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New Dr. Spock Childcare Book Includes Gay and Lesbian Parents; Iffier on Transgender Issues
The new, 9th Edition of the venerable Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock, first published in 1946, includes a section on gay and lesbian parents, the Washington Post informs us. I’ve taken a look, and while there is much to praise, there are also a few obvious gaps, particularly around gender [...]
Top Lesbian and Gay Parenting Books of 2011
This year brought us several new books, fiction and non-fiction, featuring lesbian- and gay-headed familes. While we might hope for greater quantity (and greater diversity across the LGBT spectrum), the quality was at least very good. Here are some of the best.
“Pregnant Butch” Takes a Comic Look at Pregnancy and Gender
You’re probably saying, “What would make this Monday morning just perfect is a new comic about a pregnant butch lesbian.” What? You’re not? Well, you should be. Go check out A.K. Summers’ new comic/graphic tale, “Pregnant Butch” over at comic collective site Act-i-vate. It’s a funny, insightful, semi-autobiographical look at “a butch dyke enduring that [...]
“Invisible” Black Lesbian Families Made Visible
Invisible Families: Gay Identities, Relationships, and Motherhood among Black Women, by UCLA sociologist Mignon Moore, is arguably the most groundbreaking work on LGBT parenting published in recent years. Moore gives us one of the few in-depth looks at lesbians of color, showing how race and class influence their self-perceptions, relationships, and family creation. Her work [...]
New book Explores Lesbian and Gay Adoptive Families
(November is National Adoption Month. Here’s my review of a new book on adoption by lesbians and gay men. Originally published in my Mombian newspaper column.) There have been a number of studies over the past 25 years on lesbian and gay parents and their children, but few have looked specifically at lesbian and gay [...]
10 Books Every LGBT Parent Should Read
Books about LGBT parenting are few and far between, but here are ten that I recommend for all LGBT parents and prospective parents. I chose works that each showcase a variety of voices, rather than single-person memoirs, so each one would resonate as widely as possible. I also chose books that focus on the emotional side of parenting rather than medical and legal how-to works, since the latter tend to be specific to particular segments of the LGBT community.
I hope these selections, taken together, will help us better understand our collective, yet diverse, experience of being LGBT parents.
“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 [...]
Last Chance to Win a Copy of Adoption Nation
Congratulations to Kate, who won a copy of Adam Pertman’s book Adoption Nation (Second Edition) in the giveaway yesterday! For more about the book, or to read everyone’s comments about adoption, see my previous post. Here’s today’s giveaway post, the last of three. First, some adoption-related news: Yesterday, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a lower court [...]
Adoption Nation Book Giveaway
Congratulations to Carrie, who won a copy of Adam Pertman’s book Adoption Nation (Second Edition) in the giveaway yesterday! For more about the book, or to read everyone’s comments about adoption, see my previous post. Here’s today’s giveaway post, the second of three. First, some adoption-related news: The state of Virginia is considering whether to follow [...]
A Passport to Adoption Nation (and a Giveaway)
(I told you it was going to be bookish around here for a while. But there’s a giveaway at the end of the post, so read on.) We live in a time when the definition of “family” is not changing, but broadening. It is and always has been about love and commitment—and for those of [...]
A Bevy of LGBTQ-Inclusive Young Adult Books
There is a veritable slew of LGBT-inclusive children’s books, young adult books, and books about parenting coming out right now (a “slew” being more than a “bevy” but less than a “flood”). I will be covering some of them in more depth for my newspaper column, but I wanted to mention a few new young adult books here. They’re a little outside my usual parenting focus, but I liked them enough to give them a mention.
Lesbian Motherhood: Now with Soundtracks
Two books about lesbian moms in the past month, and both have soundtracks? Bestselling author Jodi Picoult’s new novel Sing You Home comes bundled with a “companion soundtrack” CD, with lyrics by Picoult and music composed and sung by her friend Ellen Wilber. Each chapter, or “track” is named for the associated song. It makes sense [...]
Webcast with Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult About Her New Novel, Sing You Home
Welcome to the live, streaming interview and chat with #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about her latest novel, Sing You Home, the story of a lesbian couple and their attempts to have a child. The event will start at 7 p.m. EST. The Webcast is part of the Literary Salon Series of Picoult’s publisher, Atria [...]
Join Us Tonight for Webcast with Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult About Her New Novel of Lesbian Moms
I’m very excited to invite you to a special event here at Mombian: a live, streaming interview and chat tonight with #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about her latest novel, Sing You Home, the story of a lesbian couple and their attempts to have a child. I’ll have a fuller review coming up [...]
Join Us for a Webcast with Bestselling Author Jodi Picoult About Her New Novel of Lesbian Moms
I’m very excited to invite you to a special event here at Mombian: a live, streaming interview on Monday, March 7 with #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about her latest novel, Sing You Home, the story of a lesbian couple and their attempts to have a child.
See And Baby Makes More Writers in Chicago
I’ve written before about And Baby Makes More: Known Donors, Queer Parents, and Our Unexpected Families, a terrific essay collection edited by Susan Goldberg and Chloë Brushwood Rose. Susan was kind enough to inform me that she, Chloë, and several other contributors to the volume will be doing a reading in Chicago on February 17 [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 119
After a few weeks hiatus, I’m back with a new vlog about LGBT parenting books and videos of 2010—great for holiday gifts! (Those of you who prefer your gifts guides in text could try my earlier written post.) Mombian: She Got Me Pregnant, 12-16-2010 Uploaded by drudolph. – Watch more LGBT videos. (If the embedded [...]
A Gift Guide to Media for LGBT Families
2010 brought us a number of excellent films—and a few books—about LGBT families. Here are some you may want to add to your holiday list. Mom’s Apple Pie: The Heart of the Lesbian Mothers’ Custody Movement, a documentary by Jody Laine, Shan Ottey and Shad Reinstein, gives us a look at early custody cases involving [...]
New Book for Youth with LGBTQ Parents
I’m very excited to let you all know that Let’s Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents is hitting bookstores today. It’s a practical, inspirational, and forthright guide for pre-teens and teens with LGBTQ parents—and we parents could benefit from reading it as well. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tina [...]
Happy Banned Book Week!
It’s Banned Book Week once again—the American Library Association’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. I’ll refer you back to the piece I wrote for Banned Books Week last year, “Penguins, Rabbits, and Guinea Pigs: In Celebration of Banned Books,” noting that LGBT-themed books continue to be banned or challenged, as a July case [...]
New Books and Media for LGBT Families
(Originally published in Bay Windows, July 23, 2010. Regular readers will recognize many of the items in this mid-year roundup from previous reviews I’ve done—but there’s one new item in there, so read on.) It’s been a good year so far for books and media about LGBT parenting—but not so much for items aimed at [...]
New Guide Offers Insights for Donor-Conceived Children
(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) A long-running study of lesbian families created through donor insemination made headlines June 7 when it published new results showing that teens from these families tend to do better than their peers socially and academically. While these findings from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study are positive, they [...]
One More Winner – And Great Comments
Congratulations to Susan, winner of the third And Baby Makes More giveaway! Once again, the comments left in response to the contest question—”What’s the one thing you wish someone had told you before you became a parent? OR What’s the one thing you’d like to know before becoming one?”—have been fascinating, funny, and informative. If [...]
Thanks — and a Third Giveaway
Thanks to every one of you who contributed a post or comment to Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Once again, I am overwhelmed by their variety and thoughtfulness. I’ll be highlighting various posts and themes in the coming days, but I urge you to read through them for yourselves. As a further way of saying [...]
Another Book Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to Amanda, winner of the second And Baby Makes More giveaway! If you didn’t win, please stop by next Wednesday, as I will be giving away one more copy. (Please stop by next Tuesday, too, as it is Blogging for LGBT Families Day. If you have a blog, post something about LGBT families, then submit [...]
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