LGBT Parenting Roundup

Children and Gender

• Brett Berk rightly shreds the conclusions of a recent study on children and gender roles.
• Sassymonkey at BlogHer looks at the recurring question of why there aren’t more books for boys, and astutely asks, “Maybe the question isn’t about where the books for boys are but why boys need books about boys? Why is it that boys can’t read books about girls?”

Schools and Homophobia

• E.N. Jackson tackles homophobia in the black community and how it affects children of all orientations:
  

  We in the black community have a long tradition of treating others with generosity, kindness, love, and compassion. Surely we can find better ways to deal with issues of sexuality than attempting to “exorcise” someone of his or her identity. Homophobia is killing our youth, and the high level of religious conservatism, ignorance, and misunderstanding surrounding gender and sexual identity issues in communities of color puts our youth at even greater risk for death. In many cases, the deaths of GLBT teens have been literal, but more often than not GLBT youth suffer an emotional, psychological, and spiritual death.

  Worth reading in full.

• The trial of 15-year-old Brandon McInerney, the teenager who shot and killed his gay Oxnard, Calif., classmate Lawrence King, is underway. McInerney is charged as an adult with first-degree murder and a hate crime. Alex at Bilerico offers some interesting thoughts on how the media has handled the case and how the defense might do so.
• West Virginia’s Kanawha County school board voted unanimously to remove specific protections for LGBT students in its cultural diversity policy.

Politics and Law

• I covered it yesterday, but D.C.’s new law regarding donor insemination is worth another mention.
• The case to overturn Florida’s ban on gay or lesbian people from adopting children now has an appeals court date: August 26. Chris Geidner at Law Dork tells you everything you need to know about the case (unless you’re an even bigger law dork, if that’s even possible, in which case you’re on your own).
• The Tallahassee Democrat notes, however, that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist proclaimed today “Explore Adoption Day,” even as lawyers for his administration are preparing to defend the adoption ban. On Top magazine, however, indicates his stance on the issue may be “softening.”
• Tennessee State Sen. Paul Stanley, one of the strongest proponents of a ban against adoption by unmarried cohabiting couples, is facing a scandal after explicit photos of the married senator and his 22-year-old intern surfaced.
• A lesbian couple in the U.K. has been permitted to have their IVF treatment paid for by the National Health Service (NHS) after their local primary care trust denied them treatment because they were both women. One woman has polycystic ovary syndrome, which can cause infertility. In October, however, the “need for a father” will no longer be taken into consideration, but only a couple’s ability to provide “supportive parenting”.
• Despite the IVF law pending in October, conservatives at the Centre for Social Justice have put out a report saying that lesbians undergoing fertility treatment should not be able to record a civil partner as a second parent, but should instead use an adapted “special guardianship” status. The Centre is chaired by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.

Personal Finance

• NPR looks at end-of-life planning for same-sex parents.