Reinventing the Family: The Emerging Story of Lesbian and Gay Parents (Hardcover)

by Laura Benkov (Author) "Three-year-old Danielle, just home from preschool, is playing with her best friend, Sophie..." (more)
Key Phrases: gay custody cases, donor insemination practices, legal parent status, Minnie Bruce, New York, Department of Social Services (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Gracefully written and lucidly argued, Benkov's study is the first sustained analysis of the emerging phenomenon of lesbian and gay parents and of the considerable obstacles they must surmount in reinventing the family. Benkov, a Boston psychologist, draws upon case studies that dramatize the ingrained antipathy of the larger society toward homosexuals that pervades the psychiatric community, courts and social service system. At the same time, her case studies refute the detrimental assumptions hampering wider acceptance of gay parenting: children raised by homosexuals do not have significantly greater problems growing up than do those reared by heterosexuals, nor are they any more likely to be gay--though, as Benkov asks, what would be wrong with that? Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this wide-ranging work, Benkov attempts to examine all aspects of gay and lesbian parenting. Among her topics are the experiences of gays and lesbian parents "coming out" of heterosexual marriages; legal developments in adoptions, foster care, and custody battles; artificial insemination; society's view of parenting roles; children raised by homosexuals; and the influence of homophobia. The author's research is combined with illustrative case studies. A supervising psychologist at Children's Hospital, Boston, and a lesbian, Benkov argues that our society must learn to accept nontraditional families and that children raised in a loving environment-no matter what its composition-will become well-adjusted adults. Recommended for lesbian/gay and parenting collections.
January Adams, ODSI Research Lib., Raritan, N.J.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 289 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (August 16, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517587432
• ISBN-13: 978-0517587430
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,474,731 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Look At Gay Families, August 27, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Belmont, California) - See all my reviews

This was a good, somewhat disjointed look at lesbian and gay families in the United States today. This is perhaps the only book dealing with the history of the movement, but much of it seemed impersonal. I am not sure if Benkov's target audience is lesbian and gay parents and their supporters, or if the book is supposed to be a way to convince those opposed to the movement. All in all though, it was an enjoyable and informative book, and it is a must read for anyone interested in this subject