Amanda K. Baumle

Beyond the Castro: The Role of Demographics in the Selection of Gay and Lesbian Enclaves

Although some qualitative research has noted differences in gay and lesbian enclaves based on characteristics such as race and sex, in this article, we draw upon quantitative data from the U.S. Census to demonstrate the manner in which enclave formation is affected by the interaction of sexual orientation and other demographic characteristics (such as sex, race, age, and income). We focus our attention on enclaves located in three counties in the San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco County, Alameda County, and Sonoma County as one example. Even though these spaces fall within close proximity to one another and share similar geographic appeal, our analyses indicate that these enclaves are far from homogenous in terms of the demographic composition of their inhabitants. These quantitative analyses provide further support to past qualitative findings, as well as highlight additional distinctions in the manner in which demographics affect enclave selection. We supplement our demographic analyses with supporting field research and interviews, further highlighting both the variation and the commonalities of these enclaves. Overall, our findings promote an expansion of the understanding how intersecting demographic characteristics affect selection of a particular enclave and what may constitute a gay enclave.

Same-sex cohabiting elders versus different-sex cohabiting and married elders: effects of relationship status and sex of partner on economic and health outcomes.

In this article, I use pooled data from the 2008-2010 American Community Surveys to examine outcomes for different-sex married, different-sex cohabiting, and same-sex cohabiting elders across several key economic and health indicators, as well as other demographic characteristics. The findings suggest that elders in same-sex cohabiting partnerships differ from those in different-sex marriages and different-sex cohabiting relationships in terms of both financial and health outcomes, and that women in same-sex cohabiting partnerships fare worse than men or women in other couple types. The results indicate that financial implications related to the sex of ones partner might be more predictive of economic and health outcomes in old age, rather than solely access to legal marriage. Nonetheless, findings suggest that individuals in same-sex cohabiting partnerships might experience worse outcomes in old age as a result of cumulative effects across the life course from both the sex of their partner (in the case of female couples) as well as their lack of access to benefits associated with marriage. Accordingly, these findings demonstrate that persons in same-sex cohabiting partnerships require unique policy considerations to address health and economic concerns in old age.

The Demography of Sexuality and the Labor Market

As of June 2012, 21 states, Washington, D.C., and many localities prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation. In the majority of U.S. jurisdictions, however, employment decisions based on sexual orientation are not subject to state or local legal restrictions. And, although previously proposed, no federal law exists that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for hiring, promotion, compensation, or termination decisions. Sexual minorities are consequently legally vulnerable in most of the United States.

Sex Discrimination and Law Firm Culture on the Internet

Introduction Methods: Exploring an Internet Community Gender Inequality in the Legal Practice The Dispute Process in the Greedy Associates Community Employing Litigation to Redress Gender Inequality Lawyers Using Legal Discourse to Challenge Gender Discrimination Conclusion

Introduction: The Demography of Sexuality

The field of demography has historically been slow to embrace research that addresses the heterogeneity of populations. Indeed, research on the manner in which race and sex affect demographic outcomes has only become commonplace in the last 20–30 years (Saenz and Morales 2005; Riley 2005; Hauser and Duncan 1959). It is perhaps unsurprising then that demographic research has paid little attention to sexuality as a whole, or to sexual orientation in particular.

Demographics of Gay and Lesbian Partnerships and Families

The field of sociology has long suffered from a lack of focus on issues of sexuality. With this history, it is perhaps to be expected that the field of demography would not yet have placed the demography of sexuality into its mainstream. While sexual orientation has been introduced into the field of demography, it was primarily through its connections to sexual behavior (rather than identity or desire) and, in turn, reproduction. It is noteworthy that so little demographic work has been done in the broad area of sexuality, given its tie to fertility outcomes. More recent research exploring demographics of sexuality shows that sexuality affects demographic outcomes well beyond specific studies estimating the odds of contracting sexually transmitted infections. Sexuality results in differential outcomes on a number of issues that are fundamental to population study, including migration, fertility, morbidity, and other areas. We believe it is important, therefore, for demographers to consider the effects of sexuality on demographic factors, as well as how sexuality intersects with other demographic characteristics – such as gender – to shape outcomes. This chapter explores the role of one aspect of sexuality, sexual orientation, on family demography outcomes. In particular, we examine demographics of partnered relationships and marriages, as well as demographics surrounding parenthood of LGBT-identified individuals and provide a foundation for integrating studies of gender and sexuality when considering family outcomes.

LGBT Family Lawyers and Same-Sex Marriage Recognition: How Legal Change Shapes Professional Identity and Practice

ABSTRACT Lawyers who practice family law for LGBT clients are key players in the tenuous and evolving legal environment surrounding same-sex marriage recognition. Building on prior research on factors shaping the professional identities of lawyers generally, and activist lawyers specifically, I examine how practice within a rapidly changing, patchwork legal environment shapes professional identity for this group of lawyers. I draw on interviews with 21 LGBT family lawyers to analyze how the unique features of LGBT family law shape their professional identities and practice, as well as their predictions about the development of the practice in a post-Obergefell world. Findings reveal that the professional identities and practice of LGBT family lawyers are shaped by uncertainty, characteristics of activist lawyering, community membership, and community service. Individual motivations and institutional forces work to generate a professional identity that is resilient and dynamic, characterized by skepticism and distrust coupled with flexibility and creativity. These features are likely to play a role in the evolution of the LGBT family lawyer professional identity post-marriage equality.

The Future of the Demography of Sexuality

Demography is an ever-evolving field of study, which has moved well beyond the core fields of fertility, mortality, and migration. As evidenced in Poston and Micklin’s (2005) Handbook of Population, the discipline now includes at least two dozen subfields, such as marriage and family, the labor force, biodemography, historical demography, race and ethnicity, and gender. The incorporation of population research on sexuality, therefore, is in many ways simply a continuation of the expansion of the field. As described in this handbook, demographic research increasingly reveals insight into both population patterns on sexual behaviors and identities, as well as the manner in which sexuality affects other demographic outcomes. These findings are likely to contribute to a growth in data collected, and research conducted, on population sexuality.