Socio-Economic Inequalities and Stigma Management among Same-Sex Parents in France

Marta de la Torre Carreira , Sciences Po Paris, Centre de Recherches sur les Inégalités Sociales (CRIS)

Same-sex households with children are a growing demographic in France. Moreover, recent legal and healthcare developments have granted same-sex couples access to reproductive technology as well as parental recognition. By actively eliminating several economic and legal barriers, these measures are likely to be followed not only by an increase of the number of same-sex households with children, but also by an important diversification of their profiles in terms of socio-economic status. While a significant body of literature has addressed the stigmatization of such families, particularly in the school setting, the focus has predominantly been on families from privileged backgrounds, and the influence of class structures on stigma management strategies has only seldom been considered. I argue that socio-economic disparities are pivotal in shaping the experiences of same-sex families, potentially generating inequalities among children. In a context where the study of these inequalities may become increasingly relevant due to recent demographic trends, this research aims to extend the study of stigma and stigma management to a more diverse sample of the population, including parents from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate the mechanisms through which socio-economic status influences parents’ management strategies, thus modifying their children’s experiences with stigma. My contribution draws from a qualitative study of 24 families living in France conducted through interviews from April 2022 to January 2023.

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 Presented in Session P3. Migration, Economics, Policies, History