A new report by the Pew Research Center has found that Americans accept gay families more than single-mother households. The study surveyed 2,691 people, who fell into three opinion groups: Acceptors, those who were comfortable with all family situations, Rejectors, those who considered non-traditional families damaging to the nation, and Skeptics, those with mixed views.
Although 99 percent of Acceptors were comfortable with single-mom homes, 99 percent of Skeptics and 98 percent of Rejectors believed that they were harmful to our nation. On the flip side, a majority of Acceptors and Skeptics accepted gay families and even believed that they would benefit society.
Although single-mom families have been around longer than gay and lesbian families, researches were not surprised by the results. According to Katherine Stamps Mitchell, an assistant professor of human ecology and sociology at Louisiana State University, gays and lesbians are perceived as a better alternative because they are a two-parent household.
Stamps Mitchell said that the results only prove American’s misconception about single-mom homes. The survey did not include single dads or the reasons behind single motherhood, which can range from personal choice to widowhood.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 52 percent of Americans accept gay relationships, and a recent Pew Research Center study that there is an equal percentage of people who accept gay marriage and those who oppose.
According to Stamps Mitchell, one of the reasons for change is because of the media.
You’re seeing gay families more and more on TV in shows like Modern Family and in movies like The Kids Are All Right. The media does help with acceptance.
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It’s hard to say for sure if this is the case. There have been a slew of strong, single moms on TV and in movies such as TV’s Murphy Brown and Julia Roberts’ Erin Brockovich, but they seem to be overshadowed by today’s negative portrayals—think MTV’s Teen Mom. (Although this could just be a result of our collective short-term memory loss.)
But gay marriage still has a long way to go. Despite Obama’s recent statements that he can no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, the struggle in the LGBT community still continues. Today more than 100 people filed into the Indiana Senate chamber to consider a state constitutional ban on gay marriages and civil unions. And House Speaker John Boehner has come out and said that the House will defend the federal ban on gay marriages.
Americans may have come to accept gay families, but their legal fight is far from over.
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I believe you can not judge a woman harshly for being a single mother. especially if the father cant be there hardly at all, except when his job allows him to, like the military or a job that requires lots of travel and time away. Why should the mother wait for him and be miserable and have animosity against the father for not being there. In some cases the mother has no choice but to be a single mother. What if he dies and none of the benefits from his death goes near the kid. What if the father abused… Read more »
So how many states prevent (or at least contest) single women from adoping kids?
The survey did not include single dads or the reasons behind single motherhood, which can range from personal choice to widowhood.
I really hope Mitchell explores this next. Because its real easy to take this info and start moaning about how hard single moms have it. I’d like to see some differentiation between moms that are single by choice, single by widowhood, and single from the father running out on her.
“… Another black mark against single mothers is that their homes are the most dangerous places for children and their children make up the bulk of criminals…” I was surprised to learn the awful odds faced by single mother (SM) children: Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor (7.8% intact vs 38.4% SM). Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times higher for infants in SM homes. Department of Justice survey found that 39% of male inmates lived in mother-only households. The same study found that 55% of female inmates grew up without their father. The rate… Read more »
3000 people is not really anything to brag about. I know in the state I live it would be a resounding no.
Why are single mothers by choice bad? What about single fathers by choice? Are they bad? They do exist. If a mother wants to be a mother without the burden of a husband, let her–save with a father. Many women do adopt, you know. They don’t all resort to sperm doners.
One parent is better than no parent at all in an orphan’s eyes.
They are all bad and their children will grow up to resent their selfish choices.
Children raised by single parents face terrifying odds in the real world. These children face a massively increased likelihood of ending up in prison, dead, impoverished, or dependent on alcohol/drugs.
A mother OR father who intentionally single parents a child is putting that child in the waste disposal and throwing the switch. Only a selfish narcissist would do such a thing to a child. Consequently, single parents (mothers or fathers) are predominantly extremely unfit parents and revolting human beings.
There are exceptions, of course. In some cases, single parenthood is not a choice.
“Stamps Mitchell said that the results only prove American’s misconception about single-mom homes” What is the misconception? No one thinks they should be illegal or something, but anyone who argues they are anything more than suboptimal is a fool. Sure, it can be better than an unhappy two-parent situation, but that doesn’t mean it’s desirable. As the single parent-raised generation grows up I think we’ll see more and more backlash against that as a lifestyle choice. I grew up in a single parent family, as did my husband, and we would never chose such a lifestyle and believe it did… Read more »