"The Fosters" a TV Show Where Love Comes In All Forms

The TV show "The Fosters" is a Freeform original and aired from 2013 to 2018. It was about an interracial gay couple raising a biological son and four foster children. The moms, Steff, and Lena were an early model for LBGTQ families in media. The show recognized many topics regarding the LGBTQ community. The creation of "The Fosters" in 2013, confirmed a statement by NPR that it was the year for gays. 

As a 13-year-old girl who wasn't exposed to the idea of two moms, it was effective in changing what I thought was the norm. Over the years of watching this show, I grew to love each character. The writers effectively showed scenes of the difficulties faced by an LBGTQ family.

In Ch. 30 of the book, these difficulties of LBGTQ families are described.

In "the Fosters" the authors aired scenes specific to these difficulties. During the series finale, Steff and Lena were shown getting married. This helped Lena in understanding the meaning of family. Whereas Steff just believed it was just a piece of paper. At the end of the episode, Lena realizes she did not have to get married in order for them to be a family, and Steff realizes it's not just a piece of paper as shown in the video.

In another episode, Steff and Lena considered using a surrogate. Steff was already the biological mother of the son named Brandon, who's biological father was Streff's ex-husband. Lena had always wished she had a child of her own. After many arguments on the costs of a surrogate, Lena asked someone she worked with. Unfortunately, the baby passed just after birth. 

Both of these scenes showed challenges that LBGTQ's are forced to navigate as a couple, the not so definitive answer on what defines a family, and the challenges of having a child together as a couple. These intersectional issues shown on the Fosters, were described in more detail on odyssey online. 


Although, The Fosters ended a spin-off with the same characters called "Good Trouble" is aired on Freeform. 

Concept Reference:

Mignon, R. M. & Stambolis-Ruhstorfer (2020). "LGBT Sexuality and Families at the Start of the Twenty-First Century." In M. L. Andersen & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class, & gender: Intersections and inequalities (pp. 284-290). Boston, MA: Cengage.