News
Mother Knows Best
After 30 years of research, Dr. Ryan-Flood finds that the country lesbian mothers are from plays a part in how they raise their child.
According to sociologist Dr. Róisín Ryan-Flood, lesbian mothers have different expectations for donors depending on where they’re from.
In Ireland, for example, lesbian mothers prefer donors to play a minimal part in raising the children. In Sweden though, lesbian mothers expect donors to actively help raise the child.
Mothers from both countries, however, prefer to know the donor and be able to share his identity with the child.
Ryan-Flood attributes these differences to the cultural, historical and political backdrops of the two countries.
She explores these and other issues surrounding lesbian motherhood in her newly published Lesbian Motherhood: Gender, Families and Sexual Citizenship.
She also finds that having lesbian mothers is in no way harmful to the child's development.
