*]Do children of single parents emulate single parent patterns if they’re exposed to them from a young age? [What does that even mean?]
A more appropriate way to put it would be that single parents’ children may not know a different family model until the point they notice how other families are built and start asking questions. You don’t have a family structure talk with a toddler on purpose.
*]Do such children see single parenting as the default way a family is built? [Probably not.]
They have no clear concept of human reproduction and therefore they don’t imagine that humans reproduce the way we know some primitive organisms do but yes, if they don’t know otherwise, or actually, it is enough that they simply live in a broken family household, then the default situation for them is one in which there is a single parent.
Also, the child may become conditioned at least to see a same-sex family as a normal one, anything from no big deal to equally good, thus reducing societal opposition to or doubts about the homosexual family model. Naturally, this is undesirable from my point of view but is desirable from the point of view of certain oh so very scientific, impartial research.
*]Do they have internal conflicts relating to acceptance of gender identity? [Profound, but who knows?]
A man having grown up without a father has a heckload of problems, can’t imagine there not being any if a child from cradle to adolescence sees two people of the same sex living out an intimate sexual relationship.
*]Do they need to find out their sexual identity or orientation by trial and error? [Not so much.]
How so? Children emulate their fathers or mothers in relation with the other parent until they are explained the boundaries of specific types of relationship (parent-child, husband-wife etc.). I think it goes without argument that people repeat patterns taken from home (how affection is shown or how emotions are expressed or how relationship dynamics work), therefore it would follow that a child growing up in a homosexual household will inadvertently repeat certain homosexual patterns of showing affection or other homosexual patterns.
*]Do they have difficulty building romantic relationships due to a lack of gender role models? [Don’t know.]
Again, if single parents’ children have difficulties, they have such difficulties due to the absence of the missing parent, be it mother or father. Substituting something else will create bigger problems than merely leaving a gap that’s empty and can be filled elsewhere, e.g. from observing friends, relatives etc. The child of two mothers will not only fail to copy that missing father but will also copy the two mother pattern, adding distorted information as opposed to merely not having information.
I guess in the end, if you want to have something to say about same sex parenting, you could attempt to extrapolate from what is known about single parenting. That would be appropriate since your concerns focus on gender identity and sexual orientation, and, from your other posts, you seem to believe already that same sex parenting is basically the same as single parenting in those respects, only worse.
Worse because while there is a gap in single parenting, that gap is filled with something different and distracting in homosexual parenting.
“Look at what those disgusting homosexuals are trying to do. Of course we always knew they were a threat to children, but now they want to snatch them from the hands of good, clean, normal folk and raise them to become revolting little homosexuals themselves.” Clearly, that isn’t at all what you’re saying, but this is sort of a touchy issue and misperceptions abound.
Actually, some probably genuinely want to care for children. Others may want to assert their right to adopt those children in order to assert the equal status of their homosexual family pattern. I doubt anybody actually wants to try and raise a child to be gay, maybe a “straight ally” but not actually gay. The latter two groups should be removed right away from any consideration, while we can talk about the first one (although I’m against it for reasons given above, I’m much more sympathetic with those people’s desires and needs).
A better approach would be to bring out your favorite argument against same sex “marriage,” and then simply note that it would be inconsistent to have gay adoption but forbid the parents in question from being married in the eyes of the State.
I always used that argument when there was talking about allowing homosexual “marriage”. And look what happened.
