Archives › 2008 › March
Kenneth Cole Loves Lesbian Moms
A new Kenneth Cole ad campaign, “We All Walk In Different Shoes,” features a lesbian couple and their two-year-old daughter as one of several examples of “non-uniform thinkers.” (Thanks, Family Equality.) While I applaud the use of black clothing (hides mud, strawberry jam, and worse), I have to question the shoes. Both moms are wearing [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 19
Helen and I blind you with science this week as we demonstrate a bunch of experiments and explorations for kids. Watch us use marshmallows, blue gooey stuff, really long words to describe peanut butter, and gummi bears like you’ve never seen them before (including one variation just for adults). We also point out the very [...]
“A Party in My Fallopian Tubes”
“It was a party in my fallopian tubes.” That’s how Orange County mom Cristine Gaiennie described what happened during the fertility treatments that led her and her partner Patsy Lovell to welcome quadruplets into the world on March 3. They already have a two-year-old son. I swear I didn’t know about this when I joked [...]
God Could Trump Science in Oklahoma
As if Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern’s anti-gay rant wasn’t bad enough: Kern is one of the authors of House Bill 2211, which requires public schools “to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized.” The bill was just approved [...]
Nominate a Lesbian for “America’s Favorite Mom”
Here’s a chance for a bit of fun activism: 2008 is the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day. In honor of the occasion, Teleflora is presenting “America’s Favorite Mom,” a weeklong contest airing on NBC in May. Finalists in five categories will appear on NBC’s Today Show the week before Mother’s Day, and in a prime-time [...]
Four Heroes, One Villain
Four heroes in the news: Trans activist Jenn Burleton, founder and executive director of TransActive Education & Advocacy, a Portland, Oregon based organization that works with parents and schools to support transgender and gender-variant children. 18-year-old student Clyde Calloway, for helping to organize a Gay-Straight Alliance at his high school in rural Kentucky, despite threats [...]
The End of the L Word As We Know It
As anyone who’s been around the LGBT blogosphere in the last 24 hours knows, The L Word will return next year for a sixth and final season. Let’s take a quick poll: {democracy:2}
Heather’s “Mommy” Named Poet Laureate
Lesléa Newman, author of Heather Has Two Mommies, was recently named Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts. In addition to Heather, Newman has authored over 50 works for children, young adults, and grown-ups. Her literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children [...]
Lawrence King PSA: Pass It On
Logo has launched a public service announcement in response to last month’s hate-crime murder of 15-year-old gay student Lawrence King and other young hate-crime victims. The PSA seems aimed at young people. Many of Logo’s sister brands across MTV Networks will carry it, though Logo is making it available to other networks as well. The [...]
“Project Harmony” to Address Needs of LGBTQ Families of Color
The Family Equality Council (FEC) today launches Project Harmony, a new initiative designed to ensure “that the issues and concerns of families of color are part of the national dialogue on LGBTQ family equality.” “We are committed to building the most informed and effective national programs serving LGBTQ families of color and to fully integrating [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The media-ally award of the week goes to Bloomberg’s Ann Woolner, who wrote the gleefully sarcastic If Gays Can Marry, I Just Might Cancel My Wedding. No new arguments here for those of us who’ve been following the marriage equality battle, but it’s always good to see another person make the case. Woolner is, of [...]
Special Dottie’s Magic Pockets Offer for Mombian Readers
In case you missed it in our vlog yesterday, here’s the new trailer for Dottie’s Magic Pockets, the first (but not only) video for young children of LGBT families and their friends. Also, be sure to check out their new Web site, which launched today. It has more clips from the show and a list [...]
Gay Penguins on TV
(OK, no more penguin posts for a while after this. I promise.) LGBT documentary series In the Life will be airing a segment about children’s book And Tango Makes Three in its April show. They talk with the authors about the making of the book, and with a second-grade teacher about her positive experience using [...]
Penguins Back at School
Looks like the Loudoun County, Virginia school superintendent’s backpedaling over And Tango Makes Three was in the right direction. According to the Washington Post: On Monday, school officials issued a written statement saying that the book also would return to the shelves at Sugarland [Elementary School] because [Superintendent] Hatrick had discovered “significant procedural errors” in [...]
Sugar High
The gay-straight alliance at one of the high schools in our area was sponsoring a showing of Love Makes a Family, the great traveling exhibit of photographs and interviews featuring LGBT families. Yesterday, the exhibit was open to the public. Even though I’d seen it before, I took my son after preschool. With all the [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 18
Could Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a children’s tale about two gay guinea pigs, become one of the most controversial books of the year? At least it would give the penguins a break, Helen and I conclude in our vlog this week. After some guinea pig-hamster confusion, we then move ahead in age range and recommend a [...]
LGBT Parenting Roundup
A few stories from round and about: There have been lots of stories about yesterday’s California marriage hearing, but this one in the Pasadena Star-News quotes lesbian mom Erin Lindsay, who was also the first participant in my Family Voices series. (Stay tuned for more Family Voices coming soon.) The U.S. recently signed the Hague [...]
Good Times in Washington
The Washington Senate yesterday passed a measure to give registered same-sex domestic partners an expanded set of rights. The law would treat them as equal to opposite-sex spouses in a number of areas, including those related to probate and trusts, community property and homestead exemptions, guardianship, powers of attorney, and spousal testimony. Domestic partners of [...]
What’s Your Favorite Seuss Book?
Yesterday was the 11th annual Read Across America celebration, a program sponsored by the National Education Association to encourage children’s love of reading. The event is held every year on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel). We love us some Seuss here at the house of Mombian. At the risk [...]
Listen to the California Marriage Arguments
Listen live via the SFGTV Web stream to the arguments in the historic California Supreme Court case for marriage equality.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about The L Word because much as I’ve been enjoying this season, there just hasn’t been a whole lot of parenting going on. Most of it has consisted of Bette and Tina using their shared custody of Angelica as an excuse to spend time together despite Bette’s new [...]
Traveling 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 [...]
Ellen Speaks Out Against Hate
I mentioned this in my Weekly Political Roundup, but it merits a post of its own. Here’s Ellen DeGeneres talking about the recent hate-crime murder of gay eighth-grader Lawrence King. She’s more political than I’ve ever seen her, despite her protestations that she’s not a political person, and seems honestly emotional. If only more celebrities [...]
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