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Gay Cruising of a Different Kind
(Something a little lighthearted at an otherwise somber time for me. Originally published several weeks ago as my Mombian newspaper column.) I’d only ever done gay cruising before. No, not that kind of cruising—I mean the floating around on a big ship kind. My in-laws recently took my spouse, our son, and me, plus my [...]
Take several hundred LGBT families from around the country—moms, dads, children young and old, and assorted other relatives–add sun, sand, movies, and a bonfire, and you’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of what Family Week in Provincetown is all about.
The 10 Gayest Things from Our Disney Vacation
My family and I took a last-minute vacation to Disney World last week. We had been planning to go later in the year, but got a good end-of-summer deal and decided to go for it. I make it a habit not to blog about vacations while actually on them—to me, it’s like putting up a [...]
What Are You Doing for Summer Fun?
Time for this week’s discussion thread. Now that Pride is almost over and the hot weather is upon us, what summer plans do you have for you and your family? Our son is in a few local summer programs for July, but we’re hoping to do family stuff in August, so I’ve left that pretty [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 75
Helen and I discuss the lesbian moms who appeared on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie this week, and tell you why we thought the portrayals by Blythe Danner and Swoosie Kurtz broke new ground. We also share highlights from our recent trip to Washington, D.C., and offer some tips for traveling with kids so the whole family [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 68
Helen and I bring you the inside scoop on our recent trip to Disney World, including our son’s obsession with teen secret agent Kim Possible (think Buffy meets James Bond) and our disappointment that we couldn’t find any Kim merchandise among the princess and pirate paraphernalia. We also tell you what we love about Disney [...]
Where Do You Socialize with LGBT Families?
Let’s do another poll and explore how we build community and friendship: {democracy:19}
LGBT Parenting Roundup
It’s time for another collection of news and fun stuff for LGBT parents: Put on your flak jackets. “It is same-sex parenting that is heating up as the next skirmish in the nation’s culture wars,” asserts the Chicago Tribune. Nancy Polikoff points out just how scary are the proposed Bush rules that would allow healthcare [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 47
I’m vlogging alone this week while Helen is away on business, so I offer some tips for other traveling parents and the ones staying home. I also discuss the theatrical release of a new movie documenting the fight for marriage equality in Massachusetts, Mary Cheney’s not-so-excellent dinner, and a lesbian mom presidential candidate. Watch Mombian: [...]
Philanthropy and Family a Sweet Combination
(Originally published with slight variation in Bay Windows.) For Jen Rainin, creating a lesbian travel company based on the idea of giving back to the world was an extension of her role as a philanthropist, but also a way to convey positive values to her children. Rainin is one of the founders of Sweet, which [...]
Gay Pilgrims’ Progress
I don’t often post about purely local events, but since this one has ties to national history, here goes: Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, the site of the first Thanksgiving, will host “Out at Plimoth Plantation” on September 13. The event will “offer a glimpse into the lives of 17th century LGBT pilgrims and Native Americans,” [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 34
Helen and I talk about Family Outing, the funny, raunchy new memoir by a man whose mother was outed to him by her ex-girlfriend when he was 10 years old. (Not the recommended way of doing things, might I add.) We also share more highlights of our recent vacation to California, including San Francisco Pride’s [...]
Update from the Road
Despite my earlier qualms, it looks like I will be online this week. I’m sitting here in the middle of King’s Canyon National Park in California, in the common room of the rustic John Muir Lodge, rough-hewn beams overhead, with six other people and their laptops, all taking advantage of the free WiFi. Gotta love [...]
“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 23
Helen and I did not go to the Dinah Shore weekend this year, but we recreate the event (minus the lesbian pool parties) with a homemade mini-golf tournament in our living room. Yes, it’s harder to take off for events like the Dinah when you have kids, but there’s no excuse not to travel with [...]
Discrimination Doesn’t Fly with Tammy Baldwin
When Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin went with a congressional delegation to Europe, she brought along her spouse, as did other members of Congress. Or at least she wanted to. The Pentagon at first said her spouse, Lauren Azar, who had exchanged vows with Baldwin in 1998, could not take the flight. Speaker of the [...]
“Gay Positioning System” Navigates Roads and Rights
Kansas-based Garmin, makers of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, today announced the availability of its “Gay Positioning System.” The new handheld units not only tell users how to find their way on the road, but also point out the status of their relationships as they cross city and state lines. “A couple could be married [...]
Seeking Good Lesbian Travel Writing
Passing along this notice courtesy of Robin Reagler at The Other Mother: Women’s Wonderlands: Good Lesbian Travel Writing Gillian Kendall is currently soliciting submissions for a new anthology from University of Wisconsin Press, which will be a sister edition to Wonderlands: Good Gay Travel Writing, edited by Raphael Kadushin. Wonderlands has had terrific success, selling [...]
Where We Are and Where We’re Going
A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA (PDF link) has shown that the number of same-sex couples in the U.S. reporting themselves as “unmarried partners” quintupled between 1990 and 2006. The biggest increases were in socially conservative Southern and Mountain states, and states barring legal acceptance of same-sex couples. This seems odd—or highly [...]
Eight Family-Friendly Haulers, Part II
Yesterday, Joe Tralongo of Gaywheels.com offered the first half of a guest post on family-friendly and gay-friendly haulin’ vehicles. Not everyone wants the same thing in a car, as was clear from comments on the post, but I hope these reviews will give you some sense of what’s on offer if you are in search [...]
Eight Family-Friendly Haulers, Part I
Thanks to Gaywheels.com, “the Gay-Friendly Automotive Resource,” for today’s special guest post, first of a two-part series. Gaywheels’ Joe Tralongo has put together for Mombian a list of family-friendly—and gay-friendly—vehicles worth checking out if you’re in the market for a new ride for yourself and your clan. If, however, you’re having a midlife crisis and [...]
R Family Cruise: It’s Not About the Destination
(Originally published in Bay Windows, Family Week Supplement, July 26, 2007.) R Family Vacations, profiled in the HBO documentary All Aboard: Rosie’s Family Cruise, caught some flak (but also some praise) earlier this year when they removed Bermuda from their July cruise. A group of protesters had threatened to meet the ship, and R Family [...]
New Mexico Same-Sex Couples Can Marry in Massachusetts
Same-sex couples residing in New Mexico may now legally marry in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Registry of Vital Records and Statistics last Thursday issued “a corrective notice to all Massachusetts city and town clerks authorizing them to allow same-sex couples from New Mexico to apply for marriage licenses,” according to Gay [...]
R Family Cruise: Day Six
Fairy-tale theme night today brought out all the princesses on board. Oh, and the little girls in pink dresses, too. The nice thing, however, is there was no sense of obligation to take part. Some parents brought old Halloween costumes for their kids (or themselves); others made do with appropriate pajamas, and others (like us) [...]
R Family Cruise: Day Five
A short post tonight, because even bloggers need a vacation day now and then. Today we spent on the Norwegian Cruise Lines private island, a small volcanic burp in the Bahamas named “Great Stirrup Cay.” It has an idyllic beach, with warm aqua waters, enough shade for those of a fair-skinned persuasion, and enough sand [...]
R Family Cruise: Day Four
Parental observation of the day: You can bring a four-year-old to new and exotic locales, but chances are he (or she) will be more enraptured by the fire truck going down the street than by any historic or natural attractions. Key West was fun, if blisteringly hot. We took a glass-bottomed boat tour to see [...]
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