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Same-Sex Adoptions

Melissa Chavez Benavides

University of Texas at El Paso

Dr. Moushumi Biswas

Rhetoric and Writing Studies: 1302

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Abstract

Same-sex adoptions is an issue that has spread throughout different parts of the country

within minutes. As soon as the legalization of gay marriage was passed, same-sex adoptions

became an enormous issue gay couples had to deal with as many of them decided to start a

family of their own. There have been different questions like what are some of the problems of

same-sex adoptions, the pros and cons of this issue, why are some people in favor and against

this situation and finally, do the new laws and regulations affect the way people change their

perspective towards the situation, that have helped answer all the questions about the issue.

People have different agreements and problems with this since some have been raised to believe

different things, while other have been changing with the new generations. There are several

factors that change people's behavior and perception towards the issue and get influence by

things such as society and social media. People are changing their minds every day, but

sometimes they dont take into consideration the way the world is slowly changing.

Same-Sex Adoptions: A Review of Literature

Same-sex adoptions has been an issue that has affected the world during the past decades.

This new issue evolved thanks to the new laws and regulations starting with the legalization of

gay marriage. Due to the fact that many of the new couples were able to legally marry their loved

ones, the issue of creating a family was next. The rising of same-sex adoptions slowly began to

evolve as there were more people who were "coming out of the closet" and admitting they were

in love with a person from the same-sex. People who fell in love and successfully got married

had to start dealing with the issues of adopting or creating children in different ways, due to the
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fact the human body was meant to create life with people from different genders. This is where

the idea of same-sex adoptions rapidly evolved and became an issue in the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-

sexual, and Transgender community, or LGBT's for short, and how slowly it started affecting the

world in different ways.

There are many different struggles gay couples have to deal with in order to successfully

adopt a child, yet people are still making it hard for them. There millions of people in the world

who have different perspectives on this situation and still have trouble explaining the reasons

behind their opinions. Some people get ideas from other people, others learn from what they see

on social media, and finally others get to know people in the LGBT community, who give them

an insight of what their life really is like. As the issue of same-sex adoptions slowly rises through

time there have been some questions that have been consider by society in order to understand

the issue with a deeper insight and they're as follow:

What are the problems with same-sex adoptions?

Why is it important to know the pros and cons of same-sex adoptions?

Why are people in favor and against this issue?

Due to the new laws and regulations, are there more people in favor or against same-sex

adoptions?

The following paragraphs will help analyze and answer these questions based on some

primary research created at the University of Texas at El Paso and some secondary sources that

answer the questions affecting societies opinion on this case.

Why are people in favor or against this issue?

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The video from the What Would You Do? Blog called "Gay Adoptions" mainly involves

the opinion of random people at a local restaurant. There are four main actors in this video: a

waitress, two gay men, and a girl. The girl is planning to give away her baby to a gay couple as

soon as it's born as they are talking at a restaurant where a waitress comes and decides to be rude

and disagree with the girl since she's not in favor of same-sex adoptions. There are many

different reactions towards the waitress being rude to the couple. There are people who get so

mad because she's expressing her opinions in a negative way that won't affect the situation at all.

There was a man who said "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. She forgot it's

2015." The man at the restaurant was showing his opinion on how some people are still living in

the past and haven't adapted to the new ways of living. This video helps answer the question of

why are there people in favor and against the issue. The video shows how some people were

raised to see the children getting adopted by straight couples and not gay ones. He also described

how gender doesn't determine the way a person was raised; that depends on the way their parents

raised their kid as a younger age. This video helped us analyze the first question talking about

what were some of the problems with same-sex adoptions. People are still unaware and unsure

about the new ways of life and that is why some people have trouble adapting to the new ways of

this generation. People do not receive or have the necessary and appropriate resources that help

them understand this way of life. That is what causes society to reacts a certain way without truly

understanding how same-sex adoptions work.

What are some problems with same-sex adoptions and what are the pros and cons

of the issue?

An interview conducted at the University of Texas at El Paso was by student Ana Mena

who was asked her opinion on same-sex adoptions. She said, "I find I hard to believe that people
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are not okay with the idea of two people loving each other, even though they might be from the

same gender. Everyone deserves to love someone and be able to raise a family without having

any issues due to their gender." The student felt that gender wasn't a good excuse in order for gay

couples to adopt a kid. She felt there were bigger issues such as a couples socioeconomic status,

their life record, and other things that should determine the couple's ability to adopt a child. Ana

mentioned that, "Some of the problems that don't allow gay couples to adopt a kid would mainly

be the people who think it's no ethical. I believe it's mostly older people who are used to living

according to the rules that were followed years ago." This student helped answer the question of

what are some of the problems with same-sex adoptions as she mentioned how several people

where focusing on the little things such as gender and not at the broader picture. Ana Mena

helped answer the question about the pros of same-sex adoptions as she mentioned how some of

the gay couples are giving a child the opportunity of having a family. "There are many kids who

are waiting to get adopted and I'm pretty sure that gender won't be an issue to them, as long as

they give them love and affection", she said. Despite the fact that people are against this, they

don't realize that they are giving orphans all sorts of benefits they can't get by living at a foster

home. Same-sex adoptions are changing lives through the nation and making children smile all

over the world.

In a Ted Talk performed by Lynne Elvins called "The Myths of Gay Adoptions" she

mentioned how some of the problems are mostly inside the minds of people. Some people were

raised with the mentally of the older generations, who believed that a man and a woman where

the only genders who were supposed to mate. Some are so close-minded that for whatever the

reason, they will still be against this due to the things they were taught when they were younger.

Elvins mentioned how some people are just "making up myths" of how and why a kid would not
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be raised correctly, if raised by parents of the same-sex. She mentioned how it's very important

to know the pros and cons of the situation because some of the people believe it's a bad idea

because they believe the kids will be raised with "the mentality" that men are supposed to be

with men or that woman are supposed to be with women. Lynne Elvins helped answer the

question of what are some of the pros and cons of same-sex adoptions, by mentioning that one of

the cons could be that the child could get asked"...too many questions" and would get

psychologically traumatized as he or she might get confused and think that "gay people will turn

their children gay". Another interview conducted at the university with student Paulina Arroniz,

who was against same-sex adoptions, said, "there's a big probability that their child would turn

gay and will not learn the correct way to live his life" . Paulina told us more about the cons of

same-sex adoptions as she mentioned that she was against this because in her religion "God

created men and women for a reason" and gave them their "private parts" in order to reproduce

and create life. She shows how religion is a con in the situation, since many religions forbid and

not accept LGBTs and they have to be rejected by their own kinds of people. Everyone has been

raised differently, and that's a major factor affecting people's opinion about the issue.
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Due to the new laws and regulations, are there more people in favor or against

same-sex adoptions?

An article from the American Civil Liberties Union talks about the legal and policy views

of gay and lesbian parenting. This page mentions how some of the new laws that have passed say

that some of the states"... have granted second-parent adoptions to lesbian and gay couples,

ensuring that their children can enjoy the benefits of having two legal parents, especially if one

of the parents dies or becomes incapacitated." This has been a great benefit to the gay

community and children because it proves that there are reasons behind why it's important for

gay couples to also adopt children. The ACLU page said that, "State agencies and courts now

apply a "best interest of the child" standard to decide these cases." People are now realizing that

the gender of the parent isn't an important factor and all that matter is what's best for the child.

This article helped answer the questions about the new laws and regulations affecting societies

decision on same-sex adoptions since it was giving us some of the benefits of adopting a child

with this new law that has been passed by several states in the United States. In an article from

the New York Times, a woman was interviewed and mentioned how some of the adopting
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agencies told her "No, we don't serve your kind here...". This woman said that even though gay

marriage was legalized in her state, some of the people there were still against the idea of

LGBTs. All she was trying to do was get information about adopting a child and they refuse to

give her good service just because she was gay. These agencies chose not to listen to the laws

since this was just an act of pure racism. They did not have a good excuse to reject this woman

on getting information about adoptions. An article from the Pew Charitable Trust organization

page mentioned how," Now that gay couples are allowed to marry, theyll be treated like any

other married couple whos adopting. This organization talks about the laws and rights gay

couples should have and how they should be treated like any other couple. There are people who

are still not alright with the idea and only focus on what is the outside and not on the inside of

human beings. Unlike Paulina from the interview, these state agencies are thinking differently

about the situation and realizing that they have been focusing on the wrong part of the issue.

While some people disagree with this, other have been noticing the bigger picture.

In a survey conducted at the University of Texas at El Paso, students were asked to

complete a survey about the new laws and regulations in order to see their opinion on whether

they were in favor or against same-sex adoptions. There were 65 students ranging from ages 18-

26 that conducted a survey and the results where that 53% were in favor while, 47% were

against. They were asked to answer several questions about the laws and regulations that affected

gay couples and the results showed that the majority of the people are changing their beliefs

towards this situation, and accepting it while another great quantity still disagrees with this idea.
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Conclusion

As a result, according to the several interviews, videos, articles, and surveys

conducted, people have a different perspective of this issue. Some believe that it is ethical

to adopt kids as a gay couple, while other believe people that it should stay the same way it

has always been. It's important to know the perspectives of both sides since we are all

human and that's how we slowly start to shape the world and our cultures. There are

different reasons and factor that affect the way people react to this situation, due to the fact

the world is changing every day. People change their minds all the time because of society,

social media, and other factors such as new laws and regulations that change and shape the

world in a different way. As time progresses people will become more familiar with the

issue of same-sex and will understand the different perspective society has towards this

issue.
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References

Gay Adoption | What Would You Do? | WWYD. (2015, August 01). Retrieved October 04,
2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N85g6DQ4H1g
T. (2015, December 13). My Two Mums (The Myths of Gay Adoption) | Lynne Elvins |
TEDxBristol. Retrieved October 04, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAcuH7n-dLc
Overview of Lesbian and Gay Parenting, Adoption and Foster Care. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 04, 2017, from https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/overview-lesbian-and-gay-
parenting-adoption-and-foster-care
Harris, E. A. (2017, June 20). Same-Sex Parents Still Face Legal Complications. Retrieved
October 04, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/us/gay-pride-lgbtq-same-
sex-parents.html
Despite Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, Gay Adoption Rights Uncertain in Some States. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 04, 2017, from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-
analysis/blogs/stateline/2015/08/19/despite-same-sex-marriage-ruling-gay-adoption-
rights-uncertain-in-some-states
Same-sex adoptions survey
Interviews with Paulina Arroniz and Ana Mena