Same-sex Families and Homosexual Parenthood. International Controversies and Spaces for Recognition in Italy

Lesbian and gay parenthood is the most adversed topics of the recognition of lesbian and gay families, both from the point of view of the concession of rights and the one of social legitimation. In Italy, the sociological research on the recognition of lesbian and gay families with children is not comparable to the international one. Nevertheless, the development of a political discourse on the rights of lesbian and gay people - with or without families, with or without children - by European institutions is broadening the interest of Italian sociologists. The article analyses the experiences of 12 gay Italian lesbian and gay parents in order to understand how they negotiate and achieve social legitimation in front of their families of origin, local institutions and neighbours. Results show that lesbian and gay families with children give an important contribution for the pluralization of practices and meanings related to the family. At the same time, they reproduce some crucial features supporting the hegemonic interpretation of the family: the centrality of the couple and the importance of blood ties for the definition of kinship.