Mombian Highlights of 2025
As 2025 winds to a close, let’s look back at some of my favorite posts of the year—a year in which Mombian celebrated two decades of offering news, information, resources, and opinions for and about LGBTQ parents.
Parental Outcomes/Experiences
New Study Shows Range and Resilience of Same-Sex-Parents
A new study from Pew Research interviewed 30 same-sex parents raising kids to learn more about their lives, challenges, and supports. The results underscore the varied experiences of queer families.
More Than 40% of Married Same-Sex Couples Under 50 Want Kids: New Study
More than 40% of married same-sex couples under age 50 want children or additional children, according to a new study from UCLA’s Williams Institute—but it also found a gap between many participants’ “ideal” path to family building and their “likely” path, with the main barrier being cost.
New Study Looks at LGBTQ+ Parents’ Parenting Practices Around Gender
LGBTQ parents do not “make” our kids LGBTQ, but research has shown we may be more flexible than cisgender, straight parents about kids’ gender socialization. A new study finds, however, that some LGBTQ parents still feel invested in children’s gender conformity, feeling tension between supporting their children and protecting them from external harm.
Queer Parents Share Fears and Concerns Since Overturning of Roe
A new study looks at how the overturning of Roe v. Wade has impacted queer parents—and includes the often-unheard voices of those who may be at higher risk of unintended pregnancies, such as bisexual cisgender women partnered with cis men.
New Study Explores Fears and Barriers for Queer Parents Seeking Help with Postpartum Mental Health
Queer birthing parents who faced postpartum mental health challenges often avoided seeking help because of fears of being declared unfit, the involvement of child welfare services, the stigma of mental illness, and concerns about racism, homophobia, and transphobia, according to a new study.
Are Gay Dads Better Than Straight Parents? The Answer Isn’t Straightforward
A recent study has found that children of gay dads in families formed by surrogacy function better and have fewer behavior problems than those with heterosexual parents—but let’s not take this to mean that gay dads are “better” parents, much as we might like to do so. Here’s why.
Two-Thirds of Parents in New Study Think Book Bans Are “A Waste of Time”
A new study looks at parents’ perceptions of public libraries and the current issues they face, including book bans and how people feel about children’s books that touch on sometimes sensitive topics: LGBTQ+ characters, race/racism, social justice, and sexual education.
“Queer Stepfamilies” Shows “Our Families Exist”
Much previous research on queer parents and our children has focused on intact queer families (mostly with gay male or lesbian parents) formed through adoption or assisted reproduction, including surrogacy. Less attention has been paid to queer families formed when one or both parents had children from a previous relationship of any kind, or had started their family as a single parent before partnering. A new book on queer stepfamilies helps to remedy that.
Almost One Quarter of LBQ Women Are Parents; Bisexual Moms Feel Less Connected to LGBTQ Community, Study Finds
A new study has found that nearly one quarter (22.8 percent) of cisgender lesbian, bisexual, and queer women ages 18 to 59 have children. Compared with non-parent LBQ women, the parents were more likely to be bisexual, in a relationship with a man, and non-urban. What does that mean for the LGBTQ parenting community and its representation?