omosexual parent in order to prevent embarrassment or public knowledge of their parent’s homosexuality. Vis a vis is another control strategy which children use to minimize social interactions with people who may disapprove of same sex relationships. The intention of using a control strategy such as vis a vis is to manipulate others’ perceptions of their image in relation to their parent’s sexuality. Another control strategy, which is used to prepare an individual for a future encounter with the homosexual parent, is disclosure. Children engage in disclosure to prevent themselves from experiencing ridicule and negative reactions from those they believe may be homophobic or judgmental of them (Bozett 1987). The judiciary system in general tends to be prejudice and discriminatory in nature towards homosexuals as well. In cases where a child is involved, the court subjectively sides with the heterosexual or biological parent. For instance, the custody battle case of Mary Ward resulted in denial of custody rights simply because of her sexual orientation. The judge’s decision was based upon his view that the child would be in great harm being exposed to an alternative lifestyle (Bozett 1987).Artificial insemination, which is a widely practiced method among lesbian couples, has many legal ramifications for the non-biological mother. The courts do not permit non-biological parents to adopt the child of the biological mother. Due to the prejudice of the justice system, homosexual families tend to be more fragmented and have less legal autonomy, resulting in diminished parental status. The judiciary system has proven itself to be bias in cases regarding custody battles among homosexual parents. In 1970, lesbian mothers won less than 1 percent of the custody battles compared to over 15 percent of custody battles today. Lesbian mothers who are the sole economic providers tend to experience greater economical di...
