So many articles on LGBT families, so little time. Here are a few things worth a read before your Halloween-candy buzz wears off. (Dana’s first rule of Halloween: Always buy trick-or-treat candy that you yourself would eat.)
- A study by a group of Bay Area LGBT organizations found that “same-sex couples raising children in California are more likely to be people of color and that their median household income is 17 percent lower than the income of married couples with children.” (The study did not, unfortunately, look at single parents.) The high numbers of lesbian and nonwhite parents could explain the lower income, since women and people of color are more likely to earn less than their white male peers. As Abigail points out, however, the interesting thing here is not just the demographics, but the anecdotes from real families in the area that show how homophobia and racism is still alive even in a more “accepting” area of the country.
- Susan Cover of Maine’s Morning Sentinel tells the story of two lesbian moms who have filed a petition in Kennebec County Probate Court seeking a second-parent adoption for the non-biological mother. Their effort is based on a Maine Supreme Judicial Court decision from August 30 that allowed a Portland, ME lesbian couple to jointly adopt their foster children. (Thanks, To Form a More Perfect Union.)
- In the Fall 2007 issue of Greater Good magazine, which looks at “The 21st Century Family,” Amie K. Miller asks “Does Barbie Need a Man?” and surveys the various challenges children of LGBT parents may face, as well as the advantages they may have. A good piece to share with prospective allies.
- Stephanie Coontz’s “The Family Revolution” (also in Greater Good) reminds us that marriage was never, as an institution, the romantic ideal some believe it was. I like the way she puts same-sex marriage in the context of other social changes, and ties in the fight for LGBT rights with the fight for other family-friendly policies (a connection I’ve noted before). She hits the proverbial nail with the observation “The right question today is not, ‘How can we shoehorn everybody into a single perfect family form?’ Instead, it is, ‘How can we help every type of family whether living in the same household or not—minimize its particular weaknesses and build upon its potential strengths?'”
On the question of ‘Does Barbie need a man’, we are somewhat flummoxed with the Christmas season fast approaching.
We bought our little one a beautiful doll’s house, as she’s been going all misty-eyed over them lately. Little did we realize that we would also have to buy the wooden figurines to populate them (no Barbies in this house, thank you). However, these always come in standard families, i.e. mum, dad, daughter, son configs, with a gran and grandad to boot. How have other families solved this quandary? Our present idea is to buy another set, thus given her the opportunity to mix and match?
I’d also be willing to hear from other people how they dealt with the ‘papa’ question. We had already discussed this in the past, are also fortunate that my cousin had a child out of wedlock, whose father is unknown, and thus a ‘role model’ to some extent. But I feel like a broken record some days repeating the ‘some kids have one mum or dad, some have a mum and dad, and some have two of each’ mantra… All input more than welcome.
Some days I grumble that all kids should come with a manual, but a FAQ section would be particularly handy ;-)