The Sacra of LGBT Childhood

Abstract

This essay is related to my argument in Chemical Kids that current parenting norms suggest parents can affect childhood development because parents are at times held legally and socially responsible for stigmatized childhood outcomes. There is sufficient data now to show that LGBT children in foster care are proportionally overrepresented and suffer ill effects such as depression, homelessness, family rejection, conversion therapy, and assault. Combining the perceived failure to produce a child with a desirable sexual and gender identity and the stigma of sexuality that attaches to LGBT children, sexually non-normative children are pushed outside of the social and legal protections preserved for desired iterations of childhood. This push outside of childhood protections is supported by legal cases and social norms, creating the conditions for parents, as well as the foster care system, to reject LGBT children or allow abusive behaviors like conversion therapy and assault.

Keywords: LGBT, children, foster care