Social Work Today E-Zine

While Spanish-speaking telenovelas (TV Soap Operas) may be a bit over the top, but they also reflect real life and society—including recent story lines about gay parenting. With recent studies showing that Latino gay and lesbian couples have higher adoption rates than other same-sex couples, it’s no coincidence that gay adoption has appeared in two recent novelas, "Barreras de Amor," and “Amar Sin Limites.”

“The trend in telenovelas of portraying gay and lesbian couples with adopted children is a cultural phenomenon and an extension of how gays and lesbians are carrying ‘La Familia’—the utmost Latino cultural value—into their lifestyles,” says Eduardo Morales, PhD, professor of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University at San Francisco.

Recent statistics from New York’s National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and National Latino/a Coalition for Justice underscore the trend with key findings of same-sex couples in Florida:

• Male same-sex couples where both partners are Hispanic raise children at more than three times the rate (58%) than white non-Hispanic male same-sex couples (19%).

• Female same-sex couples in which both partners are Hispanic raise children at more than twice the rate (66%) of white non-Hispanic female same-sex couples (32%).

• More Hispanic female same-sex couples (54%) report raising at least one child under the age of 18, compared to Hispanic married opposite-sex couples (70%) and Hispanic cohabiting opposite-sex couples (59%).

— Source: Alliant International University