Intergenerational Processes of Disadvantage in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Australians: From Relationships with Parents to Parenting Expectations

Australia remains a heteronormative society, with many of our social, legal, and moral structures still assuming and reinforcing heterosexuality as the default norm. The impacts of heteronormativity on the family lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) Australians can be profound. In this chapter, we draw from the lifecourse principles of linked lives, trajectories and turning points to examine how family dynamics produce disadvantage in the lives of LGB Australians. We begin by documenting trajectories of satisfaction, closeness, and support in relationships between LGB children and their parents. We then test associations between the quality of the parent-child relationship and LGB people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing across the life course. Next, we turn our attention to LGB people’s desires and expectations to have children of their own, and test whether relationships with parents play a role in shaping these. Overall, we find evidence that family dynamics continue to be a source of disadvantage in the lives of some LGB Australians. On average, LGB people are less likely to report a positive relationship with their parents than heterosexual people, and negative relationships with parents appear to suppress desires for having children of one’s own. Further, gay men who desire to have children are significantly less likely to expect to fulfill those desires the more dissatisfied they are with their relationships with their parents. Our findings demonstrate how social structures have the power to shape our most important, personal relationships and, through these, our mental health and wellbeing.