“I’m a normal dad”: Parenting experiences of gay men in Chile

Abstract

The identities of father and homosexual can be seen as mutually exclusive. The purpose of this paper is to explore how gay men in Chile experience parenting. In-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen men who self-identified as homosexual and had become fathers in a previous heterosexual relationship orwith a same-sex partner (through gestational surrogacy or a co-parenting agreement). The results show that gay fatherhood is not essentially different from heterosexual fatherhood. Two main differences were identified: a) homosexual fathers challenge cultural stereotypes that assume that a woman is necessary to raise a child and b) they develop strategies to protect their families from a hostile social environment. A heteronormative context that devaluates homosexuality directly influences the parenting experiences of gay men in Chile.