LGBTQ+ individuals and family relationships through a life course perspective

Sociohistorical changes in recent decades have fundamentally altered the possibilities for LGBTQ+ family life—that is, for LGBTQ+ adults to form partnerships and enter parenthood. Through its emphasis on the role of sociohistorical change to shape individual lives and create cohorts of shared experience, life course theory (LCT) offers a distinct perspective for understanding generations of LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. In this article, we first acknowledge generational sociohistorical change that has shaped sexual and gender diversity in relationships and family life and highlight the role of LCT to illuminate LGBTQ+ families across generations. We then consider concepts from the life course perspective that are particularly relevant for understanding generational changes for LGBTQ+ identities and families: the turning point of coming out and linked lives. These constructs offer a framework for analyzing generational changes in the way LGBTQ+ adults experience partnerships, parenting, and aging over the life course. We conclude by discussing future directions for incorporating the life course theoretical framework into research on LGBTQ+ families.