Archives › 2007 › October
Write a Novel About LGBT Families
November is National Novel Writing Month, when aspiring novelists are challenged to write a 50,000-word work (about 175 pages) in 30 days. In 2006, over 79,000 people participated and nearly 13,000 reached the 50,000-word goal. The organizers say: Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought [...]
Product Review: Care.com
Last spring, I interviewed the founder of CareSquare, an online service that matches families with caregivers (babysitters and nannies) in their area. Now, a new entrant joins this field, Care.com. As with CareSquare, the usefulness of the service depends largely on where one lives. In a small town or remote location, there may not be [...]
The Decline of LGBT Culture?
Famous LGBT enclaves like the Castro District in San Francisco, Key West, Florida, and West Hollywood “struggle to maintain cultural relevance in the face of gentrification,” claims the New York Times. “In the Castro, the influx of baby strollers—some being pushed by straight parents, some by gay parents—is perhaps the most blatant sign of change,” [...]
How Academic Should Schools Be?
Continuing the theme of education from earlier this week: In the U.K., the Commons education committee has warned that creativity is a “second-order priority” in the country’s schools, but should be a fundamental part of learning, with adequate funding. “We believe that the best education has creativity at its very heart,” they say. I couldn’t [...]
Red Sox, Red Blood
Living near the capitol of Red Sox Nation, it’s hard not to get caught up in the collective euphoria over our sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series (and yes, for true fans, the first-person plural is warranted). Sunday’s victory had another meaning for me as well. The winning pitcher was Jon [...]
Family Voices XIV
Here’s this week’s post in my Family Voices series. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) member Isabel talks about having a mother who came out, the importance of being yourself and letting your children be themselves, and why COLAGE means so much to her. Tell us a little about the family in which you [...]
The Amazing Race: Lesbian Mom Edition
CBS’s The Amazing Race will feature a lesbian couple for the first time when it starts its new season November 4, reports After Ellen. The couple, 49-year-old Kate Lewis and 65-year-old Pat Hendrickson, are both Episcopalian ministers, and should be fun to watch, especially as they compete against couples half their age and a pair [...]
Does Your Toddler Know the Mona Lisa?
This Sunday’s Boston Globe Magazine had an exposé on the Better Baby Institute, which claims to have created a method for accelerating babies’ development. Physical therapist Glenn Doman founded the Institute to help brain-damaged children recover function, and he (along with daughter Janet) is now applying his findings to well infants and toddlers. “We are [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The Baldwin Amendment, which would have added gender-identity and -expression protections back into ENDA, is dead, and a vote on ENDA has been delayed. Presidential candidate Barack Obama incurred the wrath of many LGBT advocates when he scheduled an appearance with homophobic gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. Obama countered by also scheduling openly gay minister Andy [...]
Lesbian Worms
When scientists at the University of Utah flipped a certain genetic switch in the brains of female worms, it caused them to be attracted to other female worms, further proof that sexual orientation is genetic. Now the nematodes are forming a softball team and planning a music festival. (What does a lesbian worm bring on [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: The Mombian Vlog
I’m proud to announce the launch of a new venture here at Mombian: the “She Got Me Pregnant” video blog. Published in partnership with After Ellen, the vlog will focus on the intersection of lesbian parenting and popular culture, covering children’s media, depictions of parenting in pop culture, and celebrity lesbian moms. I convinced my [...]
From Hogwarts to Tucker Elementary
Commentary on J. K. Rowling’s outing of Dumbledore is still flying thicker than owls in the Hogwarts Dining Hall. Michael Jensen at After Elton questions why she didn’t reveal this sooner. John Cloud, a gay writer for TIME, wishes she hadn’t said anything: But as far as we know, Dumbledore had not a single fully [...]
Symbolism or Substance in ENDA Debate?
Below is an editorial by Jody M. Huckaby, Executive Director, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National. (Used with permission.) When the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) received its first-ever vote in the House of Representatives and passed the Education and Labor Committee on Oct. 18, it should have been a historic—and celebratory—moment [...]
Family Voices XIII
Here’s this week’s post in my Family Voices series. COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) member Sara tells us about her blended family, the influence of Ellen, and why it’s important for children of LGBT parents to remember that it’s okay not to be perfect. She also relates one of the best coming out [...]
No Squid Were Harmed in the Making of this Soap
I recently agreed to receive a sample of Squid Soap to review. Despite the name, it’s really a plain liquid handsoap for kids, with once extra feature: a small stamp of red vegetable dye on the top of the pump. When a child presses the pump to get soap, the stamp makes a mark on [...]
Women Commanders Meet in Space
On Tuesday, NASA Commander Pamela Melroy is scheduled to blast off in the space shuttle Discovery, headed for the International Space Station (ISS), where she will be met by ISS Commander Peggy Whitson. This is the first time women have been in command of both the shuttle and the ISS at the same time. The [...]
Dumbledore Is Gay, or: the Pensieve of Loneliness
Making its way across the Internet faster than a blast-ended skrewt is the news that J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has outed Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Speaking at Carnegie Hall in New York on Friday, she admitted she “always thought Dumbledore was gay.” Reuters reports: Rowling said Dumbledore fell in love [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The genderless version of ENDA passed out of committee. Out Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will attach an amendment putting gender identity and expression back in, before the bill reaches the floor. Gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who had earlier argued for removing gender protections in order to pass the bill, is now urging his colleagues [...]
Dottie’s Magic Pockets Brings Sparkle to Television for LGBT Families
(Originally published in Bay Windows, October 18, 2007.) When Dottie’s partner, May, takes their son Ollie to his first day of school, the stay-at-home mom feels lonely. Luckily, Ollie has left her a present—a sweater with magic pockets. Glitter in the pockets transforms Dottie’s living room into a colorful, whimsical playground for herself and several [...]
ENDA and CHIP: The Perfect Storm?
There’s a bit of legislative weather blowing in for LGBT parents right now, with two critical federal votes set to happen in the next week or so. On the LGBT front, the much-debated Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) should move through the House Education and Labor Committee Thursday. The United ENDA coalition, which represents over 300 [...]
Non-Bio Mom of the Week
A golden retriever in Virginia has stepped in to mother a stray kitten, and even began producing milk for the tiny feline when she refused the bottles her human rescuers offered. Love makes a family indeed. Virginia. The state where alternative animal families make the news, but where “courts have routinely discriminated against gays and [...]
Domestic Partnering in the New Year
I’m bringing you a guest post today by Beren DeMotier, author of The Brides of March, a memoir of the brief period of legal marriage for same-sex couples in Multnomah County, Oregon. (I reviewed it in June.) Her piece below continues the tale as she ponders the upcoming legalization of domestic partnerships in the Beaver [...]
Family Voices XII
Continuing my Family Voices series with the next post by a member of COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere). Below, Scout talks about having both gay parents and gay grandparents, dealing with bias against her disability and her family, and watching her grandfathers marry after being committed to each other for over 50 years. [...]
It’s National School Lunch Week: What Are Your Kids Eating?
It’s National School Lunch Week, and I’m glad President Bush has proclaimed it—part of his ongoing commitment to our children’s health. (Yeah, right.) How to celebrate such an occasion? Whip up a batch of “American Chop Suey,” a meat, tomatoes, and macaroni mixture I remember from my own tray-carrying days? Throw some canned fruit into [...]
A Look at Parenting and the Environment for Blog Action Day
It’s Blog Action Day today, when bloggers around the world are encouraged to write about a single issue. This year, it’s the environment. Given that this is a parenting blog, however, I want to tackle this from a parent’s perspective. When I think about parenting and the environment, two things spring to mind. One is [...]
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