The new children’s CD “Rainbow Train” celebrates gender diversity with great music and exuberant lines like “You don’t have to be just a boy or a girl/You can be a beautiful blended swirl.”
The album’s creator, Chana Rothman, is a singer-songwriter, music educator, and mother, who plays regularly at New York night clubs the Highline Ballroom and the Knitting Factory. She has been a long-time performer at Jewish summer camps in North America, Israel, and the U.K.
Her latest project was motivated closer to home. “When my son came to me and asked about wearing a dress to school I searched for songs that celebrate gender diversity and came up empty-handed. So I decided to write some and ‘Rainbow Train’ is the result,” said Rothman in a press release.
“We live in a world where, despite progress, we still see rigid gender roles and stereotypes reinforced from birth and adversely impacting any child who does not conform. But as parents, educators and activists we know that gender and gender expression both fall along a spectrum and all children deserve to be treated with respect for who they are, whether transgender or gender non-conforming,” she added.
Rothman, who is bisexual, told me in an e-mail, “I have lived and continue to live my life in opposition to binaries in terms of gender and sexual orientation, while also recognizing that my current partnership status [with a male] affords me much power and privilege, and trying to use that for social change.”
Her new CD, aimed at children ages four to nine, is part of that effort. It addresses the questions: “How do we help our children feel free to express themselves, body mind and spirit? What is the soundtrack for theories of ‘anti-bullying’ and ‘gender liberation’?”
The songs are positive, inclusive, and emminently listenable, drawing from genres as diverse as folk, ballad, hip hop, disco, pop, spoken word, rock, and Latin jazz. Some songs are overtly about gender identity and expression, like “Gender Blender,” “Boy in a Dress,” and “In Utero Soundtrack.” Others are more generally about empowerment, being oneself, and being comfortable in one’s body. “A Better Way” gives us a glimpse of civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks and Harvey Milk. It’s a great mix of songs you just want to dance to along with ones that will spark further discussion about gender and social justice.
The album isn’t available until May 5 (I’ll have details on that soon; stay tuned), but those of you lucky enough to live near Philadelphia can go hear the launch concert this weekend (tell ’em Mombian sent you):
Date and time: Sunday May 3, 2:30 to 4:30
Place: The William Way LGBT Center
1315 Spruce St., Philadelphia 19107
Cost: $15/adult, $10/child (under 2).
The event will include guest appearances galore from Rainbow Train recording artists, musicians & friends, gender-blending merchandise for your favorite babies/toddlers, kids, caregivers, parents, grandparents, teachers, special discounts for multiple CD purchases and a dance party for all ages.
This CD makes a great companion to Dancin’ in the Kitchen, the recent release from Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer about diverse families. It’s been over five years since any LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ albums came out. I’m thrilled that that’s changing—and that the new albums have both great messages and great music.