What might the voices of the second generation tell us?

Abstract

When I read the first question in the call for contributions for this special issue of Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review - ‘what shapes do queer families take?’ - I had an unexpected moment of recognition. I have a queer family of origin (a few years after I was born, my mother and father separated, and my father came out as a gay man). I am also queer (I came out as a lesbian in my teens). I had never thought about my sexuality in intergenerational terms before. I’m second generation queer . I had not at that stage read anything about the experiences of a so-called second generation. The little I have read since researching this piece makes me wonder about the silence around the experiences of the lesbian/gay children of lesbian/gay parent(s). One obvious reason for this silence is the desire not to give ammunition to the enemy. That children may grow up to adopt a lesbian/gay subjectivity is a popular argument drawn on by those who oppose lesbian and gay parenting (Clarke, 2001; Clarke & Kitzinger, 2004; Hicks, 2003, 2005; Riggs, 2004). I do not want to use this piece to unpick reasons for this silence. Rather, I would like to use this opportunity to reflect on my own experiences as a 2nd gen-ner, to suggest some of the ways in which our experiences may be sufficiently different to 1st gen-ners, as to warrant specific attention and research.