Book contents
- The Construction of Fatherhood
- The Construction of Fatherhood
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Fatherhood and the Law in Europe
- 2 The ECtHR and Fatherhood: Limits and Potential
- 3 Fatherhood and Assisted Reproduction
- 4 Post-Separation and Unmarried Fatherhood
- 5 Fatherhood and Family–Work Reconciliation
- 6 Fatherhood and Homosexuality
- 7 Fatherhood at the ECtHR
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - Fatherhood and Homosexuality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 November 2019
- The Construction of Fatherhood
- The Construction of Fatherhood
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Fatherhood and the Law in Europe
- 2 The ECtHR and Fatherhood: Limits and Potential
- 3 Fatherhood and Assisted Reproduction
- 4 Post-Separation and Unmarried Fatherhood
- 5 Fatherhood and Family–Work Reconciliation
- 6 Fatherhood and Homosexuality
- 7 Fatherhood at the ECtHR
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In this last jurisprudential chapter, the Court’s understanding of fatherhood is tested in what is possibly the most challenging domain: that of homosexuality. Historically, fatherhood and, more generally, parenthood have been inextricably linked to heterosexuality and heteronormativity. Apart from constituting a conventional feature of fatherhood itself, heterosexuality often represents a prerequisite for the existence of other conventional characteristics. As such, the image of homosexual men becoming fathers calls into question basic traditional assumptions about family life, gender and sexuality and, more specifically, departs from the conventional paradigm of fatherhood at multiple levels. First, despite the trend of providing some form of legal recognition to same-sex relationships mainly through civil partnership, the institution of marriage and, most importantly, the rights and benefits associated to it – for instance, adoption rights or access to ARTs – remain mostly reserved for heterosexual couples.
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- The Construction of FatherhoodThe Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, pp. 128 - 154Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019