20/20: Growing Up With Gay Parents

— -- Danielle Silber says she has two mothers and two fathers. Sisters Emma and Camille Seitz-Cherner have two fathers, though right now, neither girl knows which of the two is her biological father.

Danielle, Emma, and Camille are part of the "gaybe boom," a generation of kids raised by gay parents. The children are now old enough to voice their feelings about having two parents of the same sex. On 20/20, Barbara Walters talks with these children and their parents about their relationships and their experience in a world not always accepting of them.

Twenty years ago, a wave of lesbian couples started reinventing the family by having children without dads, often through artificial insemination. Many gay men followed suit about a decade later starting families without mothers, usually through adoption.

There are many unanswered questions about the long-term impact, if any, of growing up with gay parents. No matter how loving parents are, it is impossible to completely shield children from a sometimes-intolerant society.

However, children who spoke with 20/20 seem to be just as well-adjusted and happy as any kids with mothers and fathers. And, there are some studies indicating that children of gays tend to be more tolerant of those often marginalized by society.

Two Moms With A Teen

Seventeen-year-old Danielle, of Takoma Park, Md., has two mothers, Susan and Dana. The couple fell in love more than 20 years ago and had Danielle through artificial insemination.

She has two dads as well: Jacques, who is her biological father and his former partner Art, who has known Danielle since she was born. Though the dads have always played an active role in Danielle's life, Dana and Susan are her primary parents.

In spite of her unusual family, Danielle has grown into a confident and popular teenager. She is even president of her senior class.

As a young child she was essentially oblivious to the fact that many would judge her and her family harshly. Even her two mothers had few worries. But things changed when she reached middle school.