In this video, Raewyn Connell touches on her research on academia in the Southern hemisphere and on education, but most of her discussion is on her considerable research on masculinities. This is a very accessible overview of Connell’s work. She says her research is motivated by a desire to make the world safer for herself as a transgender woman, for her daughter, and for her community. I like this representation of sociology - producing research and activism to create a safer world. It’s poignant to remember that as another International Women’s Day passes, sociology and the feminist movement have a responsibility to all women, including transgender women.

Kristen Schilt discusses how a more sophisticated understanding of transgender experiences have shaped sociology’s approach to sexuality and gender. She notes that in traditional sociology, such as in Harold Garfinkel’s Studies in Ethnomethodology, transgender people have been seen to be “over-doing gender… that they have to be 120% male or 120% female because they’re trying to show to the outside world this is real, this is valid.” Schilt’s study, Just One of the Guys, finds that transgender men are not welded to a dominant style of masculinity (also known as hegemonic masculinity). They are comfortable with representing their gender identities in diverse ways. Instead, it is transgender men’s cis-gender co-workers who are invested to policing gender in constrained ways (men don’t wear earrings, men cut their hair in particular ways and they wear particular styles of clothes).

Tasmania will protect intersex people from discrimination

feministsociology:

gaywrites:

The Australian state of Tasmania is set to make history by specifically protecting intersex people from discrimination. 

The proposed changes to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act will also benefit trans* people. Tasmania was the last Australian state to decriminalize homosexuality, but it is considered the first state in the world to specifically protect intersex people. 

Under existing laws if transgender and intersex people experience discrimination in Tasmania they can only take a case under the limited term ‘transsexuality’ which is labelled a ‘sexual orientation’ rather than a gender identity.

In the proposed amendments to the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act ‘transsexuality’ will be grouped with the new term ‘transgender’ as ‘gender identities’ while ‘intersex’ will become an entirely new grounds for discrimination.

Zam. Trans* and intersex followers, what say you? Is this a good model?

Just in time for Intersex Awareness Day!

(via tarantolati)

octopusrabies: Tasmanian Greens leader Nick McKim and State Premier Lara Giddings embrace Gay Rights activists Rodney Croome and Matt Hastings after historic same-sex marriage laws passed the Lower House last night.  Activist Rodney Croome said: ”This is a wonderful result, not just for same-sex couples and their families but also for Tasmania… Tasmania is now a beacon of hope to same-sex partners and their families across Australia and to all Australians who support equality and social inclusion.”

octopusrabies:

Tasmanian Greens leader Nick McKim and State Premier Lara Giddings embrace Gay Rights activists Rodney Croome and Matt Hastings after historic same-sex marriage laws passed the Lower House last night. 

Activist Rodney Croome said: ”This is a wonderful result, not just for same-sex couples and their families but also for Tasmania… Tasmania is now a beacon of hope to same-sex partners and their families across Australia and to all Australians who support equality and social inclusion.”

(via octopusrabies-deactivated201212)

 Heidi Lewis (The Colorado College), Representations of Black Gay Men on Television

I don’t wholly agree with this researcher’s argument that the gay male characters in The Wire and The Shield challenge stereotypes of gay Black men. Yes, as Lewis notes, these men are represented as being “hyper masculine”, which is the opposite of mainstream portrayals of gay men as “effeminate”. At the same time, these characters problematically play into other stereotypes of Black men as violent drug criminals, or as being “on the down low” (not publicly identifying as homosexual). Lewis includes some interesting clips from Noah’s Arc, essentially arguing that some presentations of gay black men is better than none, as they encourage Black communities to discuss and move past their fear of gay masculinity. This “micro lecture” is worth watching and debating.

Link via SocyCinema.

“We’re not fucking animals!”

A protester reacts to the news that civil unions between gay and lesbian Australians in the state of Queensland will now be known as “registered relationships” (via ABC AM). Moments before this protester’s outburst in the Parliament session, Queensland Minister Michael Crandon said: “The opportunity [has] now to come to a court and to register, if you like, their interest in one another…” [my emphasis]. The language is dehumanising - gay and lesbian Australians can “register their interest in one another” but the state will not recognise this “interest” as a full partnership worthy of the same legal rights and status as heterosexual couples.

The recently elected Liberal National Party Government is changing the law introduced last year by the former Labor government, which had finally allowed gay and lesbian relationships to be legally recognised as a civil union. This was seen as a positive step towards the legal recognition of marriages between homosexual and queer Australians. In a further legal blow to gay and lesbian citizens, their “registered partnerships” will not be allowed legal access to altruistic surrogacy (along with short-term de facto couples and single people). These are very dangerous times when Christian lobbying forces the Queensland government to withdraw the legal rights of Australians. To top it all off, it is still legal in Queensland to kill a gay or lesbian person and use the “gay panic” defence. That is, a murderer can argue that they reacted in violence because they were overwhelmed that a homosexual person flirted with them. Disgusting!

If you are in Queensland, go here to sign the e-petition to urge the Queensland government to end discrimination in surrogacy laws. Go here to sign the e-petition to urge the Queensland government to protect civil marriages and equal rights of gay and lesbian Australians.

fuckyeahrupaulsdragrace: Drag Dad is an independent documentary project about a six year old boy named Jeremiah and his father, the drag queen superstar, Tyra Sanchez. This documentary will help shed light on gay parenting and break prejudices against LGBT families! But it will not be possible without your help. Please offer you support by sharing this link, reblogging, and donating here High-res

fuckyeahrupaulsdragrace:

Drag Dad is an independent documentary project about a six year old boy named Jeremiah and his father, the drag queen superstar, Tyra Sanchez.

This documentary will help shed light on gay parenting and break prejudices against LGBT families! But it will not be possible without your help. Please offer you support by sharing this link, reblogging, and donating here

(via tarantolati)

“It seems to me that, rather than trying to answer questions when you don’t have the necessary data to do it, perhaps you should ask different questions. Certainly, we all do the best with the data we can get, but it is never alright to draw conclusions that your data don’t support—and Regenerus’ data simply cannot answer the question he set out to ask. And when your research questions the legitimacy of people’s families—my family—I demand higher research standards.”

In Sociology Lens, an insightful blogger known only as Amanda critiques the new study by sociologist Mark Regenerus. Regenerus has published a paper arguing that children from heterosexual parents are better off than children raised by lesbian and gay parents. I recently posted that academic research actually shows that this is not true. Studies actually show that children of LGBTQI families are slightly better off than kids from heterosexual families with respect to aspiring to more progressive gender roles. In other respects they are similar, when you factor in class differences. 

Amanda notes that Regenerus’ research on gay and lesbian families has produced contradictory findings due to the study’s poorly conceived methodology. Simply put: Regenerus’ methods for data collection do not match his research questions (meaning the methods are invalid). Regenerus defines homosexuality according to anyone who has had a same-sex experience, without taking into account their subjective identities or family experiences. Regenerus has not controlled for the fact that some children from gay and lesbian families are being raised in single parent households. This generally puts any child at an economic disadvantage when compared to dual parent households. Amanda argues Regenerus’ findings are tinged with homophobia, possibly influenced by Regenerus’ ties to the Christian site that hosts his blog.

Sociologists are not above having their politics influence their research interests - including you, me and everyone else. We do not have to agree with one another; however we are trained to make our assumptions explicit and to have our methods match our research questions. I know many sociologists who conduct studies that go against my political and personal beliefs and yet I can engage in useful and challenging discussion because the data and methods warrant attention. Crappy science still warrants attention, but for all the wrong reasons. What a shame that Regenerus’ lax methodology will only fuel public fear and misunderstanding, rather than making a contribution to empirically-informed debate. 

Read Amanda’s excellent article at Sociology Lens.

Cyclical Moral Panic Time: Attacks on Same-Sex Families Defy Science

This post first appeared in my blog, “The Other Sociologist.” 

One of the most frustrating and circular arguments in the history of modern families rears its ugly head yet again in Australia.The Australian Senate has received a submission by 150 medical professionals. These medical doctors have misused scientific studies to argue that children raised in same-sex families are worse-off than kids who are raised by heterosexual parents. This argument has been refuted by robust empirical studies within sociology and other social sciences for the past couple of decades.

The Australian Psychological Association has refuted the claims made in the Senate submission, arguing that the most comprehensive, longitudinal data show that children raised in same-sex families are not disadvantaged due to their parents’ sexual orientation. In some cases, the data show the opposite - and it all goes back to the economic and social resources available to parents. This includes emotional support from supportive networks. The biggest disadvantage to children raised in lesbian, gay, transsexual, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) families relates to how societies or communities fail to accept and integrate the diverse reality of modern families.

Much the same as the tired old argument on kids raised in single-parent families, it is not the type of family that children belong to that affects their life chances, but rather the socio-economic conditions and stigma to which families and children are exposed. Another important distinction on the outcomes of children is how parents interact with one another and with their children.

American sociologist Judith Stacy, has devoted a large part of her career on the topic of LGBTQI families. Her research in the past decade suggests that children raised by same-gender parents sometimes exhibit different behavioural attributes than children in heterosexual households. This again is not specifically due to the parents’ sexuality. Instead it is more due to whether or not parents adhere to traditional gender roles. Stacy notes:

A difference is not necessarily a deficit.

Children raised in LGBTQI households are less likely to stick to traditional gender scripts, with daughters more likely to express a desire to enter professional fields traditionally dominated by men, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and astronauts. Sons are less likely to be aggressive. While heterosexual parents are more likely to reinforce stereotypical feminine and masculine activities for their children, gay and lesbian parents are more likely to allow their children to play in gender-neutral ways. Stacy’s colleague Timothy Biblarz notes: ‘Lesbian and gay parent families offer a unique opportunity to examine ways in which gender differences affect parenting practices and outcomes’. Despite some differences in their gendered behaviour, experiences of psychological and social distress are similar amongst kids who come from queer families and kids raised in two-parent heterosexual households. Biblarz observes:

While all children probably get teased for one thing or another, children with gay parents may experience a higher degree of teasing and ridicule. It is impressive then that their psychological well-being and social adjustment does not significantly differ, on average, from that of children in comparable heterosexual-parent families. Exploring how lesbian and gay parent families help children cope with stigma could prove helpful to all kinds of families.

Today’s story about the Australian Senate submission represents a nasty example of scientists misusing their social authority. Medical professionals have misrepresented data to suit their narrow conception of what constitutes a “good” family environment. Misquoting statistics to incite a moral panic is nothing new. This tactic has been used over and over, but there is simply no empirical scientific evidence to back up this tired, antiquated view of families. This argument that LGBTQI families were somehow morally corrupt was around when I first studied sociology in the early 1990s, but it seemed almost passé when I was teaching the sociology of the family a decade later.

Scaremongering must be cyclical, particularly as “gay marriage” is an on-again-off-again political topic in Australia and elsewhere. The evidence is overwhelming - there are no social disadvantages to children of LGBTQI families, except those societies create for them.

Images credit: Top image by Drab Makyo. Via Flickr. Second image via USC.