A new study has shown that LGBTI families are going to become more common in the near future with Millennials signalling that they are far keener than previous generations to become parents or grow families of their own.
The new study which was conducted by America’s Family Equality Council has provided insights into how many LGBT people are interested in becoming parents, and elaborated on how they intend to do so.
Most significantly, the report revealed a dramatic difference in expectations around family building between LGBTI Millennials and older generations of LGBTI people.
Of the LGBTI participants in the study who were aged 55 years and older, only 33% either already have children or are considering having children, a number that is consistent with previous research conducted in 2013 that found approximately 35% of LGBTI adults are parents.
However, in contrast, the new study found that a much larger 77% of LGBTI Millennials (aged 18-35) are either already parents or are considering having children, a 44% increase over their elders.
The report also highlighted that 63% of LGBTI people planning families expect to use assisted reproductive technology, foster care, or adoption to become parents.
“Since marriage equality became the law of the land, we’ve known anecdotally that more and more young LGBTQ people are fully expecting to form families, just like their straight and cisgender peers, but no research has been conducted to test this,” said The Rev. Stan J. Sloan, CEO of Family Equality Council.
“We believe that every LGBTQ person should be able to form a family and know the joys of parenthood, no matter who they are or where they live,” added Sloan. “Family Equality Council exists to make that dream a reality, and the data released today show just how many loving families are waiting to be formed with the right supports.”
