The word “mother” means “nurturer” or “caretaker,” while the word father usually connotes “a biological tie,” said UC Berkeley PhD candidate Rafael Colonna , whose new research into same-sex parenting may shed some light on the ever-fraught question of who gets what title. To understand how LGBT couples navigate the “heteronormative” language of parenting, Colonna interviewed LGBT throughout the state. He asked same-sex couples about the division of labor in their households, whether or not they hew to traditional gender roles (ie, one person is a breadwinner, the other a homemaker), how their kids address them, and how they’re perceived by the outside world. His findings were often illuminating.
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