History Main / AllLesbiansWantKids

* Played straight, if very much for laughs, in ''RickAndSteve, the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World''. Dana and Kirsten, the show's token lesbian couple, announce their plans to conceive in the pilot episode, and every one of their stories in subsequent episodes revolves around wacky sperm-seeking hijinks, pregnancy, and motherhood. The stereotype is tweaked a little bit, though, as it is clear that Dana really isn't all that into the whole "motherhood" thing.

* Partially subverted in ''TheWire'', while her partner Cheryl certainly wanted a baby, Kima initially and honestly wasn't so enthusiatic until she receives the drive to parent in Season 5. It goes without saying that ''TheWire'' being what it is (read: Greatest Show On Television), this is one of the examples of the storyline being written right.

* Unsurprisingly in a show with a CastFullOfGay, ''TheLWord'' had one. What is surprising is that it only occurred with just one couple - twice!. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Well...]] actually there was also Helena's kids [[PutOnABus but you know]].

** He also kidnap the male couple's child, the lesbian couple try to get him to giver her back by showing that gay couples can have a loving normal family.

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** Probably because every attempt at artificial insemination runs up into the tens of thousands of dollars with no garuntee of success. Unless a lesbian couple if financially well off, one of them is just going to have to close her eyes and think of England.

* Played strangely in MoonOverJune: Summer has had herself artificially inseminated, but did it solely to satisfy her pregnancy fetish, and doesn't appear to have thought the consequences through fully. As Hatsuki points out, since Summer DoesNotLikeMen to the extreme there's at least a 50% risk she'll resent the child as soon as it's born; Summer is in denial and insists, despite being a gynecologist, that "[[YouFailBiologyForever She'll be a girl if I want her to be one hard enough.]]" Meanwhile, Hatsuki has just discovered that she is ''also'' pregnant, but in her case it's unexpected, apparently caused by sexual contact with a girl who'd just had sex with a man rather than the more direct method, and WordOfGod is that she finds pregnancy frightening. She's considering keeping it in order to be able to work in pregnancy fetish videos.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. The problem though, is this trope's stereotypical nature. It is rare to find happily child-free lesbians in fiction unless the work was made by an actual lesbian. Since MostWritersAreMale and writing about female relationships ''without'' unrealistic FetishFuel elements thrown in is [[BechdelTest really hard]], this gives male viewers something to relate to and believe they're still needed, since ''that'' reproductive hurdle hasn't quite been [[HomosexualReproduction jumped]] yet. UnfortunateImplications much?

* SpikeLee's ''SheHateMe'' takes the trope UpToEleven in all its clichéd glory. Big time. Basically, a FetishFuel story about a ChickMagnet straight donor who has to give his semen to a bunch of lesbians who pay him in return. And he and his gigantic... ''sperm bank''... bring every one of them to orgasm. [[WallBanger Seriously.]] RogerEbert's [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040806/REVIEWS/408060304/1023 review]] [[EpilepticTrees theorizes]] that the film was a StealthParody, given Lee's reputation and the over-the-top offense.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. The problem though, is this trope's stereotypical nature. It is rare to find happily child-free lesbians in fiction unless the work was made by an actual lesbian. Since MostWritersAreMale and writing about female relationships ''without'' unrealistic FetishFuel elements thrown in is [[BechdelTest really hard]], this gives male viewers something to relate to and believe they're [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily still needed]], since ''that'' reproductive hurdle hasn't quite been jumped yet. UnfortunateImplications much?

* In an episode of ''WithoutATrace'', an unknown pair of women assumed to be a lesbian couple finally receiving a baby to adopt have said baby taken away from them as it was the missing person of that episode - btw they didn't kidnap it just caught up in a conspiracy.

One peculiar hallmark of this trope is that ''a lot'' attention will be paid to what is [[DidNotDoTheResearch actually a pretty easy and minor part of the process]]: the lesbian couple's quest to find sperm. Curiously, sperm banks and adoption will almost never be seriously discussed. The TV lesbians will instead try to get sperm from the men in their life, be he a close friend, in-law, or random passerby. A truly improbable number will even opt for an "old-fashioned" impregnation with the sperm donor. If one can't be found, expect the lesbian couple go to increasingly [[ZanyScheme unlikely, embarrassing, and even illegal ends to acquire one.]]

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. The problem though, is this trope's stereotypical nature. It is rare to find happily child-free lesbians in fiction unless the work was made by an actual lesbian. Since MostWritersAreMale and writing about female relationships is [[BechdelTest really hard]], this gives male viewers something to relate to and believe they're [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily still needed]], since ''that'' reproductive hurdle hasn't quite been jumped yet.

* The current indie release ''The Kids Are All Right'' is about two middle aged lesbian moms and their teenage kids. In keeping with the all consuming importance of sperm, even years after the conception takes place, the plot revolves around the sperm donor entering the family's life and throwing everything into turmoil.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. The problem though, is this trope's stereotypical nature. It is rare to find happily child-free lesbians in fiction unless the work was made by an actual lesbian. Since MostWritersAreMale and writing about female relationships is [[BechdelTest really hard]], this gives male viewers something to relate to and believe they're still needed, since ''that'' reproductive hurdle hasn't quite been jumped yet.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. The problem though, is this trope's stereotypical nature. It is rare to find happily child-free lesbians in fiction unless the work was made an actual lesbian. Since MostWritersAreMale and writing about female relationships is [[BechdelTest really hard]], this gives male viewers something to relate to and believe they're still needed, since ''that'' reproductive hurdle hasn't quite been jumped yet.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. The problem though, is this trope's stereotypical nature; it is rare to find happily child-free lesbians in fiction unless the work was made an actual lesbian. Because since writing about female relationships is [[BechdelTest really hard]], this gives male viewers something to relate to and believe they're still needed, since ''that'' hurdle hasn't quite been jumped yet.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled. This also has an UnfortunateImplication - even lesbians can't do anything without a man's help.

* SpikeLee's ''She Hate Me'' takes the trope UpToEleven in all its clichéd glory. Big time. Basically, a FetishFuel story about a ChickMagnet straight donor who has to give his semen to a bunch of lesbians who pay him in return. And he and his gigantic... ''sperm bank''... bring every one of them to orgasm. [[WallBanger Seriously.]] RogerEbert's [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040806/REVIEWS/408060304/1023 review]] [[EpilepticTrees theorizes]] that the film was a StealthParody, given Lee's reputation and the over-the-top offense.

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* TruthInTelevision? According to Australian statistics only 20% of lesbians have children.
** 20% doesn't typically equate to ''all''.
*** And I bet most of those children are from one of the woman's previous relationship, or adopted. That first one is probably more common, a result of the various social pressures on women. Yay.
*** Also it doesn't take into account any difficulties that a lesbian couple may have when trying to adopt; for example, it's illegal in some places.

* Many families headed by lesbians have appeared on ''WifeSwap'', ''TradingSpouses'' and their celebrity versions.

As we all know, TropesAreNotBad and put in the right hands, this storyline can be (and has been) well-handled.

This isn't going to be good.

Should the miracle of life and lesbians combine, the execution is often problematic. Generally, when you come down to it, MostWritersAreMale, and after the requisite ComingOutStory, most of them aren't sure what to do next with a queer female character. After all, it's not like they can use her as a LoveInterest for the male characters anymore. And writing [[TheBechdelTest well-rounded, interesting relationships between two women is really hard!]] But luckily, there's something women love even more than men ''or'' other women--[[BabiesMakeEverythingBetter Babies!]] Partly, this allows lazy writers to steer their lesbian characters back into familiar, well-trod storylines and gender roles. It also has the added benefit of allowing lesbian characters to show a maternal side that writers or [[ExecutiveMeddling executives]] believe a straight audience will find more relatable and less upsetting.

At its most cliche, AllLesbiansWantKids plays off of [[FemaleSuccessIsFamily stereotypes about women]] in the same way that AllGaysArePromiscuous plays off of [[AManIsNotAVirgin stereotypes about men]].

One peculiar hallmark of this trope is that ''a lot'' attention will be paid to what is [[DidNotDoTheResearch actually a pretty easy and minor part of the process]]: the lesbian couple's quest to find sperm. Some suspect this strange focus on sperm is supposed to make male viewers feel more important to the storyline, but it might just be the LawOfInverseFertility in play. Curiously, sperm banks and adoption will almost never be seriously discussed. Most TV lesbians will instead try to get sperm from a man in her life, whether he's a close friend, in-law, or random passerby. A truly improbable number will even opt for an "old-fashioned" impregnation with the sperm donor. If one can't be found, expect the lesbian couple go to increasingly [[ZanyScheme unlikely, embarrassing, and even illegal ends to acquire one.]]

* The film ''{{I Can't Think Straight}}'' ends with Leyla informing Tala that they must have children. Tala never seems convinced, but she seems to [[UnfortunateImplications accept mostly because she wants to keep Leyla.]]

* Played strangely in MoonOverJune: Summer has had herself artificially inseminated, but did it solely to satisfy her pregnancy fetish, and doesn't appear to have thought the consequences through fully. As Hatsuki points out, since Summer DoesNotLikeMen to the extreme there's at least a 50% risk she'll resent the child as soon as it's born; Summer is in denial and insists, despite being a gynecologist, that "[[YouFailBiologyForever She'll be a girl if I want her to be one hard enough.]]" Meanwhile, Hatsuki has just discovered that she is ''also'' pregnant, but in her case it's unexpected and WordOfGod is that she finds pregnancy frightening.

*** Also it doesn't take into account any legal difficulties that a gay couple may have when trying to adopt.
*** all ya know, women who want kids.