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Reactions To Studies Show Both Sides Exaggerate!

By Fannie

Thanks to commenter GXB for passing this article along to me. The Huffington Post has boldly declares, via headline, that "Child Abuse Rate At Zero Percent in Lesbian Households, New Report Finds."

I'm not particularly surprised by the actual findings of the study, but I am uncomfortable with this headline for two reasons.

One, it is misleading. The study didn't find that child abuse was at zero percent in all lesbian households, just that it was at zero percent in the 78 lesbian households examined. That is a positive finding in our favor, as it is much lower than the 26% of kids who in general American households who report abuse, but the finding is much less broad and more limited than the headline implies.

Two, because the headline is misleadingly absolute, opponents can easily attack it by pointing to just one single lesbian parent who has ever been abusive to her child, completely discrediting the headline's claim. Indeed, many Huffpo homophobe commenters did just that.

The study's findings are good news to lesbian parents and to the Gay Agenda. Unfortunately, misleading and hyperbolic headlines like this from perhaps well-intentioned LGBT and allied bloggers only diminish a study's legitimate findings and the good work that resarchers are doing. The facts about same-sex parenting and the adjustment of our kids are on our side. Let's not stoop to the propagandistic tactics of our opponents in making our case.

Full post as published by Fannie's Room on November 16, 2010 (boomark / email).