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Journal Article Gay men are becoming increasingly involved in reproduction despite significant barriers limiting their access to reproductive technologies or legal parentage in many jurisdictions. Based on in-depth interviews with gay men in the United States and Australia who have become parents through surrogacy, I explore how gay men understand their desire to have children and what frames their parenthood experiences. The notion of choice is widespread in understandings of gay parenthood and family formation. Most of the men in this study did not develop a "procreative consciousness" as a result of…
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Journal Article This article reports on a qualitative study about male involvement in parenthood decision making (i.e., decisions related to becoming a first-time parent) in which the focus was on White, heterosexual men. Little is known about the roles and involvement of these men in decision-making processes. They comprise an invisible norm in research as heteronormative assumptions about parenthood cause them to be overlooked. This oversight-exacerbated by the pervasive problem perspective in social science-forms the research rationale. Conducted within a gender-relational framework, the study included 23…
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Journal Article Findings from a study of casework outreach to birthparents of children in out-of-home care are presented. The study explored whether the birthfather was being ignored as a resource for discharge planning. It examined the outreach and interventions of caseworkers in three New York City out-of-home care agencies. Casework activity levels were found to be higher for birthmothers than for birthfathers, and a complex relationship among the variables of gender, outreach, and response was revealed. The nature and value of more specific outreach toward birthfathers of children in care, and the risk…
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Journal Article This article addresses the issue of the basis and nature of an unwed biological father's right to block or reverse an adoption decision of an unwed mother. The author begins by reviewing the historical development of the legal status of unwed fathers under common law and United States constitutional law and discussing State statutory and case law concerning unwed fathers and adoption. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has found that unwed fathers who have established and maintained a relationship with their children have some protection under the Constitution, there is great variation among…
