For lesbian women, achieving the status of “mother” is often a complicated and conflict-ridden process. There can be great disagreement among the social bodies who are empowered to validate women as mothers (and domestic groups as families), including family members themselves, as to who is or is not a mother. These notions, often based on heterosexual, heterosexist and patriarchal conceptualizations of “the family” create family experiences and family dynamics that are unique to lesbian women. Furthermore, different types of lesbian families, for example blended families and those created by donor insemination, share some experiences related to their social context, but also differ in terms of their family dynamics. Social and community services and programs directed toward families need to recognize the existence of lesbian families, the variety of forms of lesbian families, and the specialized needs of different types of lesbian families.
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