Given the discovery of five-foot-tall penguins that lived in prehistoric Peru, coupled with the knowledge that some penguins exhibit a certain “biological exuberance” towards members of the same sex, one can only conclude that 36 million years ago, free of today’s social mores, the giant birds once frolicked free and proud.

That seems an appropriate note on which to end this year’s Pride Month. Hope yours was festive and gay.

A slowish week for news:

• President Bush has threatened to veto a routine appropriations bill for the District of Columbia because of the city’s domestic partner registry. The White House claims “Under federal law, legal marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Federal tax dollars are not used to extend employment benefits to domestic partners of federal employees, and D.C. should not enjoy an exception to this rule.” Um, George? D.C. residents are not federal employees.
• Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, came out in support of same-sex marriage, although her husband favors civil unions. I don’t doubt the sincerity of Elizabeth’s position, but I wonder if her announcing it was simply the act of an outspoken woman or a campaign move calculated to garner LGBT support.

Read more »

Looking for an engaging, non-branded online game for your young ones? Try the Tiny Drum Machine. Not a “kids’ game” per se, it nevertheless entertained my four-year-old for better parts of this afternoon. It’s a simple music-making program where you can specify notes and tempo or let it randomly entertain you.

There are five variations, all based on clicking squares in a grid to make the notes. They vary in sound, with some more drum-like (one and two), and others approaching a mandolin-like tunefulness (three to five).

A couple of usability tips: 1) You sometimes need to click the green grid before the R for randomize feature will work; 2) the tempo controller slides horizontally to speed up or slow down.

(Thanks, Download Squad.)

(Originally published in Bay Windows, June 28, 2007.)

Is your child’s school inclusive of LGBT families? If not, how can you improve it? Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Pride Coalition, recently spoke with me about their new interactive tool that helps parents answer these critical questions.

What is the Rainbow Report Card (RRC)?

The RRC is an online tool for parents and other folks interested in how schools are doing in regards to creating a welcoming environment for children who have one or more LGBT parents. It’s a way to get a customized set of guidelines and recommendations very specific to your school community that will allow you to reward the policies that are going really well and make positive change in those areas where work still needs to be done. Read more »

Taking a break from all the political posts of late to pass on this news of potential interest to parents and pregnant women, among others:

MizPee lets you use your mobile phone to find the nearest, cleanest, public toilet. Text your city and state to their phone number, or point your mobile browser at www.mizpee.com. You’ll get the address and distance of the nearest toilets, plus details on cleanliness, disabled access, diaper-changing stations, cost (if any), whether it is for customers only, and user comments. The service is free, though the company hopes to make money by giving you the option of viewing a list of special deals offered by businesses near your chosen commode.

A small, but clever idea, or pointless in a world full of Starbucks and McDonald’s (where we may go to pee even if we don’t eat the food)? The commenters at Tech Crunch, where I got the link, seem quite skeptical; what do all you parents think?

Garden State Equality reports an ultimately positive outcome to the tragic saga of Newark high-school student Andre Jackson and the photo of him and his boyfriend that was excised from the school yearbook. They explain in an e-mail:

Newark Schools Superintendent Marion Bolden today attended the final graduation rehearsal at East Side High School in Newark and publicly apologized to graduating senior Andre Jackson in front of the entire graduating class of hundreds of seniors. . . .

More about our phone conversation today with with Superintendent Bolden: She called us. She was humble and remorseful in the conversation. . . .

In the call, Ms. Bolden called this episode “my lowest moment since I’ve been Superintendent.” She unequivocally said that allowing the photo of Andre and his boyfriend to be crossed out was homophobic on her part. She volunteered the word “homophobic.” She apologized for being insensitive to the LGBTI community and asked Garden State Equality to extend that apology to the entire community.

The conclusion of this very unfortunate episode of anti-LGBTI discrimination is that Superintendent Bolden and the Newark School District have agreed to every Garden State Equality request.

1. The Superintendent has now apologized to Andre Jackson publicly.

2. The District is redistributing yearbooks, with the photo of Andre and his boyfriend not redacted, free of charge.

3. The Superintendent will personally meet on a regular basis, at least four times a year, with the Task Force on LGBTI Diversity and Sensitivity in Newark Schools that Garden State Equality is forming with leaders of Newark’s LGBTI community.

We at Garden State Equality now believe something good may emerge from this tragic instance of homophobia: A Newark school system respectful of every student regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and every other factor that makes Newark and all New Jersey a gorgeous mosaic of diversity.

Kudos to Garden State Equality and the many people around the state who rallied to their call in support of Jackson. Kudos also to Superintendent Bolden for having the courage to admit she was wrong and being willing to work towards change. More than anything, however, kudos to Jackson and Escobales for their courage and the inspiring example they set.

This week’s Family Voices interview is with gay dads Rod and Lindel, who live in Massachusetts with their toddler Hugh. Below, they share their thoughts about adoption, extended family, routine, visibility, and more.

As with the previous families highlighted in this feature, they are members of the Family Pride Coalition’s OUTSpoken Families program, and committed to speaking with their local communities and media (and the occasional blog!) about their lives and the need for LGBT equality. Read more »

A sobering new study of secondary schools in Britain concluded that homophobic bullying is “almost epidemic.” The School Report study, conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit for LGBT-rights organization Stonewall, found:

• 65% of young LGB people experience homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools.
• 97% of gay pupils hear derogatory phrases such as “dyke” or “poof” in school.
• 98% of gay pupils hear “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” at school.
• 75% of young gay people in faith schools experience homophobic bullying and are less likely than pupils in other schools to report it.
• Only a quarter of schools say that homophobic bullying is wrong in their school. In schools that have said so, gay young people are 60% more likely not to have been bullied.
• 30% of lesbian and gay pupils report that adults are responsible for homophobic incidents in their schools.
• Of those who have been bullied, 92% have experienced verbal bullying, 41% physical bullying and 17% death threats.

Schools are doing little to respond: Read more »

Newark School Superintendent Marion Bolden apologized to student Andre Jackson for blacking out a yearbook photo of him and his boyfriend David Escobales kissing. She said the district would reissue an “un-redacted version” of the yearbook to any student at the school who wants one.

Jackson is disappointed about the apology, however, since it was only done through a press release, not to him directly. According to an e-mail from Garden State Equality sent this morning:

Andre also wants the Superintendent to apologize to the LGBTI community.

He suggests that if the school district won’t reprint and redistribute the yearbooks because of the expense, it should copy the page with the photo and make it available for free. We told Andre that if the school district balks at even this expense, Garden State Equality would pick up the tab to copy the page.

Finally, Andre came up with the best idea: He wants to team up with Garden State Equality and Newark LGBTI community leaders to form a committee on LGBTI diversity and sensitivity in the Newark schools—and he wants the Superindendent to meet with this committee four times a year.

Garden State Equality also asserted that they believe the school district’s removal of the photo is illegal under state law. No word yet on whether this will mean a lawsuit.

My sympathy and admiration go out to Jackson and Escobales. They are brave young men. I hope that whatever legal and political ramifications this incident has, they are also able to nurture and grow their own relationship.

The Wimbledon Tennis Championships start today, making this a time of celebration for us sports-loving types. Even though legend Martina Navratilova retired last fall after winning her 59th career title (at the U.S. Open), she’ll be participating as a commentator for the BBC. Defending champion and out lesbian Amélie Mauresmo is one of the top contenders, though she’ll face tough competition from world number-one Justine Henin, number-two Maria Sharapova, and the always formidable Williams sisters.

This is also the first year that all women competitors will now receive the same prize money as their male peers, an equalization long due. Wimbledon started this year in traditional fashion, however, with a rain delay. (Organizers are planning a retractable roof for Centre Court, but it won’t be ready until 2009.)

The official Wimbledon site has live updates, a daily podcast, and all the other usual whizzy online accoutrements. Since this is a parenting site, though, I’ll also point out the U.S. Tennis Association and British Lawn Tennis Association’s resources for parents interested in getting their kids started with tennis.