EPISODE · Jun 9, 2009 · 28 MIN
Adopting - A Trans Perspective
from Just Plain Sense · host Christine Burns
The question of whether gay or lesbian couples should conceive or adopt children has been with us for many years. Some people think it’s wrong. There seems no justification for those reservations of course. We’re confronted all the time with examples of heterosexual men and women being bad parents and abusers. Yet the idea that less conventional couples pose some extra kind of threat is deeply ingrained. And if there’s concern about gay and lesbian people adopting children, what must it be like for trans people? In this interview I speak to a trans man who, with his wife, has successfully overcome the obstacles to adopt two young children. He also now advises other trans people on how to navigate the process too, and to deal with the general ignorance of social workers in this context. We agreed we would keep his identity confidential for the sake of his children. In this interview he adopted the pseudonym "Nick". However if people would like to contact Nick for advice on adoption themselves then please ask for help by leaving a request via the comments facility below. If you supply an email address in the "mail" box on the comment form this won't be shown publicly; however we can use this to put you in touch. Update: Since releasing this episode, 'Nick' has set up a special email address where people interested in adoption can contact him for advice: [email protected]
What this episode covers
The question of whether gay or lesbian couples should conceive or adopt children has been with us for many years. Some people think it’s wrong. There seems no justification for those reservations of course. We’re confronted all the time with examples of heterosexual men and women being bad parents and abusers. Yet the idea that less conventional couples pose some extra kind of threat is deeply ingrained. And if there’s concern about gay and lesbian people adopting children, what must it be like for trans people? In this interview I speak to a trans man who, with his wife, has successfully overcome the obstacles to adopt two young children. He also now advises other trans people on how to navigate the process too, and to deal with the general ignorance of social workers in this context. We agreed we would keep his identity confidential for the sake of his children. In this interview he adopted the pseudonym "Nick". However if people would like to contact Nick for advice on adoption themselves then please ask for help by leaving a request via the comments facility below. If you supply an email address in the "mail" box on the comment form this won't be shown publicly; however we can use this to put you in touch. Update: Since releasing this episode, 'Nick' has set up a special email address where people interested in adoption can contact him for advice: [email protected]
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Adopting - A Trans Perspective
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