Weekly Political Roundup

It was a week full of mostly national news:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance to state Medicaid agencies to clarify “that they are able to offer same-sex couples many of the same financial and asset protections available to opposite-sex couples when a partner is entering a nursing home or care facility.”
• The Veterans Health Administration issued a directive that transgender and intersex veterans are entitled to the same care as other veterans, regardless of their stage of transition, and that “Patients will be addressed and referred to based on their self-identified gender.” Monica Helms, president of the Transgender American Veterans Association, has more about this over at Pam’s.
• The U.S. Department of Education held the first-ever federal summit for LGBT youth. It also issued guidance reiterating that the First Amendment and the Equal Access Act require any school receiving federal funds to provide all student groups with equal support, “without regard to philosophical or political orientation,” including LGBT student groups.
• Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) introduced the Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, to ensure tax equity for same-sex couples receiving employer-provided health benefits. In the meantime, Cambridge, Massachusetts will soon be paying quarterly stipends to public employees who are married to same-sex partners, in order to defray the federal taxes on their healthcare benefits—taxes opposite-sex couples do not have to pay.
• The Connecticut State Senate passed a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression in jobs, housing, public accommodations and credit. The House had already approved the bill, so it now goes to Gov. Dan Malloy (D), who has said he will sign it.

Around the world:

• After reports of the abduction of a Syrian American lesbian blogger in Damascus, some are questioning her existence.
• And on a lighter note, a same-sex pair of penguins at the London Aquarium (not the famed Silas and Roy of And Tango Makes Three) just celebrated their two-year anniversary.

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Lesbian Moms Sue School Over Alleged Bullying of Daughter

A lesbian couple in Albuquerque is filing a discrimination lawsuit against Rio Rancho Public Schools, claiming their daughter was harassed and bullied in fifth grade—including by the teacher—because she has two moms.

According to KOB Eyewitness News 4, when the girl wrote an essay about her moms getting married in Iowa, the teacher “said that it was disgusting and that people didn’t need to know about it.” The couple’s attorney also said the teacher refused to shake hands with the girl’s “stepmother” (unclear if that’s how the nonbiological mother really identifies herself, or if that is the news channel’s term), and didn’t allow her to take part in volunteer parent activities.

The girl also seems to have been bullied by classmates, but it is unclear to me if that was because she has two moms or for some other reason. The teacher appears to have been less than sympathetic to the girl, in any case.

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has long documented instances of children of LGBT parents being harassed in schools (in addition, of course, to their extensive work on the bullying of LGBT students, regardless of parentage). In a 2008 report, they found that “nearly a quarter (22%) of students [with LGBT parents] said that a teacher, principal or other school staff person had discouraged them from talking about their family at school. . . . Furthermore, 28% said they heard teachers or other school staff make negative comments about LGBT families.”

As I wrote myself back in 2007, the many lawsuits that have been brought to try and restrict LGBT-inclusive materials and discussions in the curriculum ignore the fact that even if such materials are banned, children of LGBT parents (not to mention LGBT children themselves, as they grow into awareness) will be talking and writing about themselves and their families. Ultimately, limiting the discussion of “homosexuality” in schools means not only restricting the curriculum, but also limiting the free speech rights of many children. At the very least, curriculum bans will make it unclear to many teachers whether such talk should be allowed. And regardless of curriculum bans, there will still be teachers who will try to restrict such speech because of their personal beliefs—in which case, the school board or higher authority needs to make policy very clear.

I don’t know enough about the Albuquerque case to say anything definitive about their claim—but it’s still a sad statement that it sounds like it could be legitimate.

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Adoption

• This Is Lincolnshire gives an overview of adoption by same-sex couples in the U.K. Apparently, there has been a 50 per cent increase in adoption by same-sex couples during the last six years, and they adopt 1 in 20 adoptive children. (Joint adoption by same-sex couples only became legal six years ago, however, so one might expect a quick ramp up.) Also check out one of the organizations referenced in the article, New Family Social, a U.K. charity for LGBT adopters, foster carers, and their children. A great resource if you’re in the U.K.
• Three Illinois Catholic Charities agencies are suing the state for an exemption from the state law that requires them, as recipients of state funds, to license qualified unmarried couples and same-sex couples in civil unions for adoption or foster care. And the Catholic Charities agencies in two dioceses have recently halted all licensing of new adoptive or foster parents because of objections to the law.
• A Louisiana House committee rejected a  bill that would have allowed two unmarried, same-sex adults to adopt a child together.
• On a happier note, the Michigan adoption agency Hands Across The Water became the first agency in the state to earn HRC’s All Children—All Families seal of recognition, “by meeting the required criteria for fully inclusive policies and practices in working with the LGBT community.”
• And Tampa Bay Online reports on the gay and lesbian parents who have adopted since the state’s ban was overturned.

Nonbiological-Parent Recognition

• South Australia passed a bill that will recognize non-biological parents on birth certificates of children born to same-sex couples, making it the final state in Australia to do so.
• Lambda Legal has a list of Frequently Asked Questions for same-sex couples married in other jurisdictions who want the non-biological mother to be named as a parent on the birth certificate of her child born in Maryland.

Other

• The first same-sex couple to get a civil union license in Cook County, Illinois were Janean Watkins and Lakeesha Harris. The Chicago Tribune reports, “The couple has six children who will all be in attendance at a formal civil union ceremony tomorrow.”
• The Salt Lake Tribune profiles Cara Cerise, the daughter of a gay dad, who has just been named the 2011 Utah Young Humanitarian by a panel of community leaders.
• Southern California Public Radio looks at issues of sperm donor anonymity.
• Lee Wind alerts us to the publication of Operation Marriage, a children’s picture book about the Proposition 8 battle for marriage equality in California. (Disclosure: the book is being published by social justice company Reach & Teach, which, without solicitation by me, has bought advertising at Mombian.)

“Over the Rainbow” Casts an Academic Eye on Queer Children’s and Young Adult Books

Over the Rainbow: Queer Children’s and Young Adult Literature (University of Michigan: 2011) is the first collection of essays devoted to LGBTQ children’s and young adult literature. Edited by Michelle Ann Abate, associate professor of English at Hollins University, and Kenneth Kidd, associate professor of English at the University of Florida, the collection gathers 17 articles by other English and literature professors into a fascinating, if academic, volume.

If words like “semiotics,” “textuality,” “revisionist,” “trope,” and “performative” make you run screaming from memories of college literature classes, this probably isn’t the book for you. If, however, you are willing to brave a bit of jargon or are an actual literature geek (and I know some of you are), you will find much food for thought here.

The volume includes three sections: “Queering the Canon,” which reexamines with a queer eye classic or historical works; “After Stonewall,” which looks at post-1969 books more explicitly about lesbian and gay issues; and “Queer Readers and Writers,” which asks whether the term “queer” is a useful definition and what it means to “read queer” or “write queer.”

Essays investigate works with clear LGBTQ content, such as Alex Sanchez’ Rainbow Boys, Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind, and Lesléa Newman’s Heather Has Two Mommies, but also look at less explicitly queer books ranging from the Nancy Drew, Harry Potter, and Oz series to Harriet the Spy, Little Women, and others.

The focus is primarily on young adult literature. Books for younger children get short shrift, except for one essay on Heather and Too Far Away to Touch, a later work by Newman. That is a shame, because there is certainly a small but growing number of works for the elementary school set—and while their length and simple storylines may not lend themselves to deep literary analysis, I believe that they can still teach us much about changing perceptions of LGBTQ people, both within and outside the LGBTQ community.

The editors say, “We hope with this volume to encourage a more dynamic relationship between queer theory and children’s literature studies.” Time will tell if they have succeeded, but they have made an excellent start.

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“Mr. Mom” and Musings on Parenting and Gender

Over at Viva la Feminista, Veronica has a great post about why she dislikes the term “Mr. Mom” and when someone asks her husband if he is “babysitting” the kids. She writes, “When he is caring for his daughter, he is her father, not a babysitter and certainly not a male version of me.”

Amen to that.

Her post made me think, however, that one of the joys of being part of a lesbian couple is that we don’t get slapped with such obnoxious labels. Of course, should an LGBT parent choose to take the title “Mr. Mom” because she or he feels it best suits her or his gender identity, that’s another thing entirely, and perfectly acceptable. And gay dads, like straight caregiver dads, have to deal with the frequent awkwardness of being male in the largely female world of parenting, especially in the early years.

But it also strikes me that society is, on the one hand, trying to define in female terms (“Mr. Mom”) those straight men who actively parent, but on the other, seems inordinately concerned that children of lesbian parents don’t have male role models.

Is it just me, or does that make no sense whatsoever?

(Thanks to Mona at BlogHer for the tip.)

PBS Goes OUT in America

This Wednesday, June 8, at 8:00 pm ET/PT, PBS will be airing the premiere of OUT in America, a documentary by Emmy award-winning director Andrew Goldberg in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting.

I have not yet seen the film, though I’ve heard good things about it. Here’s the official blurb, plus a video clip. If you do watch it, stop back and let us know what you think.

OUT in America is an uplifting collection of unique, transformative stories and inspiring personal narratives told through the lens of the country’s most prominent LGBT figures and pioneers, as well as many average, yet extraordinary, citizens from Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities. The program weaves together diverse stories – from urban and rural America, from the heartland to New England, from San Francisco to Harlem. Deeply moving and often humorous, viewers will get a glimpse of awakenings, first crushes, unlikely soul mates, intimacy and liberation. While separated by circumstance and upbringing, the film’s subjects are all united in their shared experiences of self-discovery, coming out, pride and love as well as a triumph over adversity and a true sense of belonging. Against the backdrop of historical events, each also traces their own hopes, struggles, influences and contributions towards advancements in equality and broad social change.

Featured interviews include TV personality Andy Cohen (Bravo TV Host), famed Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin, country music star Chely Wright, humorist Kate Clinton, as well as legendary LGBT activists James Hormel (philanthropist), Urvashi Vaid (former Executive Director of the pre-eminent civil rights organization National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, recently cited in Out Magazine’s list of most influential men and women in America) and Dr. Patricia Hawkins (psychologist renowned for her early work with HIV patients). Other influential lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people in the film include: Reverend Peter Gomes, who came out on the steps of Memorial Church at Harvard; PJ Serrano, Puerto Rico’s first openly gay and HIV positive political candidate; a transgender police lieutenant, who transitioned while on active duty; a Muslim lesbian from the country of Mauritius; a gay rancher; the organizer of Capital Queer Prom; a Latino rapper; a West Point graduate and former Captain in the US Army; a drag queen; a great-grandmother; and “The Harolds,” a giddy bi-racial couple in their 80s, who reminisce, in unison, about their five decades together.

Watch the full episode. See more PBS Specials.

Interview with Director of Film About Dad Coming Out at Age 75

Please enjoy this short interview with Mike Mills, director of the film Beginners, about the true story of his father coming out at age 75. The film stars Golden Globe Award nominee Ewan McGregor, Academy Award nominee Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds, and Goran Visnjic of ER. Thanks to COLAGE for the clip.

(No Weekly Political Roundup this week. Personal emergency.)

Thank You: Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2011

A very big thank you to all who participating in Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2011! It was a pleasure for me to see names both old and new—including some who have done this all six years now, as well as some who were new to the event, to parenthood, and even to being out.

We each have a unique story to tell, even as we share the common themes of love, family, and acceptance. I encourage you all to read through the posts and find inspiration, insight, and maybe even some new friends.

I will be reading through all the posts myself in the coming days (couldn’t get them all read yesterday and manage the event), and trying to pull out some quotes that caught my eye. You’ve submitted some amazing posts. But don’t wait for me—go read, comment, and enjoy!

Mark it on your calendars, too—same time, next year!