Biparental and multiparental lesbian and gay families in France

Abstract

This paper describes lesbian and gay families and their lives in France, as well as the legal and other difficulties they encounter. The French context is somewhat different from that of Anglo-Saxon countries, as French laws are very often influenced by a Catholic way of thinking. As a result, French family laws are based upon principles like ‘male and female parents are mandatory’, or ‘there cannot be more than two parents’. From these principles stem a series of prohibited practices: single women and lesbian couples are not allowed access to medically-assisted procreation; second parent adoption by a same-sex second parent is forbidden; joint adoption by a same sex couple is not possible; turning to a surrogate mother is forbidden (to anyone, straight or gay). This specific context thus produces certain forms of lesbian and gay headed families. This paper describes some of these forms of families.