Maternal men – perverts and deviants? Making sense of gay men as foster carers and adopters

Hicks, S

Abstract

This article examines discourses of gender and sexuality
that feature in the social work assessment of gay men who apply to foster or adopt in the United Kingdom (UK). Using data from interviews with social workers and managers, the author argues that three versions of the category gay were dominant. In the first of these, gay men were imagined
to be maternal and/or feminine. In the second, they were seen as a source of perversion and sexual risk, and in the third, they were assumed to present problematic models of gender. The author critiques these ideas, and argues instead for social welfare practices that reconsider and
expand our notions of gender, sexuality, parenting, and kinship.

Citation

Hicks, S. (2006). Maternal men – perverts and deviants? Making sense of gay men as foster carers and adopters. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 2(1), 93-114. https://doi.org/10.1300/J461v02n01_05

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2006
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 2, 2009
• Journal: Journal of GLBT Family Studies
• Print ISSN: 1550-428X
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 93-114
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J461v02n01_05
• Keywords: Gay men, homosexuality, foster care, adoption, parenting,; social work assessment
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J461v02n01_05