CAPTION:
Cosmo Carter (L) carries his daughter Esperanza Carter-Pearl (R), 8, in the backyard of his home in the Portola District of San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

Carter, who identifies as a transgender man, became Esperanza's co-parent after being added to her birth certificate. He was born in San Francisco and was raised in the LGBTQ-friendly neighborhood of the Castro.


STORY:
Co-parenting among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) adults has seen an increasing trend since the 1990s. About 63,000 LGBTQ couples were raising children in 2000 and increased to 110,000 by 2012 according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Celestina Pearl, a queer Chicana, and Cosmo Carter, a transgender man, live within 2 miles of each other splitting time raising their 8-year-old daughter, Esperanza Carter-Pearl, in San Francisco, California. Pearl, the biological mother of Esperanza, is a nurse at St. James Infirmary and provides triage and mobile HIV/STI testing services to current and former sex workers in the city. Carter, the co-parent of Esperanza by birth certificate, grew up in the LGBTQ neighborhood of the Castro District in San Francisco and now works at a deli in the city.

Carter and Pearl held a marriage ceremony in 2001 and separated last year in October when Carter decided to move out. Although separated, Pearl and Carter work together raising their daughter in an LGBTQ-friendly environment between each household.

"I've made a concerted effort that she is surrounded by community," Pearl said. "She is growing up around kids whose parents are also trans."

In 2015, the San Francisco metropolitan area ranked the highest percentage of adults who identified as LGBTQ across the United States according to a report by Gallup, an analytics-driven organization. The report estimated that nearly 9,000 people identifying as LGBTQ live in bay area cities including San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward. Today, an estimated 10 million adults across the nation identify as LGBTQ according to the organization--an increase of nearly 1.75 million more adults than in 2012. Societal acceptance of differing sexual orientations has contributed to the increase and geographic concentration of LGBTQ people in areas such as San Francisco.

Cosmo Carter (R) opens the door to his home for his ex-wife, Celestina Pearl (L), as she visits to pick up her biological daughter, Esperanza Carter-Pearl, in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

Carter and Pearl held a marriage ceremony in 2001 and separated last year in October when Carter decided to move out. However, the two still communicate with each other for the well-being of their daughter.

Cosmo Carter (L), Celestina Pearl (C) and their daughter Esperanza Carter-Pearl (R) walk through the garden of Carter's backyard in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

Esperanza splits her week with both her parents spending nights between each household.

Esperanza Carter-Pearl, 8, picks a rose from a garden at her father's backyard in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

"I like going on adventures," said Carter-Pearl. "Either walk or go to the park."

Celestina Pearl (L) watches as her ex-partner Cosmo Carter (R) plays with their daughter, Esperanza Carter-Pearl, in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

"I think that it's had a very positive impact on my daughter," Pearl said regarding the co-parenting of Esperanza. "She is very close with her papa."

Esperanza Carter-Pearl, 8, sits on her mother's lap in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

Cosmo Carter (L) and Celestina Pearl (R) hug their daughter Esperanza Carter-Pearl (C) in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

"I think it helps that there is an ongoing connection," Pearl said.

Celestina Pearl (L) opens the car door for her daughter Esperanza Carter-Pearl (R) after picking her up from Carter's home in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

"I'll do like a few days here and a few days there," Pearl said. "But we're usually really flexible about scheduling needs. If I got something I need to do he's usually able to take her and vice versa."

Celestina Pearl walks up a set of stairs leading up to her home in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

After living in Oregon for 10 years, Pearl decided to move to San Francisco in 2000.

"Some of the main reasons why I moved here to San Francisco were because I am a performer and an artist," Pearl said. "I wanted to live somewhere where there would be more opportunity to pursue that."

Celestina Pearl cooks dinner for her daughter inside her home in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

Pearl makes an effort to cook food for her daughter, providing healthy meals to develop and maintain her nutrition.

Esperanza Carter-Pearl, 8, works on an art piece inside her mother's home in San Francisco, California on May 30, 2017.

Studies have shown that art has an influence on child development in areas including motor skills, language, decision making, visual learning, cultural awareness and improved academic performance according to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Celestina Pearl (L) combs her daughter, Esperanza's (L), hair inside her home in San Francisco, California.

"She knows that she is very much cared about by both of us," Pearl said.