Archives › 2007 › November
Weekly Political Roundup
Retired Brigadier Gen. Keith Kerr surprised candidates at the Republican CNN/YouTube debate by revealing he is gay and asking “I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.” He later said he felt he did not get an answer from [...]
Queercents Adds Lesbian Mom Writer
LGBT finance blog Queercents has added a parent to their roster of writers: Dr. Jennifer Natalya Fink is a professor of English at Georgetown University, the author of two novels (V and BURN, both from Suspect Thoughts Press), and, most importantly, the mother of a gorgeous and hilarious baby girl. She and her family live [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode Five
In this edition of our weekly video blog, brought to you in partnership with After Ellen, my partner Helen and I use Exes & Ohs insemination storyline as a jumping-off point to discuss similarities and differences between lesbian and straight parents. We also try to figure out which of us is the bio mom, debate [...]
A Question for You All: Divorcing with Kids
A reader just wrote to me with a question I thought I’d open up to your collective wisdom (with her permission): She and her now-former partner created their family the same way my partner and I did: using one partner’s egg (hers) and having the other partner carry the child. They even petitioned their state [...]
Is that Penguin Insured?
A Florida college is offering employees pet insurance after denying them insurance for same-sex partners. This of course begs the question of whether the pet insurance would cover gay penguins.
No Sperm for You
Right after the good news from Australia’s national elections comes the more worrisome news that the New South Wales upper house will likely approve legislation allowing reproductive donors “to demand their sperm or eggs only go to certain religious, ethnic or cultural groups or be reserved for heterosexual couples.” The bill would also require sperm [...]
Queering the Kitchen
There’s a bit of a food obsession going around the world of LGBT women at the moment. Since parenting and food seem to go together like peanut (or soy) butter and jelly, I thought I’d do a quick roundup. After Ellen has a lengthy feature piece on Iron Chef and lesbian mom Cat Cora. Author, [...]
Theme Song from BuddyG: My Two Moms and Me
Here’s the adorable theme song and opening sequence from BuddyG: My Two Moms and Me, the new animated show I reviewed last week. If it doesn’t put a smile on your face, you’re probably reading the wrong blog: The song was composed and sung by Curt Bright of The String Beans. (How can you not [...]
A New Day for LGBT Australians?
Making international headlines this week is the defeat of Australia’s prime minister, John Howard, a Bush ally, and the triumph of Labor’s Kevin Rudd. Reader Mace, who founded the Lesbian Parents Australia Yahoo! group, wrote “we no longer have a conservative government in Australia … and that is a new beginning with lots of renewed [...]
The Dauntless Book for Lesbians?
Even if you haven’t yet read my rather lengthy review of The Daring Book for Girls, I thought it might be interesting to take the book’s basic premise—a compendium of activities and information across a range of subjects, things every girl should know—and see if we could give it a lesbian twist. (I’d do a [...]
Book Review: The Daring Book for Girls
The Daring Book for Girls, by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz, is the distaff version of the bestselling The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden. Like its male version, The Daring Book is a throwback to the children’s encyclopedias and magazines of old, full of games, activities, and bits of information [...]
Yes, We’ve Heard the Turkey Baster Jokes
For those of you observing Thanksgiving this week, here’s wishing you and your families a very happy time. Don’t let the extended family get on your nerves—just show them these cute Orka basters from Target (via Amazon), and tell them you hope using the right color will influence the gender of your next child. See [...]
Corn Muffins and LGBT Rights
I was having a reluctant-parent moment yesterday. I had volunteered to help my son’s preschool class make corn muffins for their Thanksgiving “feast,” but the teachers had scheduled it smack dab in the middle of his three-hour session, leaving me with time on either side, not worth driving home, but too long to linger. As [...]
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Today marks the 9th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, “set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.” The event organizers explain: The event honors Rita Hester, whose murder in 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Since then, the [...]
Happy Birthday, Jodie!
A very happy 45th birthday today to Jodie Foster, who, while never officially saying she’s a lesbian, has two children who bear both her last name and that of Cydney Bernard, the woman rumored to be her partner. Good enough for me to wish her a very happy Mombian birthday. Regardless of how she identifies [...]
BuddyG: My Two Moms and Me: A New Animated Show for Children of LGBT Families
A few weeks ago, I wrote of the new DVD series Dottie’s Magic Pockets, the first show targeting children of LGBT families. Now comes news of the second such show, and the first fully animated one, BuddyG: My Two Moms and Me. As with Dottie, BuddyG is a labor of love, time, and money by [...]
“Cutie Patoots Reading Nook” for LGBT Families in Boston
Passing along this invitation from the Family Equality Council. We may try to be at the event with our son, although this being both cold and holiday season, nothing is certain. If you’re going, too, though, drop me a note. I’d love to say hi in person. The Family Equality Council is hosting its first [...]
Mixing It Up
I just bought myself the mixer of my dreams: the Kitchenaid 600, a 6-quart, 575-watt beauty. I’d been eying it for some time, since I’ve gotten into bread making in a big way since staying home with my son. I thought about the smaller and cheaper 5-quart model, but decided to hold out. Yesterday, however, [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The U.S. Senate and House are arguing over the LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes provision attached to the 2008 defense authorization bill. The Senate approved the bill but now House Armed Services Committee leaders are concerned they do not have enough votes to pass the bill with the hate-crimes provision included. At this point, a vote on the [...]
Boston Leads the Way to Welcoming Schools
Originally published in Bay Windows, November 13, 2007 (which explains the Massachusetts bias). See also this recent article about a similar initiative in Toronto. LGBT parents and educators in the Boston area are the source of one of the most comprehensive new resources for making elementary schools across the country more welcoming for all types [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode Four
In this special edition of our weekly video blog, brought to you in partnership with After Ellen, my partner Helen and I survey the world of lesbian moms on television, tackling such provocative questions as “Do Xena and Gabrielle count as lesbian moms?” “Should there be a lesbian-family version of The Brady Bunch?” and “Why [...]
LGBT Activities for National Adoption Month
Two major LGBT organizations have launched initiatives in honor of National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day: The Family Equality Council (formerly the Family Pride Coalition) has launched an Adopt A Rainbow Action for November. Each rainbow you “adopt” is a pledge to volunteer one hour of time to a local/national fostering or adoption agency, [...]
What Cost Parenthood?
How much does it cost for two moms to start a family? Nina at the Bilerico Project (and also publisher of Queercents) talks about her and her partner’s experience with in vitro fertilization (IVF), and the difficult questions they face as they get close to their last affordable attempt. Should they try donor eggs or [...]
Seeking Good Lesbian Travel Writing
Passing along this notice courtesy of Robin Reagler at The Other Mother: Women’s Wonderlands: Good Lesbian Travel Writing Gillian Kendall is currently soliciting submissions for a new anthology from University of Wisconsin Press, which will be a sister edition to Wonderlands: Good Gay Travel Writing, edited by Raphael Kadushin. Wonderlands has had terrific success, selling [...]
Cat Cora’s Thanksgiving Recipes
Reader Debbie let me know that Iron Chef Cat Cora and her partner and kids “were featured in this week’s People Magazine talking about their Thanksgiving traditions, and giving tips.” The full article isn’t online, but her grandmother’s mustard recipe is, along with Cat’s recipe for a Pomegranate Balsamic Reduction you can blend in to [...]
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