Introduction

While there is extensive quantitative research on factors related to support/opposition of attitudes towards same-sex parenting (SSP), relevant qualitative research is limited, despite the need to identify subtle and ambivalent forms of prejudice. In this study we examined ways that young people, university students at the Republic of Cyprus formulated favourable arguments that constructed only at first appearance supportive representations of SSP.

Methods

Data were collected in 2021–2022, through 11 focus group discussions with undergraduate and graduate students (26 females and 16 males, 18–27 years old), of different fields of study. Following the principles of discursive/rhetorical analysis, we identified three argumentative lines, all of which included contrasts and comparisons.

Results

The first argumentative line juxtaposed SSP to being raised in an orphanage, the second to irresponsible/disadvantaged (single) parenting and the third compared the upbringing of children in same-sex to that in heterosexual families. All arguments demonstrate a seemingly supportive stance towards SSP rights. Nevertheless, drawing on heteronormative norms, they construct SSP as “a lesser of two evils” and undermine seemingly positive attributes of same-sex families, through reference to children’s exposure to adverse societal reactions.

Policy Implications

We discuss the implications of the findings for SSP social recognition and for sexual citizenship. We also discuss the implications of this approach for attitude research on the topic, underscoring the ideological implications of ‘attitudinal discourse’.

中文翻译：

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“两害相权取其轻”：塞浦路斯共和国大学生话语中围绕同性育儿权利的争论

介绍

尽管对同性育儿（SSP）态度的支持/反对相关因素进行了广泛的定量研究，但相关的定性研究仍然有限，尽管需要识别微妙和矛盾的偏见形式。在这项研究中，我们研究了塞浦路斯共和国的年轻人、大学生如何提出有利的论据，这些论据仅在乍一看就构成了对 SSP 的支持性表述。

方法

数据是在 2021 年至 2022 年期间通过与不同研究领域的本科生和研究生（26 名女性和 16 名男性，18-27 岁）进行的 11 次焦点小组讨论收集的。遵循话语/修辞分析的原则，我们确定了三个论证路线，所有这些都包括对比和比较。

结果

第一条论证路线将 SSP 与在孤儿院长大相提并论，第二条路线与不负责任/弱势（单亲）养育方式并列，第三条路线将同性家庭中儿童的抚养与异性恋家庭中的儿童抚养进行了比较。所有论点都表明了对 SSP 权利的看似支持的立场。然而，他们利用异性恋规范，将 SSP 构建为“两害相权取其轻”，并通过提及儿童遭受不良社会反应来破坏同性家庭看似积极的属性。

政策影响

我们讨论了研究结果对 SSP 社会认可和性公民身份的影响。我们还讨论了这种方法对该主题的态度研究的影响，强调了“态度话语”的意识形态含义。