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LGBT-Parent Families pp 87–103Cite as

Where Is the “B” in LGBT Parenting? A Call for Research on Bisexual Parenting

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Abstract

Despite a growing body of scholarship examining LGBTQ parenting and families, surprisingly little research has focused on the specific experiences of bisexual-identified parents. Rather, bisexual parents have been excluded from parenting research, or made invisible through collapsing them with lesbian- or gay-identified parents. In this chapter, we attempt to address this gap in LGBTQ parenting research by (a) describing a recent literature search of multiple health and social sciences databases to establish the current state of the research on bisexual parenting; (b) reviewing related research and scholarship that have touched on the experiences of bisexual parents, including two studies conducted by our own team; (c) speculating about some of the key issues and concerns faced by bisexual parents, based on the available data; and (d) identifying key future directions for research in this field.

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Acknowledgment

We wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals: Sheila LaCroix for her assistance with the literature search, Allison Eady and Sarah James-Abra for assistance with screening abstracts and manuscript preparation, Margaret Robinson for helping to identify additional sources and providing helpful feedback on an earlier draft, and participants in the academic_bi yahoo group, whose discussions informed our thinking about potentially unique issues and experiences for bisexual parents. This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Award HPI-66922, and grants from the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR 2005-11-HOA-1988721), the Fonds Quebecois de Recherche sur la Societe et la Culture (FQRSC 111796) awarded to the research team SVR (http://www.svr.uqam.ca). L. Ross is supported by a New Investigator Award from CIHR and the Ontario Women’s Health Council, Award NOW-84656. In addition, support to CAMH for salary of scientists and infrastructure has been provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 455 Spadina Ave., Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5S 2G8, Canada

    Lori E. Ross Ph.D.

  2. Health Systems & Health Equity Research Group, Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, 455 Spadina Ave., Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5S 2G8, Canada

    Lori E. Ross Ph.D. & Cheryl Dobinson M.A.

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  1. Lori E. Ross Ph.D.
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  2. Cheryl Dobinson M.A.
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Correspondence to Lori E. Ross 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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Ross, L.E., Dobinson, C. (2013). Where Is the “B” in LGBT Parenting? A Call for Research on Bisexual Parenting. In: Goldberg, A., Allen, K. (eds) LGBT-Parent Families. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4556-2_6

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