The authors of this article are Biblarzb and Stacey. It is written in the Journal of Marriage and Family. In response to the controversial debate about the role of gender in parenting, this article contains a review of 81 studies that explore the role of gender in parenting. The article compares two parent families with different or same sex co-parent, and single mothers with single father families (Biblarzb and Stacey 3).
The topic of this article is “How does the gender of parent matters?” The first issue in this article is the misleading representations of studies. The authors claim that most studies contend that each gender plays a role in parenting, especially in different sex families (Biblarzb and Stacey 4-5).
However, this article notes that married wives play a greater role in parenting compared to their husbands because of the stereotypical perception placed on gender. These studies support conventional understanding of the role of women in parenting. What is not determined is whether these disparities stem from gender only, heterosexual genders, or other factors. The authors note that gender issues need an inductive and indirect approach.
From the review of other studies, this article notes that, strengths that are basically related to heterosexual families occur to a certain degree in families with 2 female or male parent. However, this article does not have comparable studies on children parented with two male parents. However, the study anticipates similar results among two father parenthood. In addition, the article notes that each family union provides unique risks and advantages for the children (Biblarzb and Stacey 6).
In addition, the authors agree with other studies that gender does not determine the quality of parenting (Biblarzb and Stacey 11-13). Parenting skills are not determined by gender; two compatible parents deliver advantages to the children compared to single parents. This happens despite the gender orientations, biogenetic status, sexual identity, and marital status. Therefore, a family headed by two compatible and committed parents is the best for children compared to all other types of families.
Sociological points are that in single sex families, the parent is induced to assume the roles of the other gender. This means that single sex parenting fosters androgynous parenting skills in men and women alike. Secondly, each family presents unique challenges and advantages. Heterosexual couples deliberate on certain privileges and societal legitimacy; however, with a diminished paternal contribution.
Co-mothers provide a lot of advantages in intimacy, communication, and care-taking. However, lesbian families are predisposed to the risks of splitting up. This is due to their legal status and biological lopsidedness. In addition, this article notes that study on gay couples is not adequate to draw a comprehensive conclusion. Finally there are five variables that affect parenting. These are biogenetic relations with children, marital status, sexual identity, gender, and number (Biblarzb and Stacey 17).