could be attributed to the method of recruitment and the focus of the studies. For example, second generation individuals may be especially inclined to be members of COLAGE, an advocacy organization for children of LGBTQ parents, and to participate in studies that investigate the experiences of LGBTQ-parent families, as they may be interested from multiple perspectives: children of LGBTQ parents and as possible future LGBTQ parents themselves.

  3. 3.

    Three participants from Goldberg’s original study were not included, because (a) after reading through transcripts, it was determined that one participant had participated in both researchers’ studies and (b) two participants in Goldberg’s subset were considerably older than the rest of the participants (48 and 50 years old; 13 years older than the next oldest participant).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Studies and Social Work, Miami University, 101F McGuffey Hall, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Katherine Kuvalanka Ph.D.

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  1. Katherine Kuvalanka Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Katherine Kuvalanka Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Psychology, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, 01610, Massachusetts, USA

    Abbie E. Goldberg

  2. , Department of Human Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State, 401C Wallace Hall (0416), Blacksburg, 24061, Virginia, USA

    Katherine R. Allen

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Kuvalanka, K. (2013). The “Second Generation”: LGBTQ Youth with LGBTQ Parents. In: Goldberg, A., Allen, K. (eds) LGBT-Parent Families. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4556-2_11

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