Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2006
If you’re looking for information about the 2007 Blogging for LGBT Families Day, please click here.
UPDATE, June 1, 2006: The list of participating blogs is here.
I’m declaring June 1, 2006 Blogging for LGBT Families Day, a day to raise awareness about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) families. I want to invite you all to participate. Please also pass the invitation along to anyone, LGBT or straight, whom you think may be interested.
Why June 1st? This date falls exactly between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. As such, it honors mothers and fathers equally, but also conveys that not all families fit into the traditional structure of one mother and one father. June 1st is also the start of Gay Pride Month.
Here’s how it works, in a nutshell: You blog about a relevant topic on or before June 1, and do one of several easy things (see below) to let me know you’ve done so. I will compile a list of all the posts, showcasing the voices of our community and allies. I will also market the event within and beyond the world of LGBT-family blogs.
Thank you in advance for participating. Together we will do great things.
Here are the details:
What is Blogging for LGBT Families Day? Blogging for LGBT Families Day is a time for bloggers to write about LGBT family issues and collectively raise awareness of LGBT families, our diverse nature, and how current prejudices and laws negatively impact our lives and children. I aim to make people more comfortable interacting with LGBT families and discussing LGBT families with their own. I also hope the event will make people more informed voters, showing them how their decisions at the polls directly affect the families in their communities.
When is it? June 1, 2006. This date falls exactly between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. As such, it honors mothers and fathers equally, but also conveys that not all families fit into the traditional structure of one mother and one father. June 1 is also the start of LGBT Pride Month.
Who can participate? Any blogger, LGBT or straight, who wishes to support the goal above. I expect participants to include LGBT parents and parents-to-be, children of LGBT parents, parents of LGBT children, straight parents, other LGBT individuals, and other straight allies.
Why should I participate? By participating, you help show the strength of those who support LGBT families and their rights. Your blog may also receive exposure to an audience it wouldn’t otherwise reach, since I hope to get coverage for this event in both LGBT and non-LGBT blogs and other media.
How can I participate? Simply write a post on a relevant topic on or before June 1. Let me know you’ve done so by doing one or more of the following (depending upon your blogging software and personal preference):
- Include a link to http://www.mombian.com/2006/05/03/lgbtfamilies/
in your post. (One easy way to do this is to start your post: “This post is in honor of Blogging for LGBT Families Day,” and link the name of the event.) - Send a trackback to http://www.mombian.com/2006/05/03/lgbtfamilies/trackback/
- Leave a comment on the current post. (Comments are moderated to prevent spam, so it may be a little while before your comment appears.)
- Use the Technorati tag “Blogging for LGBT Families”.
- Send an e-mail to lgbtfamilies@mombian.com with the name of your blog and the URL of your post. (All e-mail addresses will be kept strictly confidential.)
I’ll compile a master list of all participants, which I’ll either append to the current post or link to from here. You can also view the Comments section of this post (at the bottom) for a rough list of preliminary participants.
What should I write about? The choice of topic is up to you. If you are part of an LGBT family, and normally blog about your family’s activities, you may simply do so again. You may also choose to write on broader issues of LGBT family rights, acceptance, your personal path to parenthood, being the child of an LGBT family, what you’ve learned from the LGBT family down the street, or anything else that supports the goal above. Regardless, please let me know you’re participating.
How can I promote Blogging for LGBT Families Day? Please help to spread the word! I encourage you to mention the event to your readers as soon as possible (even if you submit your contributed post later), with a link back to http://www.mombian.com/2006/05/03/lgbtfamilies/, which contains all the details. You may also download buttons and banners for use on your site. (Please download them and then upload them to your blog, rather than linking to them on mombian.com.) I hope you will e-mail family and friends about the event as well, but request that you do not send unsolicited e-mail (spam) to people you don’t know.
Is there an organization sponsoring “Blogging for LGBT Families Day”? No. The event is a grassroots effort, and benefits no particular organization. It was developed by Dana Rudolph, publisher of Mombian, a blog for lesbian moms.
Information About Same-Sex Parents
The Human Rights Campaign estimates that same-sex couples are raising children in at least 96% of all counties in the U. S. At least one out of three lesbian couples and one out of five gay male couples are raising children nationwide. There are also an additional number of LGBT parents whom we cannot accurately count. (See COLAGE for a discussion.) Many leading medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have said parents’ sexual orientation is irrelevant to their ability to raise children.
At the same time, in many states, same-sex couples cannot legally establish a joint relationship to children they are raising together. Furthermore, all same-sex parents and their children are denied the 1,138 federal protections of marriage. In most states (with the exception of those in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont) they are also denied hundreds of state marital benefits. This can impact children’s quality of life in many ways, including:
- A reduced chance of having family health insurance through an employer, or, at best, higher insurance costs than for the families of married heterosexual workers.
- Loss of Social Security benefits when one parent dies.
- Additional federal income tax for a same-sex family where one parent stays at home with the children.
(Information from the Human Rights Campaign: The Cost of Marriage Inequality to Children and their Same-Sex Parents, April, 2004 and Professional Opinion.)
Acknowledgement to Blogging for Disaster Relief, Blog Against Racism Day, Blog Against Sexism Day, Blogging Against Heteronormativity Day, and Blog Against Disablism Day for their similar initiatives.
Thanks to Abigail and Steve for assuring me this was a good idea and for reading an initial draft of this post. (All errors and omissions are my own.)
Questions or comments? E-mail Dana Rudolph at drudolph@mombian.com.
Filed under: Allies, Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2006, Parenting, Politics and Law, Selves and Identities
I’ll play!
[...] Here’s how it works, in a nutshell: You blog about a relevant topic on or before June 1, and do one of several easy things (details here) to let me know you’ve done so. I will compile a list of all the posts, showcasing the voices of our community and allies. I will also market the event within and beyond the world of LGBT-family blogs. [...]
hey mombian! Great to see another “Blog for” day. As a Queer persyn who hopes to adopt, i’ll add my two cents to the topic. I’ll be traveling a lot in June, but i’ll try to find my way to internet access on the first. I also added the call to a Progressive Bloggers Kicking Ass discussion group, so hopefully some more folks will chime in.
How cool! We blog about our family almost everyday on our daughter’s Web site. We’ll definitely try to post something on June 1st.
Coming up: Blogging for LGBT Families Day…
Calling all Queerspawn: Join in on June 1 for Blogging for LGBT Families Day, hosted by Mombian.com.
……
i’m in!
Blogging for LGBT Families Day…
June 1, 2006 is Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I read about this on Mombian by way of Damn Straight.
……
hey, that’s a great project. i’m definitely interested!
;)
[...] June 1, 2006 is Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I read about this on Mombian by way of Damn Straight. Share this post:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
I’ve spread the word about this excellent idea over at BlogHer, in this post.
I have added this to our story feature.
Sounds like an awesome idea…
Cool! I will write a special post about carrying my partner’s baby (Baby G due in July) and all of the love and support we have been shown on our journey to parenthood.
Thanks to “The Muriels” for pointing me to this site!
Cheers
Marijke
[...] Thanks to everyone who has signed up so far to join the fun on Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I’m happy to report that participants include lesbian moms, gay dads, adult children of LGBT parents, members of the trans community, and straight allies. There are those who have children, those who are trying to, and those who are undeclared. This is also now officially an international event, with bloggers from the UK and Australia as well as the U. S. [...]
[...] Mombian: June 1st is Blogging for Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Families Day [...]
[...] 1st of June is going to be Blogging for LGBT Families Day. [...]
Canada is officially participating! We have three children 17(f), 10(f) and 9(m). All are extremely wonderful and happy and safe and secure and content and “normal”. I recently finished reading this really great book! It’s titled HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE A GAY OR LESBIAN PARENT - SNOW, JUDITH. This is essays based on interviews conducted with children of gays and lesbians who’s parents were once in straight relationships. Children of Divorce plus children of gay and lesbian parents. It was interesting for me having children who have gone through this. Especially, reading about the adult children looking back, saying what was damaging for them and what wasn’t. This book, in my opinion is a must read for anyone and everyone involved with children with gay parents; teachers, caregivers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, every single adult! It is that important! It is a reasonably priced book! It also has a list of resources. I hope you will check it out and buy a few copies to give out to your loved ones and your Exes if you have receptive ones!Like the blog idea and excited to keep an eye on it as it picks up momentum!
Jill
Williams Lake, BC
Canada
With your permission I’ll repost this in it’s entirety at SpectrumBloggers to hopefully get more people into it.
[...] Let’s not prove them wrong. Please pass the word along on your blogs, and ask any bloggers you know who want to share positive insights about LGBT families to contribute. All they (and you) have to do is write a relevant post on or before June 1, and let me know in one of several simple ways. Anyone who’s busy on June 1 can write a post in advance, or, if their blogging software supports it, edit the post timestamp so it publishes on June 1. Let’s make our voices heard. by D | posted in Blogging for LGBT Families Day [...]
I’m going to do it!
This post is in honor of Blogging for LGBT Families Day…
LGBT families out there, I thank you.
My partner and I have been trying to conceive for over three months now. The process started last year actually, but the actual inseminations have been going on for the last 3. We are currently awaiting test result…
[...] A big thanks to Asha Dornfest of Parent Hacks for helping to spread the word about Blogging for LGBT Families Day. [...]
[...] According to Dana Rudolph, in a post at Mombian.com, the day initiator: What is Blogging for LGBT Families Day? Blogging for LGBT Families Day is a time for bloggers to write about LGBT family issues and collectively raise awareness of LGBT families, our diverse nature, and how current prejudices and laws negatively impact our lives and children. I aim to make people more comfortable interacting with LGBT families and discussing LGBT families with their own. I also hope the event will make people more informed voters, showing them how their decisions at the polls directly affect the families in their communities. [...]
[...] What is Blogging for LGBT Families Day? Blogging for LGBT Families Day is a time for bloggers to write about LGBT family issues and collectively raise awareness of LGBT families, our diverse nature, and how current prejudices and laws negatively impact our lives and children. I aim to make people more comfortable interacting with LGBT families and discussing LGBT families with their own. I also hope the event will make people more informed voters, showing them how their decisions at the polls directly affect the families in their communities. [...]
I’ll definitely be joining you on this on June 1st :)
thanks for having GLBT blogging day. What a great idea. I’m in. Wishing to to hear about the subject of gay foster parenting.
I’ve posted a story on my blog announcing my participation and encouraging others to do so. Thanks for organizing this event, I think it could cause people to really dig deep and look at their own families and experiences. I know preparing for it has already motivated me to do so.
Jim Johnson
http://www.straightnotnarrow.org
Blogging for LGBT Families - June 1st…
Let me first admit that I had not IDEA what the four letters LGBT signified. I actually tried to decrypt this code but too ashamed to share with anyone my initial guess. After some poking around the web, I learned…
We just added this information to our parenting blog! What a great idea!!!
http://www.siliconvalleymomsblog.com
This is very exciting and an absolutely wonderful idea. I have written the draft of my post for this special day and am looking forward to sharing it with the world.
My other site as well.
http://community.livejournal.com/gaydads/5369.html
This is a great idea. I posted the information int he gay dad’s livejournal group. Hopefully, some of the BGT’s in the group will participate.
[...] [...]
hope to have my own blog up and running by then…great idea. we adopted three brothers two years ago and life as a parent is the best thing ever.
I’m in! I blog largely about religion — I am the bishop of an inclusive small independent sacramental Christian church which welcomes lgbt folk equally, including the sacraments of marriage and ordination. I’ve so far only performed same-sex weddings, not heterosexual ones (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).
Great idea! My partner and I are licensed foster parents and are waiting for our first placement. We will definitely participate in this event!
Yes! We will participate! We’re TTC our first.
Blogged it!
I’ve joined in as well, happily so, with a letter to my children. June 1st is my daughter’s 12th birthday, too.
http://www.thelazycartoonist.com
Focus on whose family?…
So I cracked open the Denver Post this morning and saw the following two items: an ad placed by Focus on the Family urging me to contact my senator (Ken Salazar) and tell him what a dreadful person he is…
[...] Parenting blog Mombian is hosting a kind of LGBT family blog carnival tomorrow. [...]
Hi! I did a post on Blogging for LGBT families. I am not very computer savvy, so hopefully my post is adequate in participating.
Here is the link Blogging for LGBT families.
Let me if that works and if it doesn’t I can change/add things on the post if necessary.
Thanks for doing this, it’s wonderful that you started this and we are all showing our support for LGBT families.
We added a post today on the topic. Thanks for organizing this and thanks to everyone else who is participating!
We’re in for tomorrow
mine’s up.
since we come from a state-sanctioned family background, since we started out as het, i had to talk about marriage rights esp vis a vis visibility.
[...] The Human Rights Campaign has promoted Blogging for LGBT Families Day through their Web site and Family News e-newsletter. As a thank you, I wanted to point out some of the resources they have available for LGBT families in the U. S.: [...]
[...] Lambda was also kind enough to help promote Blogging for LGBT Families Day. As a thank-you, I wanted to offer links to some of the resources Lambda has for LGBT families: [...]
[...] Entries are starting to come in. Below are some of the early ones. If you still want to submit an entry, please do. Details are here. I appreciate early entries, because then your readers will see them early, and may be more likely to post, too. (I will do a final compilation Friday morning, however, to catch any latecomers.) [...]
Blogging for LGBT Families…
While it’s not quite June 1st over here in California, I’m ready to start “Blogging for LGBT Families.” I took a quick peak at the other early bird bloggers. the OTHER mother recounts the lengths she and her partner……
Ok, done. My post for LGBT Families Day is here…
http://byobaby.blogspot.com/2006/06/ode-to-my-family.html
YAY!!!
M
Hope added a post and Megan might, too. They’ll both be linked through hopeandmegan.com.
My contribution at the above link.
Cool ,I have done. My post for LGBT Families Day is here
http://meherandthem.blogspot.com/
I have my post! It’s here:
http://comedy-emsy.livejournal.com/337926.html
great idea!
I was led here by someone else who responded to this idea….
For some reason my trackback didn’t work, but my post is here.
I participated today. I do not know how to trackback from livejournal. I will email you, but here is the url - http://somerandomchic.livejournal.com
Mine is up!
Will do! I hope I can get it done today (what with taking care of a 1 month old and all!) i hope to include not only discussions about being a queer family, but also the reality of being a racialized queer family…I look forward to writing.
We’re in :)
I posted and linked back to you!
Done and linked/tagged/buttoned!
My post is up as well here (love the baby swing, gives me time to write!)
Here’s my post:
http://femiknitmafia.blogspot.com/2006/06/blogging-for-lgbt-families-day.html
The Dizzying Dems…
l
……
Why I like the X-Men…
I saw X-Men 3 with my Dad last night. I thought it was great, my Dad not so much. I used to read my neighbor Arthur Milano’s X-Men collection for hours at a stretch back when we lived on Hemenway Street. I think that gives me a kind of mythical k…
[...] I visited RedEagle this morning and saw her post with the same title and was moved to show my support. June 1 is LGBT Families Day - a day to raise awareness LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-sexual) families. [...]
I am doing it!
We’re on board!
Mother’s Day…
In honor of LGBT Family Blogging Day, I have written a post. I am also VERY VERY excited to announce that I convinced J to write a post as well. So the post just above this one is J’s, and…
Me too, me too! My post is here.
I am very happy to add my blog to the effort.
http://oddgoose.blogspot.com/2006/06/blogging-for-lgtb-families.html
Moi aussi. :) Post here.
Blogging for LGBT Families Day…
Post about LGBT families….
We used Blogging for LGBT Families Day to post pictures of this morning’s positive pregnancy test!
Queer in the head.
Resurrecting in support of LGBT famlies…
I have not been around posting because I felt so exposed. But I figured the beginning of Pride month is as good a time as any to come back to the fold - especially in support of Blogging for LGBT Families Day.
I haven’t started my family yet …
I posted too, and linked back to you.
I posted and linked!
what a great idea.
my post can be found at:
http://lizardjee.livejournal.com/314620.html
My post is here.
–IP
this is a great idea! thanks for the invitation dana - i think this is just the first of many years on this one!
my post can be found at: http://barbelgin.typepad.com
I posted mine- it’s short but to the point.
Great idea!
Blogging for LGBT families…
I learned via Shannon at Peter’s Cross Station that today is Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I don’t have anything terribly profound to say on the subject, so I think I’ll just share a kid story: Last week at dinner,…
My video is up - I don’t know how to do trackbacks, but I did everything else on the list. Can’t wait to go peruse the other entries! Thanks for coming up with this.
Blogging for LGBT Families Day…
I am a bisexual woman, and I am marrying a man in November. Barring untoward incidents, we will thereafter have at least one child. Everyone will be so excited for us, and happy, and shower the child with non-organic……
Not sure how to trackback but I am totally posting right now!
Here’s the post.
Well, I posted a day early… but here you go.
http://svmomblog.typepad.com/silicon_valley_moms_blog/2006/05/conversation_ov.html
Jill - from Silicon Valley Moms Blog
We posted this morning too - but not too sure on the whole trackback thing…
A direct link to the June archive for posterity’s sake is http://www.sanfordanderson.com/2006_06_01_beananderson_archive.html
I just got in by the skin of my teeth for June 1. I had an excellent post but Blogger ate it, so I just posted a quickie, and then I’ll get back to a more indepth post later. Now I must go to bed.
much love
[...] Tomorrow is Blogging for LGBT Families Day. I’m very excited by the response. Thanks to all of you who have already indicated that you’ll join us, and who have promoted the event on your blogs. If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late. To participate, just write a relevant post, then link, comment or e-mail to let me know. (Details here.) [...]
Happy Blogging for LGBT Families day!…
Originally uploaded by Polly P.
June first’s Blogging for LGBT Families Day, the brain child of Dana Rudolph, who publishes Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms. An exciting idea, especially for me who is: (a) still fairly recently a parent …
Feed my lambs…
I totally missed Blogging for LBGT Families Day yesterday. For that I sincerely apologize. I would have loved to have written a post about how I think we’re all in LBGT families, whether we realize it yet or not. Lots…
belatedly here is my contribution!
Being the over-scheduled loser that I am, I blogged in retrospect! Thanks for organizing this!!! YOU ROCK!
[...] I will be updating the participant list through Friday, June 2, in deference to bloggers in other time zones and those who were busy Thursday. Don’t hesitate to send in your entry, even late. Here are details on how to contribute. I will write a full wrap-up Friday evening. [...]
Damn, I missed the June 1st thing. Does a day late still count?
This is a great blog and a fantastic idea … I’m humbled to be a part of it
Hope I’m not too late!
I know I’m late, but wanted to say that I added a post. Of course my whole blog is about our family, good, bad and otherwise!
Hello,
A word of warning. If you post anything that can be traced to yourself, you may have a big problem.
I posted a personal ad on Craigslist. I was contacted by a woman, fine, that’s what I wanted. Well it turned out she was working for this journalist. His name is John Berlau and he has this theory that GLBT folks are the losers of the digital domain or something like that.
I told him I did not want to be interviewed for his story. He said that since I had posted I was a public figure. He works for this place called the Competitive Enterprise Institute and they believe that all so-called public figures must agree to work with journalists. He’s basically threatening to out me if I don’t. Now I have made some noise about this and he’s kind of backed off but just be careful. He is somehow connected to a magazine called Reason.
Karen in NY
[...] for LGBT Families Jump to Comments Our post today is in honor of Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Our blog is mainly about our family,so this post shouldn’t be much different than all of our daily posts. As I type, I am hoping with all of my might that I am prego. Only a few more days to test and we’re hanging in there. Our family is like a lot of other families, I guess. Sometimes, there’s lots of unnecessary drama, but there is always an abundance of love. I must say that I have the most wonderful mother-in-law ever. That woman has welcomed me with open arms from the very beginning of my relationship with T. She respects our relationship and who we are individually. Very early on in our relationship, she asked me if I would call her mom. I was a little taken aback by this but thought, well, okay. Now, I can’t imagine calling her anything else. She has been my only mom for the past almost three years now. She never forgets a birthday, Valentine’s Day, or any other occasion to send a card. Mom is also way excited about being a grandma. She never once batted an eye when we told her we wanted to have a baby and that I would carry our baby. I love her and am very thankful that she’s in our lives. I also thank T for sharing her with me. I look forward to our family growing together. [...]
[...] In about a half hour, blogs including my own will be participating in Blogging for LGBT Families [...]
:) that went fast. :) i can’t believer its time again.