It’s a new year, and there’s a new parenting site on the block: Parent Hacks, “a collaborative weblog of practical parenting wisdom.” It’s not specifically LGBT, but looks to be a good resource for general parenting tips. I can’t say I agree with them all, but that’s a matter of personal style. There’s still much that seems helpful.
Another useful site for such information is the longer-standing Blogging Baby. Again, not exclusively LGBT, but very friendly. In fact, it was a post on Blogging Baby that alerted me to Rainbow Rumpus, a new online magazine for children of LGBT parents. (They actually launched right before Thanksgiving; I must have missed it in the holiday rush.)
Rainbow Rumpus is in its early days, but looks promising, with stories, poems, a bulletin board, reviews of books, music, and videos, and more. They even have an interview with one of the children from the “Postcards from Buster” episode that was banned because it featured a lesbian family. Worth keeping an eye on this site.
I wondered briefly if kids would prefer this to be a more broad-based magazine that includes material on LGBT and straight families, rather than one specifically about LGBT families. While it’s vital to show our children positive images of families like ours, do we risk making them feel ghettoized? Perhaps. I think it ultimately depends on the specific child to determine what method works best. Some may find comfort in a focused environment; others may find this makes them feel too “different.”
As the graduate of a women’s college, however, I’ve argued fiercely against those who claim that such an institution creates an artificial atmosphere and doesn’t prepare its members for life in the real world. My feeling is that it teaches women not to expect anything less than the full opportunities we had during college. A former president of the college once commented on this, too, to the effect of “In a perfect world, a women’s college wouldn’t be necessary, but it’s not a perfect world.”
Same goes for Rainbow Rumpus. It would be nice if stories about LGBT families existed side-by-side with stories about straight ones, in any kids’ magazine. Until such time, Rainbow Rumpus will be both an antidote and a supplement to other magazines our kids may read. I hope that kids who read it will come away with a confidence in themselves and their families that carries over to the rest of their lives. I hope the editors also work to syndicate its content to other open-minded kids’ sites, thus reaching an audience (of both LGBT and straight families) that might not know of or want to visit an exclusively LGBT-focused site, for whatever reason.
I’ll be stopping back again to see what Rainbow Rumpus has to offer. (I hope that includes an “About Us” link, a content index, and an indication of the age range for each story–though I think that overall, the site is rather attractive.) Best of luck to them.
As another women’s college alumna, I think some kids probably prefer the more targetted community and others don’t. I loved going to a women’s college, but it isn’t the right place for every woman.
The really nice thing about the Internet, as distinct from college, for example, is that the kids don’t have to choose. They can hang out at Rainbow Rumpus and any number of other sites. :)
Good point, Liza. It’s definitely a personal choice. I just hope for Rainbow Rumpus’ sake that enough kids choose to visit, at least occasionally, that RR’s sponsors will keep funding the site.