Pluralizing the Debate on Same-Sex Parenting: Strategies and Narratives of Italian LGB Parents with Children from Heterosexual Relationships

In Italy, the most controversial debates surrounding same-sex families pertain to lesbian and gay parenting. Surveys on the social perception of homosexuality in the Italian population show a progressive convergence toward the recognition of intimate relationships between same-sex partners, whereas their experience/desire of parenthood still raises high levels of disagreement. The approval of the law on same-sex civil unions in 2016 mirrors this trend since it does not consider the access of same-sex couples to medically assisted fertilization or adoption (including stepchild adoption). In public debates and scientific research, the transition to parenthood of Italian lesbian and gay people is discussed from the point of view of a «new generation» of parents, who planned or are planning to have a child together with their same-sex partner. Same-sex couples with children are seen as the new frontier in family research and examples of innovative/challenging models of family living. As a consequence, lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships are often seen as the “rearguard” of a social change occurring elsewhere. These parents are commonly labeled as “post-heterosexual lesbian and gay parents” (PHLGP). The chapter analyzes the family practices and narratives of a sample of Italian PHLGP recruited between 2019 and 2020. The results shed light on the many possible ways of moving the boundaries between lesbian/gay chosen relationships and heterosexual institutionalized family arrangements. Focalizing the intersection between inventiveness and continuity, the aim is to pluralize the sociological reading of same-sex parenting and the social transformations it demands