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Queer Parenting in India

  • Writer: Shruti Prasad
    Shruti Prasad
  • Feb 20
  • 4 min read

India is a country that has legalised homosexuality in 2018 and took the first step towards accepting queerness legally in the country. After this, there are several factors that the country still needs to fulfil for queer people including marriage rights. Even though the country has not legalised same-sex marriage in 2023, the chief justice of India stated that adopting a child is very much allowed for queer couples and not doing so would be a violation of the LGBT community's rights and that the CARA's (Central Adoption Resource Authority) ban on unmarried couples adopting children is an overreach of its jurisdiction (The Economic Times, 2023). So, what is the position of queer parenting in India? Why is queer parenting considered a taboo as compared to traditional parenting? Is there any reason to consider it unfit apart from the classic justification of being “unnatural”? Well, research says that the children’s upbringing with same-sex parents does not directly affect them.


Queer parenting vs. Traditional parenting

It has been reported by Hart (2023), that research analysing 34 studies (1989-2022) from countries recognising same-sex relationships shows that children of sexual minority parents perform as well as those from heterosexual families in health and education. Surprisingly, they often excel in psychological adjustment and child-parent relationships. This may be due to greater tolerance for diversity and nurturing behaviour. Similarly, a study by Zhang et al. (2023), has also found that children of sexual minority parents have similar or better outcomes than those of heterosexual parents, particularly in psychological adjustment and child-parent relationships. Better preparedness for stigma and more egalitarian parenting roles contribute to these positive outcomes. The differences highlighted by the study have been clearly and concisely presented in Table 1.

table showing how straight or queer parents impact tehir children
Table 1: Comparison of Parenting Outcomes: Straight vs. Queer Parents (Source: Zhang et al., 2023)

The Negatives

Although there might be some upsides of queer parenting, it also has some consistent concerns to it. However, these are not related directly to the parents but to the society in which the child grows up. In the same study by Zhang et al. (2023), the authors also pointed out that challenges such as social stigma and discrimination persist. In inclusive societies like the Netherlands, children in sexual minority families face fewer psychological issues as legal protections enhance family well-being. Although the results are promising, they mainly reflect regions with legalised same-sex relationships, suggesting the need for more global, diverse research. The report by Hart (2023) also states that these (queer) families face challenges like social stigma and discrimination. To ensure equal opportunities, policymakers must enhance legal protections and community support. The positive studies mainly reflect societies with favourable attitudes towards same-sex families, suggesting the importance of cultural context in child development outcomes.


The Redefined Family Models

It has been also researched that queer parenting might be facing rejection in the traditional parenting world as it is redefining the family models. The article by Roulston (2021), explores how queer parenting challenges traditional queer theory by redefining kinship and parenting, moving beyond assimilationist narratives. It disrupts heteronormativity by creating new family models and embraces chosen families and alternative parenting roles, moving beyond biological ties (refer to Table 2). The article also highlights societal acceptance in the West, contrasting it with legal restrictions in countries like India. This comparison underscores how cultural and legal challenges shape queer parenting experiences differently. In this context these insights help compare Indian cultural norms with Western acceptance, showcasing how queer families are redefining traditional structures and advocating for acceptance through chosen families.

table of traditional family vs queer family
Table 2: Redefined Family Models: Straight vs. Queer Parents (Source: Roulston, 2021)

Persisting Challenges

In Indian society, the acceptance of queer people as "normal" is a major step that the society as whole needs to take. This will solve most of the complicacies that the country is currently facing regarding the LGBTQIA+ communities. The social issues that exist for queer parents have also been studied by Regnerus (2012), as the study states that the lack of social support for them, stress exposure resulting from persistent stigma, and modest or absent legal security for their parental and romantic relationship statuses all add up to the challenges that they face in a country where the community is not recognised legally.


We need to change the world bit by bit and I hope that one day after we move on from this, even the queer parent of a specially abled child won't have to face discrimination, as highlighted by Coulter-Thompson et al. (2023). Several other studies point out that a child that lives in a family that has legally married parents has a better upbringing and we should take this as an opportunity to legalise same-sex marriages as well. This will also help the orphans of the country, who are growing at a very high rate, as most queer couples prefer adoption. The country is slowly but surely progressing, as more than 62% of urban Indians believe that same-sex couples have the same chance of raising children successfully as other parents (Bhatia, 2021). We need to keep this up until not only the urban but all of India believes the same.

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Bibliography


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This research article is brought to you by © The Gal Gala.

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