“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 32

Helen and I bring you the scoop on a mainstream TV documentary about lesbian partners who each had twins—at the same time. Plus: a film by the same filmmaker about single moms by choice, including one lesbian mom. (This is a recap of my previous post on the same.) We then share some of the more than 170 entries from Blogging for LGBT Families Day, a variety of voices from around our community. Hear how LGBT parents and our children are both surviving in and transforming the world around us. A very special thanks to all who contributed. We couldn’t quote you all in our vlog, but we hope we sent some new readers to those we did.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

Words from Our Children: Blogging for LGBT Families Day

I was pleased to see many grown children of LGBT parents participating in Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Here are some of their words:

Abigail Garner of Damn Straight, who spent many years as a full-time advocate for children of LGBT families, writes of the recent difficulties she had when her new employer “discovered” her blog on the subject, although she had never tried to hide it:

This blog post is written in honor of “Blogging for LGBT Families Day” as a reminder that being outspoken always carries a risk — even when you think you are over all the hurdles of coming out. Even when you think you are as out as you can be. Even when you are certain it is a non-issue.

This Spring, I left my job for the freedom to blog for LGBT Families.

Read the rest of this post »

Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Best Timing

I’m reading my way through the Blogging for LGBT Families posts, and am once again awed by the strength and diversity of our community. Many thanks to all of you who participated.

I’ll be doing a few posts in the next week or so highlighting and contrasting some of the contributions, or suggesting some emerging themes. One post in particular I wanted to point out right now, however. C at Liquid Baby wrote:

how’s this for a blogging for LGBT families post??
Homestudy complete last Friday.
Potential birthmom match this Friday.
Meet and make it an official match Saturday/Sunday.
Baby Today. (she is doing very well, just needs a little help with breathing)

Can’t top that. Congratulations and best wishes to the newly enlarged family.

Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Still Accepting Posts

Did you wake up this morning and suddenly realize you had forgotten Blogging for LGBT Families Day yesterday? Was your child sick or did he or she require an emergency batch of cupcakes at school for an end-of-year party? Did you have a non-child-related emergency?

Never fear—I’m still accepting contributions through today. Call it a concession to “Parent Standard Time” (though you needn’t be a parent to participate). Leave a comment or send an e-mail to lgbtfamilies@mombian.com with the link to your post.

Thanks for taking part!

Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Contributed Posts

Welcome to Blogging for LGBT Families Day! Below is the master list of contributed posts.

I’ll be updating this with latecomers on Tuesday (I’m all about inclusion here), so it’s not to late to participate! Just post on your own blog and send me the link or leave a comment here with the link.

Thanks to everyone who contributed already. A special thanks to the Family Equality Council for their sponsorship of the event. Thanks as well to The Bilerico Project, COLAGE, Freedom to Marry, PageOneQ, Pam’s House Blend, PFLAG, Queercents, and the many others who went the extra mile in encouraging participation.

I hope you take the time to read other people’s posts and enjoy the diversity of the LGBT community and our allies. Over the next few days, I’ll be reading through all the entries myself, and writing up some posts that pull together various related themes that emerge.

[UPDATED: June 4, 12:45am Eastern.] Posts are alphabetical by name of blog. Starred (*) posts are new since last update. Putting them after a jump since the list is getting long now. Read the rest of this post »

Tomorrow’s the Day

Tomorrow is Blogging for LGBT Families Day! Posts are already starting to come in. If you want your link to appear here early tomorrow, send it early! Full details are here; the short version is: blog in support of LGBT families on or before June 2, and send me the link or leave a comment here.

Please also download a banner and promote the event on your site. The more people who participate, the more impact our voices will have.

Here are a few frequently asked questions: Read the rest of this post »

Less Than a Week Until Blogging for LGBT Families Day

A gentle reminder that it’s now less than a week until Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Full details are here; the short version is: blog in support of LGBT families on or before June 2, and send me the link.

I’m already starting to see some posts trickle in; I’ll start posting the links on June 2 as soon as I get them, so if you want your link to appear all day as people visit, get it in as early as possible.

Please also download a banner and promote the event on your site. The more people who participate, the more impact our voices will have.

Here are a few frequently asked questions:

Do I need to be LGBT? No, just supportive.

Do I need to have kids? What about my cat? Define “family” as you will.

What if I always write about my LGBT family? Great! Just do what you normally do, and send me the link. Or write a special post for the occasion if you want to, but don’t feel obligated.

What if I never write about LGBT issues? If you want to say something in support of LGBT families, then this event gives you an excuse. Feel free to tie it into your regular blog theme, e.g., if you write about kids’ literature, write about an LGBT-inclusive kids’ book.

What if I want to share a photo or video? That’s fine. Post them on your blog or a photo or video sharing site. If you use a sharing site, make sure to set them to be public. Then send me the link.

What do I do if I don’t have a blog? If you don’t have a blog, you may also leave a comment on the master Blogging for LGBT Families Day post I will put up on June 2. If you only post on Facebook or MySpace, you may add me, Dana Rudolph, as a friend to notify me of a post there. (Here’s my Facebook page and my MySpace page. If you do a search for my name, though, make sure to look for the event banner image, as there are multiple Dana Rudolphs.) If you do have a regular blog, I much prefer that you post there, since then your post will be readable even by those who don’t have Facebook or MySpace accounts—and the whole point here is to share our posts.

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 27

Helen and I do a special Mother’s Day vlog in response to a viewer request about our decision to become parents. What made me finally break down and decide to have a child? Why did we choose the method we did? Was our cat really involved in the selection of our sperm donor? And what was that about dating Ellen DeGeneres and Sharon Stone?

In many ways, this vlog is a precursor to the post I did about the medical and legal details of creating our family. Now you’ll know the whole story.

We also invite all bloggers and vloggers to post on June 2 in celebration of the third annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day. (Yes, videos and photos are welcome, too. Put them on your favorite image-sharing site, make sure they’re public, and send me the link.)

Online Videos by Veoh.com

If the Veoh video above isn’t working (sometimes their server can be flaky), you can try it at Daily Motion.

Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.

Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2008

The third annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day is fast approaching on June 2. Bloggers of all orientations and identities are invited to post about LGBT families that day or shortly beforehand, and then to notify me (see below) so I can compile and showcase the posts.

I know many readers write about LGBT families every day, but I hope you’ll take advantage of this occasion to join in the community spirit and perhaps gain some new readers. Write a special post or just your usual; whatever strikes your fancy.

I also encourage those who don’t usually post about LGBT families or LGBT issues. Give it a spin based on your usual blog topics. There’s no set formula or format.

Photos and videos are also welcome. (Post them on your own site or an image-sharing site, however; don’t e-mail them to me.)

Please also download a banner and promote the event on your site. The more people who participate, the more impact our voices will have.

Further details below: Read the rest of this post »

Save the Date: Blogging for LGBT Families Day Is June 2

It’s almost that time of year again, so mark your calendars now. The third annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day is coming up on Monday, June 2. (Yes, I’ve held it on the 1st in previous years, but it seemed best not to do it on a Sunday, a low-traffic day in the blogosphere.)

Last year, over 150 bloggers participated, including lesbian moms, gay dads, adult children of LGBT parents, members of the transgender community, LGBT individuals without children, and straight allies. Countries represented included the United States as well as Australia, Canada, and the UK. Some bloggers told stories about their paths to parenthood, or tales about their children; some wrote about LGBT relatives or friends; others discussed current political events; and several spoke of why their faith obliges them to support LGBT rights. This year’s writings should be equally diverse and compelling.

Here’s how it works:

• Blog on a topic related to LGBT families on or before June 2, 2008.
• Leave a comment on this post, or send an e-mail to lgbtfamilies@mombian.com with the permalink to your post. (If you know how, you may also add the tag “blogging for lgbt families day” to your entry.)
• I’ll compile the posts and highlight them here on June 2. Come back and read the stories and insights of our community and allies.

Any blogger who wants to support LGBT families is welcome, LGBT or not, parent or not. I encourage those who don’t usually post about LGBT families or LGBT issues, as well as those for whom every day is Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Give it a spin based on your usual blog topics. There’s no set formula or format. Photos and videos are also welcome.

The list of last year’s contributions is still online for your perusal.

Please also download a banner and promote the event on your site. The more people who participate, the more impact our voices will have.

Thanks to the Family Equality Council for sponsorship of the event.

I hope many of you will be a part of this.