January 2008

Studying Our Children, from Birth to Adulthood

Dr. Nanette Gartrell is the principal investigator of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS). “Longitudinal lesbians?” you may ask. Parse it differently, however, and it’s a multi-year, repeated study of a group of lesbian moms and their children, the longest-running and largest investigation of its kind. Dr. Gartrell was kind enough to take time

Explaining LGBT Families

Finally, a sensible answer to the question of explaining LGBT families to young children. A reader of the Seattle Times asks: How much information is appropriate to give young children (6-8 years) about gay families? Evidently, my daughter has a gay family in her classroom, and I want her to understand and be tolerant. She

First Rainbow List of LGBT-Themed Children’s Books

The GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association has published its first “Rainbow List” of the year’s best LGBT-themed children’s and young adult books. (Since this is the list’s inaugural year, it in fact includes books of the past three years.) Thanks to K. T. Horning of Worth the Trip for making the list

Weekly Political Roundup

I haven’t been covering the blow-by-blow of the presidential campaigns, but others have. Lisa Keen, in the Bay Area Reporter, has a good summary of the leading candidates’ positions on various LGBT issues and the endorsements they’ve gained. The AP looks at the frustration among many LGBT activists about the lukewarm support for LGBT rights

Tell the NY Post “Evil Lesbian Mom” Is Insulting

Not that I expect fine journalism from the New York Post, but this goes beyond acceptability: “EVIL LESBIAN MOM LEFT TODDLER TO DIE SLOW DEATH: DA” blares the headline. The story is a tragic one, of child abuse and neglect. A New York mother is accused of abandoning her 23-month-old son to death after he

Gay-Straight Alliances at Department of Defense Dependents Schools

Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper for the U.S. military community overseas, has a fascinating article on the establishment of a Gay-Straight Alliance club at Robert D. Edgren High School, situated at Misawa Air Base in Japan and part of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific. Despite some controversy and an investigation of the Department

“She Got Me Pregnant”: Episode 12

This week, Helen and I use Tasha’s storyline on The L Word as an excuse to share the story of an actual LGBT officer raising children with her partner, and to explore the impact of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on the children of LGBT servicemembers. (Read the full story in my original

How Do Our Children Compare?

(Originally published in Bay Windows, January 22, 2008). Dr. Blase Masini wants to spend time with your family—or at least with data about you. The developmental psychologist and head of the research department at Howard Brown Health Center, a leading LGBT health care organization in Chicago, has launched a nationwide study of LGBT parenting, and

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