Archives › 2008 › February
Rainbow List Chair Talks About LGBT-Themed Children’s Books
A few weeks ago, I wrote of the American Library Association’s new Rainbow List of LGBT-themed children’s books. School Library Journal this week has an interview with retired school librarian Nel Ward, the Rainbow Project’s chair. She talks about the process of choosing books for the list, how LGBT books have changed over the past [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 15
In our vlog this week, Helen and I wonder if ABC’s Cashmere Mafia has not one, but two, lesbian pregnancies up its oh-so-fashionable (but thankfully turkey-baster-free) sleeve. We also discuss The L Word’s portrayal of an older daughter dealing with a mom’s coming out, the newly domestic Bette Porter, and scary foods from childhood. Finally, [...]
Some/thing Borrowed
For my third contribution to Robin Reagler’s blog carnival, here’s Some/thing Borrowed: a recipe for Valentine’s Day. What better for Valentine’s Day than something chocolate? What better for parents on Valentine’s Day than an easy chocolate project to whip up with the kids? When I saw these Chocolate Pretzel Buttons, I knew they were winners. [...]
Hack Your Hearts
The good thing about Valentine’s Day, which can at times seem like nothing more than a chocolate-fueled celebration of heterosexuality, is that the ubiquitous Sweethearts Conversation Hearts are at least pretty inclusive. Oh, you have to throw out some gender-specific ones that don’t apply, but you can always give the “Lover Boy” ones to your [...]
If the L Word Characters Ran the Government
In this season of primaries and The L Word, I can’t help reprising and revising a post from last year: What if the characters on the show ran the U.S. government? We might get something like this:
Some/thing New
For my second contribution to Robin Reagler’s blog carnival, here’s Some/thing New: Israel announced Sunday that same-sex couples will now have the same adoption rights as opposite-sex couples. Previously, they could only adopt if one partner was the child’s biological parent. Mazal tov!
Another Chance to Win Dottie
LGBT Parents Creating Change
(Originally published as the Mombian newspaper column, week of February 4, 2008.) How can LGBT parents create change? I’ve been pondering the question in light of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s annual Creating Change conference in Detroit this week. Becoming a parent is itself a life-altering change. We must then master the fine [...]
Some/Thing Blog Meme
Robin Reagler of The Other Mother has come up with a clever blog carnival idea. For the rest of the week, post a photo, memory, poem, music, or a combination on the following theme: Tuesday, 2/12: Something old Wednesday, 2/13: Something new Thursday, 2/14: Something borrowed Friday, 2/15: Something blue Further details at her site. [...]
Teaching Teens About LGBT Issues
I just did a guest post for Teens Today with Vanessa Van Petten, a site for parents of teenagers. Van Petten, 22, wrote You’re Grounded!: How to Stop Fighting and Make the Teenage Years Easier while she was still in high school, basing it on dozens of interviews with teens, parents, and teachers. She continues [...]
Freedom to Marry Week
It’s Freedom to Marry Week, and I thought I’d mark the occasion by talking about why marriage matters to me. Legal protections are part of the story, but only part. Civil unions and domestic partnerships can cover some (but not all) of the same rights and responsibilities. The greater reason for marriage, in my mind, [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Bruce Kluger of USA Today asks “In Election ’08, is there a place for gay rights?” He calls gay marriage “a non-issue” in the 2008 elections (which I think is overstating things a little), but makes a hopeful call for gay issues to be part of a national conversation. He is heartened by the “Don’t [...]
NY Post Still Thinks LGBT People Are Evil
I didn’t think the New York Post could outdo its headline “Evil Lesbian Mom Left Toddler to Die Slow Death.” Today’s “Axis of She-vil: Death to Gays but Free Ops for Irani Trannies” may be the winner in reprehensible journalism, however. The article points out the oddity of the Iranian government subsidzing sex reassignment surgeries [...]
National Diversity Book Month for Children
February is getting busy. In addition to being Black History Month and primary season, it is also National Diversity Book Month, as declared by the Family Equality Council. They have a page full of resources on LGBT-inclusive children’s books, including an extensive book list. The list isn’t perfect; it only lists three books from Todd [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 14
In this week’s video blog, Helen and I take a retrospective look at three films in which Jodie Foster plays a single mom. We discuss Foster’s own commentary on Little Man Tate, her directorial debut, and speculate on how Foster’s own experience as the daughter of a single mom may have shaped the film. We [...]
Want to Testify About the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
I received an e-mail today from the the Mothers Ought to Have Equal Rights (MOTHERS) coalition. They are looking for parents in the D.C. area to testify for a Senate committee next week “on how FMLA [the Family and Medical Leave Act] has helped them or why they were unable to take FMLA.” I thought [...]
Daily News Only a Bit Better than Post
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the New York Post’s unconscionable headline, “Evil Lesbian Mom Left Toddler to Die Slow Death.” Now, the New York Daily News picks up the story of the mother and her partner, with the less inflammatory headline, “Mom charged in murder of her baby didn’t know extent of [...]
Same-Sex Grandparents and the Long Arc of History
Same-sex parents inevitably lead to . . . not just “I love my mommies” t-shirts, but same-sex grandparents. Anndee Hochman of the Philadelphia Inquirer has a great article on gay and lesbian grandparents who are out and proud, despite having started their families, in some cases, in the early days of the LGBT-rights movement. The [...]
Babytalk Under Fire for Article by Lesbian Mom
Patty Onderko is a senior editor at Babytalk magazine. As such, you’d think an article she wrote titled “A Night in the Life of a Sleepless Mom” would be anything but controversial. The focus of the story is about how difficult is was for Onderko to sleep while pregnant. Turns out, however, that some readers [...]
Big Gay Sketch Show Giveaway
This week’s giveaway is for the parents, not the kids. The fine folks at LOGO have offered a free DVD of The Big Gay Sketch Show, Season One, to a Mombian reader. Let’s face it: in an election year, we could all use a good laugh. Season Two of the show kicks off tomorrow, so [...]
Snow Songs from Erin Lee and Marci
Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family. Look for Erin Lee and Marci here on the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org. I’ve created links [...]
Court Upholds Right to Teach About Same-Sex Families in Schools
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Thursday unanimously upheld the rejection of a suit brought by two couples from Lexington, Massachusetts, who said their school district had no right to include LGBT-related books like King & King in its elementary school curriculum. (See my August post about the case.) The parents [...]
Weekly Political Roundup, Part II
Lots of late-breaking news today, so here are a few items that didn’t make it into my earlier roundup: Opponents of same-sex marriage in Florida managed to collect enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment banning it on the November ballot. A New York appeals court ruled that valid same-sex marriages performed in other states [...]
Oregon Wins Domestic Partnerships
A big congratulations to the citizens of Oregon who have at long last won the right to domestic partnerships. From the Basic Rights Oregon press release: Judge Michael Mosman ruled at 4:25 PM today that opponents of domestic partnership did, indeed, fail to gather the necessary signatures to place the law on the ballot for [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
Florida leads the news this week, as supporters of a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage scramble to collect needed signatures. In contrast, the Fairness for All Families group has released an inspirational video about their Primary Day of Action, in which volunteers talk to voters about why the amendment is bad for both [...]
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