Tolerance Versus Support: Perceptions of Residential Community Climate Among LGB Parents

• Date: 01 February 2018
• Author: Jenifer K. McGuire,Jasmine M. Routon,Elizabeth Grace Holman,Ramona Faith Oswald
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12292
• Published date: 01 February 2018

R F O  J M. RUniversity of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

J K. MGUniversity of Minnesota

E G HBowling Green State University

Tolerance Versus Support: Perceptions

of Residential Community Climate Among LGB

Parents

Objective: To understand which aspects of res-

idential communities are most salient for deter-

mining whether sexual minority parents classify

their residential community climates as tolerant

versus supportive.

Background: Metropolitan hubs for lesbian,

gay, and bisexual (LGB) parents are well estab-

lished, but less is known about nonmetropolitan

community climates for LGB parents. Residen-

tial community climate toward nonmetropolitan

LGB persons may be particularly important to

LGB parents because of the potential inuences

on child and family well-being.

Method: Open- and closed-ended survey data

from a sample of 55 LGB parents werecollected

along with publically available data regarding

their residential communities. Self-reported res-

idential community climate (tolerant vs. sup-

portive) and community involvement, as well

as objective county and municipal climate were

analyzed.

Results: Compared with LGB parents who

perceived their communities to be tolerant

Department of Human Development and Family Studies,

263 Bevier Hall, MC-180, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

61801 (roswald@illinois.edu).

Key Words: Community climate, community involvement,

LGB families, LGB parents, religion, support, tolerance.

(n=38), parents who considered their residen-

tial communities to be supportive (n=17) were

more likely to live in counties characterized

by legal support and broad social acceptance,

were personally more likely to participate in

LGB-focused social and political activities,

had children with more exposure to other LGB

families, and attended church less frequently.

Conclusion: Having basic features of equity

such as city ordinances and LGB organizations

provides a foundation for tolerance in a commu-

nity; however, individuals in a community must

access personal and social supports and activ-

ities beyond work and church to feel truly sup-

ported.

Implications: LGB parents’ perceptions of

climate reveal specic community features that

need to be strengthened to promote family

well-being.

The United States is increasingly tolerant of les-

bian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) parents and their

children (Twenge, Carter, & Campbell, 2015).

Tolerance is the belief that stigmatized groups

should be allowed public expression and that

social differences should be allowed even when

viewed as disagreeable (Twenge etal., 2015).

Recent Supreme Court rulings such as Oberge-

fell v.Hodges (2015) that granted marriage rights

Family Relations 67 (February 2018): 41–5441

DOI:10.1111/fare.12292