LAUSR

ABSTRACT This article draws on participant observation with 33 members of families headed by LGBTQ-identified parents, and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 14 parents from these families in the US. It explores how parents convey messages of gender conformity and non-conformity to their children, and how children respond to these messages. Using a feminist interactionist theoretical framework, this article considers how parents are doing gender with their children. Two interrelated themes are addressed: (1) the extent to which LGBTQ parents experienced gender policing growing up, and how these lessons carry over into their interactions with their own children; and (2) how LGBTQ parents at times challenge gender conformity through their parenting practices even as they express ambivalence about gender non-conformity and transgender identities. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.