Homosexual and bisexual fathers and mothers in Colombia. Experiences of discrimination and coping strategies

Abstract

In different parts of the world families formed by homosexual or bisexual fathers and mothers must face both the stigmatization that exists on homosexuality and the one that comes from the rejection of these types of families based on the idea that children need a father and a mother to develop positively. Based on in-depth interviews with nine mothers and six fathers living in Colombia, this article addresses the experiences of discrimination they have faced, as well as the strategies they use to cope with them. Results show that participants seek to protect their families from the heterosexist context in which they live by using different coping strategies —some of them oriented to confrontation and visibility, while others instead tending to concealment and dissimulation of the sexual orientation— that depend on the personal and social resources available to them.