Archives › 2007 › May
Weekly Political Roundup
Roundup is early this week to leave tomorrow clear for Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey found public tolerance for gay rights is at the highest point in three decades. 59 percent of Americans believe “homosexual relations between consenting adults” should be legal, 57 percent that it should be considered [...]
Blogging for LGBT Families Day Is Tomorrow
A reminder to all that Blogging for LGBT Families Day is tomorrow, June 1. People are already sending me links to their posts, though others are waiting until the actual day. With Mary Cheney bringing LGBT families into the media over the past week, we have a great opportunity here to be part of the [...]
Does Opposing Same-Sex Marriage Undermine Marriage?
Are opponents of same-sex marriage forcing same-sex families to pursue legal strategies that could be more damaging to the traditional conception of family than same-sex marriage itself? That’s the provocative thesis of Dale Carpenter at Independent Gay Forum. It’s worth a read, especially in light of my post Tuesday about families with more than two [...]
Toys that Promote Homosexuality
A spokesperson for Ewa Sowinska, Poland’s ombudsman for children’s rights, has said Sowinska won’t pursue a proposed investigation into whether the Teletubbie Tinky Winky “promotes homosexuality” because he carries a purse. I’m rather disappointed. While I don’t really believe same-sex attraction can be “promoted” (despite the free toasters), I do think it is good for [...]
And Baby Makes Four . . . or Five
Is “the next frontier of family law” the legal recognition of families with more than two parents? From Hayley Mick at Toronto’s Globe and Mail comes an article that explores various new family arrangements, often involving a same-sex couple and either another couple or individual of the opposite gender. Many such families are drawing up [...]
Daddy and Papa to Air Friday on WGBH
This Friday at 10:00 p.m., WGBH Boston (Channel 2) will re-air Daddy and Papa, an award-winning documentary about gay fathers by filmmaker Johnny Symons. The film premiered on PBS in 2003, but remains an insightful look at four gay families. I couldn’t find any airings other than WGBH, but if you’re not in the Boston [...]
Happy Birthday, Melissa!
Lesbian mom Melissa Etheridge turns 46 today, making this a dyke national holiday of sorts. The Grammy- and Academy Award-winning musician has inspired many of us with her songs and her fight against breast cancer. She’s one of the most visible (and powerful) lesbian moms in the country, and an activist for the environment and [...]
Memorial Day
On this day when we honor those who have fallen fighting for our nation, may we also remember to honor those who work for peace, at home and around the world.
Big List of Free Books
Many of us bloggers are also avid readers. As parents, however, we are often short of either time or money to maintain our habits. I was thrilled, therefore, to see Sassymonkey at BlogHer point out Best Places to Get Free Books: The Ultimate Guide (a link she in turn got from fellow BlogHer contributing editor [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Inmates in California prisons will have equal access to conjugal visits from same-sex registered domestic partners, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. The American Civil Liberties Union had contacted the agency about changing the previous regulations. A gay couple from San Jose, California have settled their lawsuit against ParentProfiles.com, an Internet adoption service [...]
Evaluating Schools: Levels of Inclusion
I’ve been evaluating preschools for my son over the past few weeks. As part of my discussions with teachers and administrators, I always mention that we’re a two-mom family, and ask “Is this going to be a problem for anyone here?” I don’t expect anyone would ever come right out and say “yes”—we’re in a [...]
And Now a Word from Our Allies
A few recent words from non-LGBT parents about LGBT families: Actor Sarah Jessica Parker says her four-year-old son has been asking her what it means to be gay, since the family has many gay friends. Parker explains: When talking around your child you have to think very carefully and you have to be prudent about [...]
Mary and Heather Have a Boy
Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, and her partner Heather Poe welcomed their son Samuel David Cheney into the world this morning. He weighed eight pounds, six ounces, thus ending my short-lived “guess his vital statistics” game. I’ve written several times before about Mary Cheney and will do so again. I’ll avoid writing [...]
Why Every Parent Should Have a Vegan Cake Recipe
There’s been some debate lately over whether a vegan diet is good for children. I’ll leave the answer to that in the hands of those with better nutritional expertise than I have. Still, I believe every parent, even those of us who aren’t vegan, should have at least one vegan cake recipe in her or [...]
Mary-and-Heather Baby Guessing Game
Mary Cheney, lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, and her partner Heather Poe are expecting the birth of their son any day now. Back when I worked in the corporate world, someone would always start an office pool when a colleague was expecting. Height, weight, gender (if unknown)—all were fair game. I’m not sure [...]
Gay Starfall Founder Running for Congress
I wrote a few months ago about Starfall.com, the great free site for pre-reading and early reading games. Queerty reports today that one of Starfall’s founders, Jared Polis, is running for Congress from Colorado. If elected, he would be the state’s first openly gay representative. I know nothing about Polis or his policies (Polis-ies?) beyond [...]
Georgia Girl Returned to Lesbian Mom
Sometimes there are happy endings. The ACLU reports: After almost three months, a seven-year-old girl has been reunited with the woman in whose care she’d thrived for almost a year before being sent to live in a crowded foster home. The child had been held in foster care by the Wilkinson County Division of Family [...]
More Biological Exuberance
Following the feathered footsteps of penguins Silo and Roy and swans Romeo and Juliet (both female), flamingos Carlos and Fernanado are the latest same-sex avian pair to try parenthood. According to UK Gay News, the couple had stolen eggs before in order to raise chicks. This time, staff at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at [...]
Reminder: Please Take My Blog Survey
Thanks to those of you who have already taken my Blog Reader Project survey. If you haven’t, I hope you will consider doing so. It is completely anonymous, and will give me (and potential advertisers) a better sense of who you are and what you’d like to see here. Your data (but not your actual [...]
Know Your Market: Why IKEA Rocks
As regular readers know, my family and I moved last month. My partner and I have in fact moved seven times in the fourteen years we’ve been together, and we’ve settled into a pattern: visit Home Depot a dozen times in the first month at our new home, and then set off on the first [...]
Weekly Political Update
Eureka Springs, Arkansas became the first town in the state to recognize same-sex couples. On June 13th, it will begin a domestic registry for both same- and opposite-sex unmarried couples. The registry has no legal standing, but is a sign of support for same-sex couples and other non-traditional families. Colorado is now the 10th state [...]
Want Your Children to Earn More? Teach Them Self-Esteem
Teenagers and young adults with higher self-esteem earn more money in middle age than those with less confidence, concluded a study from the University of Florida. Not surprisingly, a privileged upbringing and parents who are professionals also lead to higher salaries—but only in the presence of self-confidence. “It is surprising to see what little positive [...]
Intelligent Design and Family Planning
From the San Francisco Child Project’s adoption campaign for older children: Simply brilliant. (Thanks to The Panda’s Thumb.)
International Day Against Homophobia
In addition to being the anniversary of the first same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, today is the International Day Against Homophobia, the perhaps unfortunately-acronymed IDAHO. Last year, IDAHO was marked by events in over 50 countries and endorsed by the European Parliament. The day is more than just a party, however. The International Gay and Lesbian [...]
Of Wedding Cake and Marathons: A Massachusetts Evening
The cake was sweet, but the victory was sweeter. For the hundreds of people, myself included, who gathered in the Cambridge, Massachusetts YMCA tonight, the meaning of the event went well beyond that of a typical book launch. The wedding cake should have been the first hint. There was acclaim for the superlative new book, [...]
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