{"id":2698,"date":"2025-01-27T13:55:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T18:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/?p=2698"},"modified":"2025-04-18T13:54:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T17:54:16","slug":"of-love-law-and-lgbtqia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/research-highlights\/of-love-law-and-lgbtqia\/","title":{"rendered":"Of love, law, and LGBTQIA+"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the Parental Rights in Education bill, described by opponents as the \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d bill, people immediately wondered what effect the legislation would have on youth and teachers. Psychology Professor Abbie Goldberg, however, wanted to learn how the law\u2014which prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity before the fourth grade\u2014was impacting LGBTQIA+ parents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Professor<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cNobody likes to feel that they\u2019re hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goldberg<\/a> interviewed 113 LGBTQIA+ parents in Florida following the bill\u2019s passage and discovered that 56% were considering relocating out of the state, 21% were less \u201cout\u201d in their communities, and nearly 25% feared harassment by neighbors because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bill affects children\u2019s ability to talk openly about their families and potentially complete assignments about their families, like writing about their family vacation with two moms or two dads,\u201d Goldberg says. \u201cSome of my participants pointed out that the naming of the bill, Parental Rights in Education, refers to certain parents\u2019 rights. They asked, \u2018What about our rights?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goldberg, the author of four books and co-editor of five, has spent her career researching, writing, and teaching classes about diverse families, including LGBTQIA+ parent families and adoptive-parent families, as well as the experiences of marginalized groups such as transgender youth. She\u2019s driven by curiosity and a desire to uncover stories and perspectives that are often untold. Decentering what many people define as the \u201cnormal\u201d family, sexuality, or gender is a main theme of her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that when people feel like they can\u2019t be their full selves and they cannot be \u2018out,\u2019 it harms their mental health,\u201d Goldberg says. \u201cNobody likes to feel that they\u2019re hiding or are unable to share parts of themselves for fear of negative treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Psychology Professor Abbie Goldberg has spent her career researching, writing, and teaching classes about diverse families, including LGBTQIA+ parent families and adoptive-parent families, as well as the experiences of marginalized groups like transgender youth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":2811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"research-initiaive","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-2698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-highlights","tag-department-of-psychology"],"yoast_head":"\nOf love, law, and LGBTQIA+ | Clark University | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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