Archives › 2008 › July
Welcome to Massachusetts!
It’s official. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed a repeal of the 1913 law prohibiting out-of-state couples from marrying in the state if their home states forbid the unions. At the same time, he signed the MassHealth Equality bill, granting equal benefits to married same-sex and opposite-sex couples through MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. MassHealth, [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 37
This week, Helen and I respond to viewer feedback about kids and homophobia, and discuss what to do if parents of your children’s friends are homophobic. We also offer our perspective on the new DVD Finn’s Girl, which features a widowed lesbian mom trying to balance career and her rebellious 11-year-old daughter. Is it a [...]
God and Kids Lead Same-Sex Couples to Legalize and Commit
Religion and LGBT rights often stand in opposition. A new study (PDF link) in the June 2008 Journal of Family Psychology, however, found that “religiously invested lesbians and gay men, and those with children, were the most likely to cohabit and to legalize and ritualize their couple relationships.” Study participants were residents of Illinois, so [...]
Out-of-State Couples Could Marry in Massachusetts Today
Out-of-state same-sex couples could marry in Massachusetts later today. Lawmakers have attached an emergency preamble to the bill lifting marriage restrictions on out-of-state couples, stating that it will take effect as soon as the governor signs it, rather than after the usual 90 days. The bill could go to the governor today, according to the [...]
Finding Hope In Tennessee Tragedy
Two people are dead and seven injured after a man entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday and fired a sawed-off 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun during a children’s performance of the musical Annie. The shooter, Jim David Adkisson, left a letter in his car stating he hated liberals and gay people and was motivated by [...]
Out-of-State Same-Sex Couples Can Marry in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts House just voted to repeal the 1913 law that prevented most out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in the Bay State. The bill now goes to Governor Deval Patrick, who has said he will sign it. Massachusetts was, of course, the first state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples, although California was the first [...]
Matrimonial Marketing
Entrepreneur.com published an article today titled “A Long-Term Commitment,” about how marketing to the LGBT community goes beyond taking advantage of the wedding boom in California. The reporter, Elizabeth Wilson, spoke with me for the article and included some of my thoughts. She also quotes Nina Smith of Queercents, among others. Entrepreneur isn’t the first [...]
More Details of Children’s Book Challenge
(This is a follow up to my earlier post about the challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a gay-themed children’s book. Originally published in Bay Windows, July 23, 2008. Minor corrections below.) Librarian Defends Local Author’s Gay-Themed Children’s Book A patron at Douglas County Libraries in Colorado has submitted the first known challenge to Uncle Bobby’s [...]
Weekly Political Update
The U.S. House approved repeal of a law barring HIV-positive visitors and immigrants to the country. It now goes to the President. The Personnel Subcommittee of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee heard testimony for and against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. SLDN executive director Aubrey Sarvis notes the irony that this was [...]
Mmm, Chocolate Milk
Another “we could have guessed that” scientific study: Scientists in Denmark have found that the foods a nursing mom eats can flavor her breast milk. As far as I can remember, though, all of the nursing moms I know were told by their doctors to watch what they eat when nursing, just in case certain [...]
Diversity in Primary Schools Leads to Tolerance
A new longitudinal study from the Universities of Sussex and Kent concluded that “The ethnic composition of primary schools has a direct impact on children’s attitudes towards those in other ethnic groups and on their ability to get on with their peers.” The lead researcher explained, “Our findings add to a growing body of evidence [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 36
Helen and I bring news of a challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, the children’s book about gay guinea pigs (see SGMP 18 and 22), and a librarian’s thoughtful response. We also continue our discussion from last week about kids and homophobia, and talk about how to prepare our children, educate educators, and find allies. Online [...]
Beautiful Baby Beatie
People magazine has the first photos of transgender man Thomas Beatie and his daughter, Susan Juliette. Towleroad has some beautiful stills from Good Morning America’s coverage yesterday. From what Beatie says, the family is settling in to being a family. Can’t ask for more than that.
We’re Not Snickering
Yet another reason to go to the candy-free checkout lane in the grocery store: Mars, Inc./Masterfoods has decided that homophobia sells Snickers bars. In a new clip from AMV BBDO London, an effeminate speedwalker is chased by Mr. T, who shoots Snickers bars at him with a Gatling gun, shouts “It’s time to run like [...]
Teen Adopted by Lesbian Moms Takes on John McCain
Alan O’Brien-Myers is a rising senior at Holyoke High School in Massachusetts, where he lives with his two moms and younger brother. He posted on Bilerico today in response to John McCain’s statement that he doesn’t believe in gay adoption. He says, in part: What’s not to believe in? Many gays and lesbians adopt children [...]
Fun and Legos
OK, I need a break from the serious posts, and I suspect you do, too. Here’s a clever little online app that’s been taking too much of my attention: Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game is exactly that. Add rods and rotating wheels to move a ball from one part of the screen [...]
Coverage on LGBT Youth Stirs Debate
Both the Washington Post and Newsweek last week published articles about children who are coming out in middle school or high school, younger than ever before. Both focus on the dangers faced by these youth; Newsweek’s story, which made the cover, centers on Larry King, the eight-grader in Oxnard, CA, who was shot to death [...]
Is Wal-Mart the New FDA?
Is the mega-retailer playing doctor with all of us? Bil Browning of Bilerico fowarded me an interesting article from Forbes that asks this question in relation to Wal-Mart’s announcement that it will stop selling baby bottles containing the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA has been linked in some studies to cancer and other medical problems. If [...]
Who Will Star in L Word Spinoff?
After Ellen brought us news late last week that there is an L Word spinoff in development. After the show finishes its sixth and final season next year, one storyline will be carried into an online series that will then segue into the new series, if Showtime approves it. The new show will star one [...]
Weekly Political Update
The U.S. Senate voted to drop travel and immigration restrictions on persons who are HIV-positive. The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for July 23. The Washington Blade reports, though, that “as of Wednesday, the subcommittee was not scheduled to hear from even one [...]
Further Thoughts on McCain and Adoption
Here are a few pieces related (directly or indirectly) to John McCain’s foot-in-mouth comment on adoption by same-sex couples: Terrance’s post, about finalizing the adoption of his son just days after McCain’s remarks, is especially moving. Keli Goff at HuffPo notes that the uproar about the adoption comment highlights a basic problem for McCain: “How [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 35
Helen and I highlight a new guide for parents of transgender kids and, on the other side, one for kids of transgender parents. (Regular readers may have seen my written piece on these books earlier in the week. It’s only the first couple of minutes of the vlog, though, so you won’t get bored if [...]
Last Sunday, presidential candidate John McCain told the New York Times, “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don’t believe in gay adoption” (which, like “gay marriage,” is a misleading term implying there is something so fundamentally different about the act when it [...]
First Challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding
Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, the children’s book about a young guinea pig named Chloe and her uncle who marries his boyfriend, has received its first challenge. A patron at Douglas County Libraries in Colorado asked that the book either be removed from the shelves, placed in a special area, or labeled “some material may be inappropriate [...]
A Moment of Domesticity: Lemon Meringue Pie
One of the little joys of visiting Helen’s family in San Francisco, besides visiting them and going to Pride, was coming back with a bagful of Meyer lemons from the tree in her brother’s backyard. Meyer lemons, for those of you unfamiliar with them, are less acidic and slightly sweeter than regular lemons. They are [...]
1 of 2
