1. Objectifs

Intentions :
In this article, the authors «examine the naming processes and the significance of the name chosen to be handed down by same-sex parents to their children. [They] explore the effects of continuity and innovation on surname choices and practices, as well as the impacts of gender and culture as they relate to the law.» (p. 108)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors answer the following question: «In Quebec, now that the law recognizes same-sex filiation, what are the naming strategies adopted by parents and what are their motivations?» (p. 108)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«In the scope of [this] study, 18 parents of at least one child under 5 years of age were interviewed (10 lesbian and 5 gay couples). […] Interviews were conducted primarily with only one parent from each family (12 couples), but in three cases both parents were present. The respondents were between 31 and 57 years of age and resided in Montreal (13 couples) and Quebec City (2 couples).» (p. 109)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«In these interviews, the reasons for choosing a surname […] frequently echoed the different ways in which these parents had created their families. Far from erasing the existence of unequal biological ties between parents and their children, or the absence of genetic ties, the name given to their child was explicitly intended to compensate for these inequalities, to consolidate kinship ties, and to symbolically unify the family by making filiation and sibling ties clearly visible. In cases where parenthood differed between “biological” and “social” parents, particularly among the 10 female couples in this study, it appears most often (9 out of 10 couples) that mothers decided to put forward the surname of the “social mother” (the choice of a single surname or of a surname placed first in a double surname), constituting it as a sort of symbolic equivalent of the birth relationship. But as in heterosexual families that opt for this choice, handing down a double surname also means that parents are equal in the project and that their parental status as two mothers or two fathers is complete. In the case of adoption, or for the five male couples in this study, the name chosen seems to be intended primarily to signal to others the reciprocal links between children and parents (three cases) or to avoid certain types of discrimination (two cases).» (p. 118)