The Lesbian Parenting Book: A Guide to Creating Families and Raising Children

by D. Merilee Clunis, G. Dorsey Green

Written by two experienced lesbian therapists and parents, this second edition of Lesbian Parenting has been updated to reflect the contemporary cultural and political landscape, as well as current trends in parenting. Drawing on the real-life experiences of lesbian families and the latest information from family specialists, the authors present detailed, chapter-by-chapter information on each stage of parenthood and child development. New material includes information on circumcision, Internet safety, legal hoops for non-custodial parents, the facts about late-in-life pregnancies, moms working inside and outside of the home, and more. An essential text for every lesbian who is involved in—or considering—raising a family.

Genres: Parenting, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Nonfiction

424 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is well-written and non-judgmental, but I felt like it was trying to cover waaaay too much and ended up being kind of a superficial overview of everything related to parenting in general and being a queer parent. Really, the same regular-size book needs to cover lesbian family formation options, all stages of child development through adulthood and how to navigate homophobia?

I did appreciate the authors specifically pointing out that you shouldn't let Dr. Sears make you feel bad about not wearing your baby 24/7, but I wish they had taken the opportunity to talk about how unnecessarily heterosexist and devaluing of non-gestational mothers the whole Dr. Sears schtick is.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a relief to read a parenting book that isn’t continually referring to husbands. Comprehensive, with a confident, likeable tone. A little dated but IMO that’s part of its charm.