The Gay Parental Turn: Canadian Gay Fathers and the Reorganization of Care and Community

Community has long been key to the well-being of gay men, yet little research examines how gay fathers, specifically, relate to the broader LGBTQ+ community. Drawing on interviews with 18 mostly White, (upper-) middle-class Canadian gay fathers, I investigate their expectations and experiences of family and community, showing they describe 'gay community' in terms of gay ancestors, friends, and shared gay activities. Fathers express deep gratitude for past LGBTQ+ people whose interdependent collective struggle secured their rights to marry and parent. They hope for support from family and gay friends and strive to maintain community ties, but find their efforts complicated by the demands of intensive parenting, geographic distance, and limited childcare support. As children grow, fathers build community with the straight parents of their children's friends, demonstrating how social class, whiteness, and homonormativity shape the reorganisation of these Canadian gay fathers' lives-a process I call the gay parental turn.