And the Banned Played On

Today marks the start of Banned Books Week, a celebration of the freedom to read. This week, LGBT families have a particular reason to observe the event. Children’s storybook And Tango Makes Three, based on a true story about two male penguins who adopt an abandoned egg, tops the American Library Association’s list of “10 Most Challenged Books of 2006.” The Harry Potter series, however, tops the list of “Most Challenged Books of the 21st Century (2000-2005).”

According to the ALA, “parents challenge materials more often than any other group.” The top three reasons for doing so are that it is considered “sexually explicit” contains “offensive language,” or is “unsuited to age group.” Even without an explicit “homosexuality” category (which they do have), it’s easy to see why books with LGBT characters and themes are challenged by the narrowminded who somehow think we spend all our time having sex. (We’re parents . . . who are they kidding?)

Censorship and the ostracism of our families is a persistent fear for LGBT parents. Ongoing struggles in Evesham, New Jersey and Lexington, Massachusetts are only the most recent, visible examples of the ultra-right trying to squash any mention of LGBT families in schools.

Banned Books Week shows us that we are not alone, however. Other frequently challenged works include ones by Maya Anjelou, Margaret Atwood, Isabel Allende, and Toni Morrison, as well as children’s and young adult authors Judy Blume, Roald Dahl, and Maurice Sendak.

Banned Books Week can even give us a foot in the door to raise issues of inclusion. If your local or school library is having a reading or discussion of banned books, you might use it as an opportunity to ask if they carry such works as Daddy’s Roommate, Heather Has Two Mommies, or It’s Perfectly Normal, a book that explains puberty and sexuality—straight and not—for kids of all types. This setting might give you a more welcoming audience than if you bring up the question out of the blue sometime.

You could also use the occasion to explain censorship to your older children. Try starting with this short article on attempts to ban Harry Potter.

What’s your favorite banned or challenged book? For me, I’d have to say the Harry Potter series, in terms of pure enjoyment. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird holds a special place in my heart, though, in that it was the first book that really made me aware of the effects of prejudice. I find it ironic that it continues to be challenged.

Weekly Political Roundup

The ongoing ENDA story dominates the LGBT headlines right now. To follow up on my earlier post: HRC has finally issued a statement. They say it is “devastating” that the bill no longer includes gender identity, but state “The decision has been made,” and claim that:

House leadership and the bill’s sponsors very firmly believe that if the House votes on an employment non-discrimination bill without gender identity, that legislation will pass—again, it will pass even without the support of the GLBT organizations.

The Advocate reports that a separate employment non-discrimination bill just for gender identity will move forward on a separate track.

Openly gay Representative Barney Frank has issued a statement saying:

…under the current political situation, we do not have sufficient support in the House to include in that bill explicit protection for people who are transgender. The question facing us – the LGBT community and the tens of millions of others who are active supporters of our fight against prejudice – is whether we should pass up the chance to adopt a very good bill because it has one major gap. . . . moving forward on this bill now will also better serve the ultimate goal of including people who are transgender than simply accepting total defeat today.

Openly lesbian Respresentative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has, however, withheld her name from the gender-identity-free ENDA.

Pam at the Blend observes that many corporations have already been through the process of trans acceptance, and makes the wise comment that:

In the end, it’s about the education needed to bring legislators to a place of comfort where American companies are now. They, and the public at large need to see the faces and hear the stories of transgendered Americans and why ENDA as written is not a threat, but a fulfillment of a promise of equal treatment under the law that many take for granted.

In other news: Read the rest of this post »

The ENDA the Movement as We Know It?

It’s official. House Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and openly gay Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are taking gender-identity protections out of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) because they fear it will not pass otherwise.

This is reprehensible. There is a reason we use the unwieldy acronym L, G, B, and T. Although there is a difference between sexual orientation and gender identity, there is much common cause among the four groups. We have come too far in creating an inclusive movement to abandon transgender people now. The non-trans part of the movement also risks shooting itself in the foot. Let’s take a look at the text of the bill for a moment:

The term `gender identity’ means the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth.

Many of us in even in the non-trans part of the spectrum nevertheless have “appearance or mannerisms” counter to traditional gender roles. If someone is fired for being a lesbian, but the employer claims it was because she had short hair and wore pants all the time, an ENDA without a gender-identity clause is useless.

If the bill is going to fail, it is going to do so with or without the inclusion of gender identity and expression. The Senate yesterday passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, with gender identity and expression intact, proving it is possible. Are the hypothetical votes the LGBT movement would gain in ditching them from ENDA enough to balance losing the respect and support of the trans part of that movement, plus their family and friends? I think not. This would split the movement into two parts, and we’d all spend time playing the “where did you stand on ENDA?” game rather than focusing on the many constructive tasks that remain for us in the future.

For other perspectives, see Matt Foreman of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, as well as Marti Abernathy, Rebecca Juro, and Marla Stevens all at the Bilerico Project. Pam Spaulding also offers her opinion. Several of them (as well as Lane Hudson at the Huffington Post) ask why HRC has not yet issued a formal statement in support of gender-identity inclusion, like many other major LGBT-rights groups. If HRC does not step up, it jeopardizes not only our chances of passing inclusive legislation, but also its broad support (despite frequent criticisms) throughout the LGBT community at large. It would risk much of its membership and money, and hobble itself for future endeavors. This is a developing story, however, so stay tuned.

Matthew Shepard Act Passes Senate

The Matthew Shepard Act, LGBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation, today passed the U.S. Senate. Judy and Dennis Shepard, parents of the slain college student for whom the bill is named, said “Today’s Senate vote sends a bold and unmistakable message that violent crimes committed in the name of hate must end.”

The House version of the Act passed in May. Now, the two versions must be reconciled, and President Bush must sign it. The Act is, however, an amendment to the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008,” or, as Timothy Kincaid of Box Turtle Bulletin succinctly put it, “the bill that funds the war in Iraq.” He comments:

President Bush will be in the unenviable position of either signing the bill and infuriating his social conservative supporters (about the only supporters he has left) or vetoing the bill and trying to explain to America that preventing hate crimes legislation is more important than paying our soldiers overseas.

Heh.

50 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and an Independent voted in favor of the amendment, or, more specifically, in favor of the cloture motion to end debate. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) then asked for a voice vote, and the measure passed unopposed. Among those voting against cloture, however, was Senator Larry Craig (R-ID). No surprise there.

HRC notes this “marks the first time a trans-inclusive piece of federal legislation has ever passed both chambers of Congress.” True, and notable, but one suspects HRC is emphasizing this because of rumors that gender identity will be dropped from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in order to get the bill passed. Let’s hope it’s not true. All for one, and all that.

Bionic Mother

I watched the premiere of the remade Bionic Woman last night. I haven’t been getting my fill of kick-butt women on TV since Alias went off the air. It was fun in an escapist sort of way, and I will probably tune in again. Interestingly, the 2007 version of Jamie Sommers is also a parental figure, acting as guardian to her teenage sister, Becca. Becca says to her in an early scene “You’re not a real mom,” hinting at a relationship complicated by more than the fact that her sister will soon be able to outrun her entire high school track team. Let’s hear it for another depiction of a non-traditional family—one of the 75% that don’t consist of a married, opposite-sex couple living with their own children. It doesn’t take much stretch of the dramatic imagination to guess that Becca will use her computing skills to help Jaime at some point, and that Jaime will have to rescue Becca from the baddies later on. Blood—or nanomachinery—is thicker than water, even if the two of them don’t get along.

I got to thinking, though. What if a mother really did have bionic powers? She’d never have trouble hauling one of those SUV-like strollers out of her car, or carrying a 50-pound diaper bag around the mall. She’d be able to spot a lost teddy bear across the playground with her bionic eye, and use her supercharged ear to hear her teen’s plans for skipping school. She’d be a little intimidating as a soccer coach, but she’d be the one you’d ask to dash to the supermarket when you run out of ketchup at the school picnic.

How would you use bionic powers as a parent (or guardian)?

(You can view the full pilot episode free at NBC.com. After Ellen has a further debriefing.)

Who Are Your LGBT Heroes?

October kicks off GLBT History Month, which is similar to GLBT Pride Month in June, but with fewer parades and more educational content.* Equality Forum, the coordinator of this intellectual celebration, has selected 31 GLBT “Icons” to feature during the month, one per day. It’s not meant to be an exclusive list, but rather to highlight the lives of some who “achieved success within their respective fields of endeavor, were national heroes or advanced GLBT civil rights,” and to be different from last year’s list.

Fair enough. I’m wondering, though: Who are your LGBT heroes? Who do you look back to for insight and inspiration?

*(October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but I’ll cover that in a separate post.)

Senate to Vote on Hate-Crimes Bill Thursday

Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, vital legislation that includes explicit protections against hate crimes based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The Matthew Shepard Foundation is urging people to call their Senators now (202-224-3121) and ask for him/her to the vote for passage of the Act.

HRC also gives us a procedural note: There is a cloture vote on the legislation scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EST Thursday. If the legislation gets 60 votes, the Senate will proceed to consideration of the hate crimes act, an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Yes, it’s been a while since most of us watched the West Wing. Here’s the official lowdown on cloture. Basically, it’s a way to end debate and move to a vote on the legislation. Think I’ll try it next time our son tries to argue his bedtime. (Yes, my vote counts more. This isn’t a representative democracy here.)

Family Voices: Interlude

Over the past few months, I’ve been pleased to work with the Family Pride Coalition and their OUTSpoken Families program to bring you a series of Family Voices, interviews with LGBT parents around the country. For the next phase of Family Voices, I’m proud to join with COLAGE, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, to share the perspectives of those with LGBT parents. It seems to me that often LGBT parents and the adult children of LGBT parents inhabit different areas of the Internet, despite the occasional overlap between these groups (one of my previous interviewees, for example, was also the daughter of a gay dad), and we are both part of the broad LGBT community. I don’t think there’s anything particularly odd about that—I think it’s just the age-old split between parents and kids. I don’t necessarily want to hang out in the same places my parents do, and I’m sure my son will say the same to me.

To wrap up the first phase of Family Voices, I’ve asked Dustin Kight of Family Pride to talk a little about the OUTSpoken Families Speakers Bureau he coordinates. Read the rest of this post »

Nation’s Report Card Plays Well with Others

The yearly “Nation’s Report Card,” aka the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), came out today with news that supports both proponents and critics of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. 700,000 students in grades 4 and 8 took NAEP reading and math exams last winter, and the results provide a look at both nationwide trends and state-to-state differences.

The good news? Math scores are up, especially for fourth-grade students. Fourth-grade reading scores are also up. President Bush says the results confirm NCLB is working. He would. I remain a skeptic. Read the rest of this post »

Family Voices IX

This week’s Family Voices interview is with lesbian moms—and grandmothers—Barbara and Patricia. Below, they talk about their multi-religious and multi-ethnic family, being mothers to a young child while also having grown children, coming out to older children, and their love of P-town.

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 about their lives and the need for LGBT equality. Read the rest of this post »