Archives › Diversions
The New Amtrak Ads Through a Racial Lens

In my post yesterday about the new Amtrak ads, I mentioned that it was good to see same-sex parents of color in the media. In discussing the ads with a friend and educator who is Black and a lesbian, however, I came to realize my White perspective was only giving me part of the story.
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Amtrak On the Right Track with Lesbian and Gay Family Ads

Amtrak has just launched a lovely new advertising campaign featuring lesbian moms and gay dads. The company has marketed to the LGBT community for several years, but chugs into new territory with its latest two ads that focus on same-sex parents.
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Family Week — Creating Memories for our Children

(The following is a guest post from Brent Wright, father of two and Director of Programs at Family Equality Council, a nonprofit organization that connects, supports, and represents the one million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender in this country and the two million children they are raising.)
I truly believe that we are all the sum part of all our childhood experiences. Every backyard BBQ and schoolyard tussle—every campout under the stars and timeout in the principal’s office—every childhood friendship and teenaged broken heart.
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Coming Soon: Guest Posts for Family Week

Tomorrow, July 28, marks the start of Family Week, the annual event in Provincetown, Mass. hosted by the Family Equality Council for LGBT families and our children. I won’t be there in person this year, alas, but in honor of the event, I’ll be bringing you two special guest posts next week.
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Felix Bermea, his partner Roy, and their four children have been harassed in their hometown of Gilbert, Arizona for almost three months. It started with epithets scrawled on their house and car, led to someone setting their bushes on fire, and has escalated to a home break in and vandalization of the children’s furniture. The children are afraid, and the parents are afraid for them. Now, the Family Equality Council wants to do the family a kindness and send them, free of charge, to the organization’s annual Family Week in Provincetown. But they need our help.
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Post of the Week: Family Discoveries

I was amused and touched by the summer travel wisdom over at Are You the Babysitter?, making her “Family Discoveries” my Post of the Week.
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What Are You Looking Forward to This Summer?

It’s my son’s last week of school before vacation, and I’m thinking about our summer plans, so I thought I’d ask the rest of you what you’re looking forward to this summer. Anyone taking any trips? Starting (or finishing) any home improvement projects? Sending the kids to camp?
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CampOUT for Kids with LGBT Parents

Emmy Howe, my boss at my day job with the SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum, also runs CampOUT, a summer camp for children and youth with LGBT parents. (And I thought I had a lot of projects going.) The camp is held at her farm in Conway, Mass., and Emmy says they have about 10 spots left. If you’re interested, pop over to their Web site and check them out.
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How do lesbian moms celebrate Mothers’ Day? Here’s one family’s answer, via this charming short video, “Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed,” by filmmaker and photographer Mike Shum.
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Happy Mothers’ Day or Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there! We may come to motherhood in different ways, and approach it in different manners, but we are all united by a love of our children. Here are a few additional posts from round and about that speak to the spirit of the holiday:
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LGBT Parenting Roundup — Mothers’ Day Edition

A very happy Mothers’ Day or Mother’s Day to you, no matter how many moms you are celebrating! Here are some mom-related stories of note this week:
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Happy International Family Equality Day!
Today marks the first-ever International Family Equality Day, an event created by the Family Equality Council “to bring together LGBT families of all kinds to celebrate their family pride and ongoing efforts for full family equality.”
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Lesbian Mom Expelled from Boy Scouts Speaks Out
I wrote the other day about Ohio mom Jennifer Tyrrell, whom the Boy Scouts expelled as den leader of her son’s Cub Scout troop because she is a lesbian. Now, her Change.org petition asking the Boy Scouts to reconsider their policy of not permitting gay Scouts or leaders has gained nearly 130,000 signatures. Tyrrell also [...]
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Boy Scouts Kick Lesbian Den Leader Out of Son’s Den
The Boy Scouts of America has recently told Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mom in Ohio, that because of her sexual orientation, she can no longer serve as the den leader of her son’s local Cub Scout chapter. Although parents of the other boys in the den supported her, the local Boy Scout council revoked her membership. After the jump, find out what Tyrrell and the other parents are doing in response, and how you can help.
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Heather — No, Miriam — Has a Sweet Passover
Lesléa Newman is best known as the author of the first children’s book to feature LGBT parents, Heather Has Two Mommies, as well as other LGBT-inclusive picture books, such as Mommy, Mama, and Me; Daddy, Papa, and Me; and Donovan’s Big Day. The prolific author’s latest book, A Sweet Passover, does not feature an LGBT family, but is nonetheless a charming tale worthy of consideration by readers here.
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Has Gender Inequity in Sports Affected Your Kids?

In a dazzling display of basketball prowess, the women of Baylor University won over Notre Dame in last night’s NCAA Championships. The annual March Madness basketball tournament also prompted the New York Times this week to examine how and why the coaches of women’s teams get paid far less than those of men’s teams. Does gender inequity play a role in how your kids perceive sports?
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U.S. Customs to Allow Same-Sex Couples to File Joint Customs Declarations

Many of us have been in this situation: Returning to the U.S. from a family vacation abroad, we stand in the customs line with partner and kid(s), only to be separated when it is our turn and the customs agent only allows “one family at a time”—meaning “only one federally recognized family.” Suddenly, all of our vacation relaxation is gone.
That will soon change.
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Happy Mothering Sunday!

A very happy Mothering Sunday to my readers in the U.K. and other countries that are celebrating it today. Here in the U.S., our Mother’s Day isn’t until May, but at Mombian, of course, every day is Mother’s Day (or Mothers’ Day, depending on your relationship status), so have a great day no matter where you live.
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IKEA Gets to the Root of Family with Inclusive Carrot Toys

Yet another in my occasional but ongoing series on why I love IKEA. This adorable carrot family shows that what matters is love and happiness. The gender of the parents doesn’t matter–or can be imagined to be whatever the child wants them to be.
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Happy Gay-Straight Alliance Day!
Today marks the first-ever National Gay-Straight Alliance Day, a project of the Iowa Pride Network in partnership with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In honor of the occasion, I’ll point out my coverage a few years ago of the 20th anniversary celebration of the GSA at Phillips Academy, which has the second-oldest GSA in [...]
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Three Quotes for Martin Luther King Day
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, here are three of my favorite quotes from Dr. King: Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity [...]
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Did Your Kids Get Holiday Presents You Regret?
Now that we’ve all had a little time to recover from the holidays, let me ask: Which of your children’s holiday presents are you most glad they got? Are there any you regret? And do they feel differently? Speaking for myself, I have no regrets. We seem to have progressed past the age when he [...]
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Happy New Year!
A joyous 2012 to you and your families! May the year be full of love, happiness, peace, and equality for all.
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“Girls” Toys and “Boys” Toys: Some Progress and Some Cautions
The winter holidays always seem to highlight that the world tends to divide toys into “girls” and “boys” varieties. Most of us here, I think, would agree that no one should be forced into particular types of play based on real or perceived gender. Over at Skepchick, Natalie Reed has a great article on “Guyliner, Murses, [...]
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