Representations of LGBQ+ families in young children’s media

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Both LGBQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer) and LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) are used as initialisms in this commentary. Shifts in usage are purposeful to reflect the inclusion of transgender individuals in specific research. Here, we discuss sexuality as an important part of diverse representation. Gender is also an important representation topic, but here we focus exclusively on sexuality, which is why we primarily discuss LGBQ+ individuals.

2. Considering the results of the Williams Institute survey, we conservatively estimate that there are around 1,600,000 children growing up with LGBTQ+ parents in the United States. This calculation assumes that every adult in the survey has a partner and that their partner was also surveyed and that each couple only has one child.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Allyson L. Snyder

Allyson L. Snyder is a doctoral student in Communication at the University of California, Davis. Her research interests include the role of parents in children’s media use, children’s science learning from media, including virtual reality, as well as media use for emotion regulation.

James Alex Bonus

James Alex Bonus (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. His research examines children’s transfer of learning from educational science television and parents’ role in facilitating transfer.

Drew P. Cingel

Drew P. Cingel is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Cingel studies the intersection between human development, media use, and media effects, focusing on children’s moral development, as well as social media, adolescent development, and mental health.