Although a significant transformation in personal life has occurred in the last decades, queer forms of intimacies – including conjugality, sexuality, parenthood, and care – are still subject to prejudice and institutionalized forms of discrimination. In Italy, despite the recent recognition of same-sex couples, heteronormativity continues to be hegemonic, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals persists in every area of life, including health and social care services. With regard to parenting, the law in force denies LGBTQ+ persons (single or couples) access to full adoption, while the partner of the biological parent can be legally recognized only through the so-called “adoption in special cases” (Art 44 of Law No 184/1983), a process that requires an assessment by health and social care professionals (HSCPs) and the court. To understand the experiences of same-sex parents who have resorted to adoption in special cases, we interviewed a group of lesbian mothers who have completed the adoption procedure on how they dealt with the evaluation process and the relationship with the HSCPs involved. Discourse analysis highlighted that the process was experienced as intrusive, unfair, and paradoxical, generating concern and uncertainty in parents and their children also due to the lack of LGBTQ+ cultural competence among the professionals involved. However, the data also show discursive strategies used by the mothers to resist the heteronormative ideologies and social practices embedded in the adoption process. The findings shed light on the structural and systemic barriers that limit same-sex parents' recognition when accessing health and social care services, thus limiting the exercise of their intimate citizenship, as well as the resources and strategies they use to address them. Implications for the implementation of specific affirmative health and social services to meet the needs of persons in queer intimacies will be discussed.
Queer intimacies and structural violence: The case of the Italian adoption pathway in special cases
Lasio D.;Lampis J.
2024-01-01
Abstract
Although a significant transformation in personal life has occurred in the last decades, queer forms of intimacies – including conjugality, sexuality, parenthood, and care – are still subject to prejudice and institutionalized forms of discrimination. In Italy, despite the recent recognition of same-sex couples, heteronormativity continues to be hegemonic, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals persists in every area of life, including health and social care services. With regard to parenting, the law in force denies LGBTQ+ persons (single or couples) access to full adoption, while the partner of the biological parent can be legally recognized only through the so-called “adoption in special cases” (Art 44 of Law No 184/1983), a process that requires an assessment by health and social care professionals (HSCPs) and the court. To understand the experiences of same-sex parents who have resorted to adoption in special cases, we interviewed a group of lesbian mothers who have completed the adoption procedure on how they dealt with the evaluation process and the relationship with the HSCPs involved. Discourse analysis highlighted that the process was experienced as intrusive, unfair, and paradoxical, generating concern and uncertainty in parents and their children also due to the lack of LGBTQ+ cultural competence among the professionals involved. However, the data also show discursive strategies used by the mothers to resist the heteronormative ideologies and social practices embedded in the adoption process. The findings shed light on the structural and systemic barriers that limit same-sex parents' recognition when accessing health and social care services, thus limiting the exercise of their intimate citizenship, as well as the resources and strategies they use to address them. Implications for the implementation of specific affirmative health and social services to meet the needs of persons in queer intimacies will be discussed.
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