Adoption and same-sex parenting: Oedipus abandoned?
Abstract
Although substantial research has demonstrated that children of lesbian and gay parents develop in ways that are similar to those of heterosexual parents, families with lesbian and gay parents remain controversial. We know that most adopted children have a history of abandonment. In this paper, which is necessarily brief, we reflect on the possibility that children adopted by gay or lesbian couples have to face more difficulties than those adopted by heterosexual couples. The subject is delicate and complex since it involves not only responsible adults, but also children who have to reconstruct their belonging, work out the loss of their biological parents, and establish new attachment relationships. After reading the adoptive theme in the light of Oedipus’ myth, which is a myth of abandonment and adoption, we consider the oedipal complex in the light of same-sex parenting. Finally, we ask: “What is in the best interest of the child?”