Same-Sex Parents More Common in South

When you think of same-sex families, what cities spring to mind? San Francisco? New York? Provincetown?

It turns out that same-sex couples in Southern states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than those on the West Coast, in New York and in New England. In fact, San Antonio, Texas, leads the nation in the percentage of same-sex couples raising kids, at 34 percent. Jacksonville, Florida, is next, at 32 percent.

The New York Times reported on this January 19, citing research by Gary Gates of the Williams Institute at UCLA, well known for its studies of LGBT demographics and economics. Gates and others have been analyzing the new data from Census 2010, and found some interesting trends. For example, Black or Latino same-sex couples are twice as likely as white ones to be raising children, and more likely to be struggling economically.

That contradicts almost every image of same-sex parents we see in the mainstream (and even much LGBT) media. They are almost always white and middle- to upper-class. Consider: Both Showtime's The L Word and ABC's Modern Family ran episodes in which a couple of same-sex parents try to get their child into an exclusive preschool. And new dads Elton John and David Furnish aren't exactly hurting for money. Although it may indeed help the cause of acceptance to see their family in the media, they are not representative of the whole.

Demographic studies like these are of more than just academic interest. They help show the impact of anti-LGBT legislation and policies on real people, in all places and of all races. The North Carolina legislature, for example, will likely soon consider a bill to amend their state constitution to ban marriage for same-sex couples. And Mississippi students are fighting back against anti-LGBT attitudes in their schools.

It's clear we have a long way to go, though. A grocery store in Arkansas put a "Family Shield" to "protect young shoppers" over the US Weekly cover of Elton John and David Furnish holding their child. GLAAD reports that the store said the shield went up after "several" customers complained. It has apparently been taken down now, although GLAAD is awaiting confirmation from the management.

The New York Times and writer Sabrina Tavernise deserve credit for shining a light on the Williams findings, and for including profiles of several families who put personal faces on the numbers.

Photo credit: Stuart Seeger