Lesbian+Parenting+Proposal

I have always been a strong advocate of gay rights, and I feel that for too long, homosexuals have not had civil and social equality even in the United States. I recently heard a story on National Public Radio about society’s images of single mothers: in the story, they compared single mothers to gay parents and questioned society’s acceptance of single fathers as well. Listening to this story led me to wondering about how gay parents, are looked upon by American society today, and how it may impact their children as well.  The essential question I will be asking is, “How are lesbian parents looked upon differently than "orthodox" parents in American society, and how are their children affected?”  I will begin my research by searching newspaper archives such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other credible and influential publications. I will be looking for stories that contain statistics of lesbian parents as well as features stories on lesbian couples and their children. I will assemble these articles and numbers and finish taking notes on them by March 28. I will also interview friends with lesbian mothers by April 4 to attempt to understand the emotional aspect of it as well.  I believe that researching the emotional aspect is just as important as researching the hard, cold, facts that are available because I want people to understand through my project that there is nothing wrong with lesbian parents and that they should not be looked down upon in society. Once I finish my research, I will begin to work on a film where I present my findings and will try to use film to have people understand not only the facts but emotion as well. I have noticed that many people tend to be apathetic when they think subjects are not relevant to them, and through creativity, I hope to present my research in a way that will grab people’s attention. I will strive to have all the visual footage by April 12 and finish editing by May 2.