Central Luzon Doctors Hospital Educational Institution

Romulo Highway, San Pablo, Tarlac City

S.Y. 2016 2017

Struggles Faced By LGBT

Single Parents
Senior High School

In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements

in Research I

Kyla Marie D. King Maecy L. Pasion

Clarence T. Mamucod Mikaela D. Dizon

Reegel Athena P. Quiballo Kenneth Dave L. Ocampo

Jiena Marie V. Sarmiento Lemuel M. Dupitas

Researchers

Section: STEM E
 ABSTRACT

TITLE: STRUGGLES FACED BY LGBT SINGLE PARENTS

RESEARCHERS: KYLA MARIE KING, CLARENCE MAMUCOD, REEGEL

ATHENA QUIBALLO, MAECY PASION, JIENA MARIE

SARMIENTO, LEMUEL DUPITAS, MIKAELA DIZON,

KENNETH DAVE OCAMPO

SCHOOL: CENTRAL LUZON DOCTORS HOSPITAL EDUCATIONAL

INSTITUTION

ADVISER: PROFESSOR BERNADETH PARAIRO

DATE: SEPTEMBER, 2017

This research focused on the struggles faced by LGBT single parents. This aimed

to determine those struggles by the means of conducting a survey. It involved five

respondents selected from Tarlac City, Tarlac.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE APA FORMAT

 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

LGBT community faces a lot of criticism, what more if a particular member of

LGBT is raising a child? And what if he/she raises this child all by him/herself, or simply

without a help of a partner? (not an essay)

The phrase lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community (LGBT

Community) refers to a broad coalition of groups that are diverse with respect to gender,

sexual orientation, race, and socioeconomic status. The presence of LGBT families in

media has grown over the last ten years and (construct again) parenting can be defined as

a complex activity for this includes many specific behaviors that work individually and

together with influence outcomes. (citation)

With this study, you will be able to know the struggles of these people and be aware

how difficult it is to be a single parent, especially to those parents belong to the LGBT

community . (incomplete)

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know the struggles of LGBT single parents in Tarlac City. This

study also aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the struggles that the participants have encountered?

2. How did the participants overcome those struggles?

 3. What are the hardest and best part of being a single parent?

Significance of the Study

In this study, the main beneficiaries are the participants themselves. In a

way that they will know how they will handle the future conflicts that are faced by a single

parent.

The second beneficiaries are the children of the participants, because they

are also affected by the conflicts that their parents are experiencing.

Researchers will be able to know the real situations of these LGBT single

parents. It will also widen their knowledge about the issues in terms of the conflicts

experienced by the participants.

This study hopes to establish an understanding on how difficult it is to be a

single parent. To the future researchers, the ideas presented in this study may be used as

reference data in conducting new researchers or in testing the validity of other related

findings. This study will also serve as their cross-reference that will give them a

background or an overview to the LGBT single parents.

Scope and Delimitation

This study will be conducted within Tarlac City. The researchers will be

selecting five participants that are single parents and belong to the LGBT community. The

participants do not receive any help from their former partners.

The study will be conducted for the whole month of September.

Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to know some of the struggles experienced by LGBT single

parents. It hopes to establish an understanding on how difficult it is to be a single parent.

This study also aims to serve as a cross-reference to future researchers and give them a

background about LGBT as single parents.

Definition of Terms

1. Struggle noun. A long effort to do, achieve, or deal with something that is difficult

or that causes problems.

2. LGBT abbreviation. Stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

3. Coalition noun. A group of people, groups, or countries who have joined together

for a common purpose.

4. Cross-reference noun. A note in a book (such as dictionary) that tells you where

to look for more information.

5. Diverse adjective. Different from each other.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Review of Related Literature

Local (2)

According to Sharlyne Ang (May 11, 2009), what makes a family is not just a

biological concept anymore, in fact it has evolved into a social construct. We sometimes

consider long time co-worker as our family. The hardness of the family as a biological

concept sometimes become the root of beliefs and homophobia. The common odds is that

our biological family can do no harm on us; thus the saying goes blood is thicker than

water. But, this is not always the case as there are biological family members of ours that

abuse us and shows insincerity in their actions towards us. All we need to do is to widen

our minds in the concept of the family.

According to Tan (2017), schools should be safe places for everyone. But in the

Philippines, students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) too often find

that their schooling experience by bullying, discrimination, lack of access to LGBT related

information and in some cases, physical or sexual assault. These abuses can cause deep

lasting harm and shorten students right to be educated, protected in the Philippines and

international law.

According to Danica Guieb (2016), the Department of Social Welfare and

Development-Cordillera (DSWD) allows LGBT community to adopt children too. It was

stated by Edelyn Genove, that members of LGBT community have equal rights too in

legally adopting a child because they too have rights to be parents.

Foreign (4)

According to Gartrell (2012), lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parenting is

now gradually becoming accepted in the community. Studies shows that homosexual

parents are required and sometimes, are much better in raising children compared to

heterosexual parents. In fact, teenage children with lesbian parents perform better in school

and show not so many behavioural problems than other children within the same age group.

Children of gay/lesbian families have a very low graduation rate compared to

children of married and opposite-sex parents as they have more high graduation rate. This

was revealed by a Canadian study on 2013 and also stated that children of LGBT

couples/single parents are only about 65 percent as likely to have graduated from high

school are the children of opposite-sex couples. The study shows that the girls are more

likely to struggle academically than the boys because daughters of lesbian displayed lower

graduation rates than the boys. (Allen, 2013)

The children being raised by same-sex couples were 35 percent less expected to

make normal progress through school compared with traditional married households. This

was according to a 2012 re-examination of a 2010 study by Rosenfeld on the affiliation

between child outcomes and same-sex family arrange. (Allen, et al. 2012)
 Many LGBT people keep their sexual aspect to avoid harassment and

discrimination. This might be the larger reason on the survey why concrete number of

children have homosexual parents. According to a national survey in the United States, up

to nine-million children in America have gay or lesbian biological parents. On the other

hand, latest statistics from the U.S. Census 2000, of the National Survey of Family Growth

(2002), and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (2004) expressed

that an estimated two million LGBT people are interested in adopting almost 65,000

adopted children in California on the highest number among the states and also gay, lesbian

parents are raising four percent of an adopted child of the United States. (E.O. Lauman,

1995)

According to Ben Carson, so-called traditional families produce healthier outcomes

for children is false. In many ways, being an LGBT single parent is no different to being a

heterosexual single parent; the same pressures, same challenges and same happiness.

Studies have demonstrated that LGBT parents are just as loving, supportive and well-

equipped to care for and provide for their children. (Brydum, 2015)

Review of Related Studies

Local (4)

According to Tan (n.d.), to have a better comprehension regarding the LGBT

community in the Philippines, understanding concepts of gender is necessary. These

concepts are biologically based and related to roles in reproduction. As such, in the

Philippines, definitions used particularly for gays and lesbians. Both tomboy and bakla

center on inversion, in the sense of a male taking on female mannerisms, way of dressing
and of a female taking on male. Tan stated that, generally, one could not be bakla, or

gay, if he was not effeminate, and one could not be tomboy, or lesbian, unless she was

masculine. The tomboy, meanwhile, is constructed as a man trapped in a womans body.

For many years, the bakla have organized themselves usually as neighbourhood

organizations with low-income members, though they functioned mainly to provide

entertainment. One such community association was Sining Kayumanggi Royal Family,

established in 1968 to hold parties including beauty pageants. The presence of the bakla

persisted into the 1970s, when many bakla entered niche industries like fashion and

entertainment. Also at that time, gay men called Kakasarian formed a group that had

members who were middle-class professionals. Though it aimed to champion gay rights,

this group folded after less than a year, supposedly because bakla themselves did not see

the need to fight for gay rights.

According to Sarah Tobias (n.d.), unmarried couples, single parents, extended

family caregivers, and the children of these families are all disadvantaged by such policies.

Homophobia and heterosexism compound this problem for LGBT families. As a result, the

family ties of LGBT people to their children and partners are often ignored, dismissed or

attacked. LGBT people are left with little security for their relationships, especially in times

of hardship or transition. In promoting the family unit, one of the stated goals of family

policy is to protect the needs of children and to ensure their health and safety.1 LGBT

youth have special needs that can be addressed by public policy. For example, they are at

greater risk than other youth of experiencing homelessness, suicide, and violence, and are

often unable to find support at school or in their families. In addition, children of LGBT

parents are vulnerable to the pervasive homophobia in many schools and communities, and
often suffer economic and familial insecurity as a result of the lack of recognition of their

ties to their non-biological parents.

According to Jonathan Foe (2014), in a general sense, a young gay male in the

1960s could be tolerated, if he carried himself with decorum, and acted decently. In

comparison to today, it was a constrained life, with no societal institutions to support and

encourage the gay. Perhaps a gay male knew that in comparison to the United States, the

Philippines was tolerant of his identity and escapades. Yet the Church, media, and society

ignored him, aside of course, from occasional gossip. If he was successful, it was in spite

of the fact that he was gay. Today gays are bolder and less secretive. Crystal recalled a time

when, We used to hide, like we were in a big prison. We were not allowed to be seen, we

were not allowed to feel that we are gays. But now, in our town in Leyte, our city mayor is

gay, gay, really gay . . .so very very gay! Bloodstone recalled lecturing in class in a low

voice, and only allowing his voice to go high when with friends. Otherwise, he tried to

blend in. But now, gays are much more flamboyant, and wear bright colors. And there

are now many open-minded families. Noted Topaz: The parents are proud of their gay kid

now. . .Gays are hardworking. Gays are workaholics. They can be welcomed in the family

now. Today, with the rise of the international gay rights movement, it seems that most

Filipino gays are proud of themselves.

According to Neil Garcia (n.d.), despite or precisely because of the fact that it is

being increasingly globally invoked, the LGBT signifier bids us to understand its

discursive performances in various localities, particularly in the global south, whose

conservative traditions this form of politics most visibly challenges, at the same time that

it can only do so transnationallywhich is to say, as a form of transcultural syncretism.

Foreign

Being LGBT is having the same needs all people have, to love another person and

be loved in return, not just about physical attraction. Regardless of sexual orientation, all

have the same basic emotional needs. At times people may have heard LGBT people

spoken of as if their entire existence was limited only to their sexuality, but this is only one

part of their being, and how they identify themselves. Throughout history many of our great

writers, poets, actors, scientists, artists, thinkers, sports men and women, philosophers,

musicians and politicians were, and are, LGBT. Fear is a natural reaction. Fear for your

child, fear of what people will say, and fear of the unknown, fear because things will

change. A person may also fear for their happiness, but remember that relationships are

never easy for any of us, no matter what our sexuality. A person may fear

the neighbours will say, but consider what is more important - the thoughts and opinions

of your neighbours or the acceptance and happiness of your child? A person may fear what

you do not understand, so educate yourself about the facts about being LGBT, rather than

being misguided by common misinformation and prejudices. You will never fully

understand what it means to be LGBT, but you do not have to. Just try to be as supportive

and as loving as you have always been to your child. (Supporting Parents, 2010)

Apparently, LGBT individuals and same-sex couples raising children face greater

economic challenges than their non-LGBT counterparts based on the reports found. Single
LGBT adults raising children are three times more likely than comparable non-LGBT

individuals to report household incomes near the poverty threshold. Married or partnered

LGBT individuals living in two-adult households with children are twice as likely as

comparable non-LGBT individuals to report household incomes near the poverty

threshold. Several factors likely contribute to the relative economic disadvantages of same-

sex couples with children, including that LGB parents are more likely to be female, black,

Latino/a, and younger than their different-sex counterparts. In the U.S., all of these groups,

on average, have lower incomes. (Gary Gates, 2013)

Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on same-sex marriage, its time to better

understand the outcomes for children raised by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender

(LGBT) parents, and the dynamics of their families. According to estimates based

on combined data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, and

several state-level surveys, there are approximately two million children in the U.S. being

raised by at least one LGBT parent. To put this number in perspective, there are more

children being raised in LGBT families in the U.S. These children, and the families raising

them, matter. (August and Rachel, 2013)

Gay parents tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents

on average, because they chose to be parents, said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark

University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians

rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental

pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. That translates to greater

commitment on average and more involvement. (Brandon, 2013)

 A ground-breaking study from the University of Texas at Austi found that young-

adult children (ages 1839) from same-sex relationships families before the subjects had

reached the age of 18 were more likely to suffer from emotional and social problems. The

study became interesting for several reasons: (1) his study sample was large, representative,

and population-based (not a small, self-selected group); (2) Regnerus studied the responses

of adult children rather than asking same-sex parents to describe how their young

dependent children are doing; and (3) he was able to draw comparisons on up to 80

measures for children who had lived with (or had) parents who fell into one of eight

categoriesintact families with both biological parents who were married to each other,

lesbian mothers, gay fathers, heterosexual single parents, parents who later divorced, live-

in relationships, parents who adopted the respondent, and other (such as a deceased parent).

The children of lesbians and gays do worse than those in heterosexual families on 77 of the

80 outcome measures. Exceptions related only to the voting habits of children with gay

fathers, and alcohol use by children of lesbian mothers. (Regnerus, 2012)

CHAPTER III

Research Methodology

This chapter consists of the procedure utilized by the researchers and presents the

research design, variables, instrument, and data gathering procedures.

Research Design
 The researchers used descriptive relationship survey that concerns on the research

entitled: Struggles Faced by Single Parents in Tarlac City.

Descriptive research is designed to describe the characteristics or behaviors of a

particular population in systematic and accurate analysis. (Pearson and Bacon, 2010).

This kind method is used because it will be useful in telling the respondents experiences

being single parents and how they overcame it.

Sources of Data

The researcher's initial sources of data were the selected participants of Tarlac

City who are qualified to the standards that we set out. This research is aiming to

determine what are the struggles faced of a LGBT single parents and how do they

overcome this struggles, through conducting survey questionnaires.

Data Gathering Procedures

The researchers sought an approval from their professor to conduct a study as

well as to administer survey questionnaires. When approved, the researchers will be

distributing the questionnaires to the selected respondents from citizens of Tarlac City

under the LGBT community, which will be selected through quota sampling technique to

avoid bias. The questionnaires will be collected again by the researchers after the

respondents have answered it. After this, the researchers will conduct interviews and

observation to have additional information and to support and strengthen the data taken
from the questionnaires.

Research Instrument

The researchers used survey questionnaire, interview and observation instruments

to gather major data needed for the study. The questionnaire contained two parts: first,

the respondents' demographic profile, including their names, ages, gender and research

instrument. The researchers used survey questionnaire, interview and observation

instruments to gather major data needed for the study. The questionnaire contained two

parts: first, the respondents' demographic profile, including their names, ages, gender and

the researchers usually call this a formal interview because there would be camera or

video coverage that will be used.

Preparation of Questionnaire

The questionnaires are composed of demographic profiles of the citizens of Tarlac

City and part of LGBT community. These questionnaires were through the use of survey

where a question was provided in which they would answer on how they faced the

struggles of being LGBT single parents.

REFERENCE

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