March 2012

“Hate Is Not an Expert Opinion”: New Project Holds Anti-LGBT Commentators Accountable

Many of us have seen them: anti-LGBT “experts” who appear on the news spouting supposed “facts” about LGBT people—”facts” that are nothing more than fabrications or distortions wrapped in bias. Many of their arguments center around the supposed unsuitability of LGBT people to be parents. We might expect such people on certain conservative-leaning news channels, but when they appear even on more moderate ones, it can be infuriating.

GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, today announced the launch of its Commentator Accountability Project, which aims “to educate the media about the extreme rhetoric of over three dozen activists who are often given a platform to speak in opposition to LGBT people and the issues that affect their lives.”

Book Recommendation: Pugdog, a Gender-Bending Tail

I mentioned a few weeks ago that children’s books dealing with issues of gender identity are still few and far between. A colleague of mine, however, recently recommended Andrea U’ren’s Pugdog, a picture book about a gender nonconforming dog.

Teens with Lesbian Moms: Stigmatized But Coping

“Half of Teens with Lesbian Mothers Face Stigmatization, Most Often During School,” read the title of a press release from UCLA’s Williams Institute March 8. Yikes. That’s important news, given the need to raise public awareness of harassment and bullying in schools—but it’s also a scary message for lesbian moms. It’s almost enough to make prospective parents return their turkey basters.

Note the subtitle, however: “Nearly two-thirds have effective coping skills.” Yes, our children may face stigmatization and bullying, but that doesn’t mean we should view them as helpless in the face of it.

NPR Nails Story on Transgender Parent

Sometimes a story about an LGBT family comes along that really stands out for its warmth, understanding, and optimism. Today, NPR’s StoryCorps ran “A Mom Becomes A Man, And A Family Sticks Together,”about Les GrantSmith, a transgender man, his husband Scott, and their two daughters. It’s a wonderful account that stays consistently positive without hiding the challenges the family faced. Here’s the lovely beginning:

Grandparents Speak Up for Marriage Equality

Washington State residents John and Dorothy Reitan, who have two gay grandsons, speak up on behalf of marriage equality in this charming video. The Reitans should know a thing or two about marriage, having been married for 70 years. John Reitan is also a pastor and World War II Navy veteran.

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire (D) signed marriage equality into law February 13, 2012, but opponents are trying to prevent it from going into effect in June by forcing it to a referendum in November.

If more families felt like the Reitans, we wouldn’t need to worry.

Post of the Week: “Pregnancy Changes Things”

This week’s highlighted post, “Pregnancy Changes Things,” comes from Yin of Living a Loving Life as Wife and Wife. She talks about how pregnancy has changed her relationships with her partner, her mother, and her friends. It’s a quiet reflection on changes that I’m guessing many others have felt, too.

My New Job with the SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum

There are big changes afoot here at the House of Mombian. I’m delighted to report that I’ve just taken a part-time job as the Online Content Manager for the SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum, a 26-year-old diversity program that helps educators “examine contemporary scholarship as well as ‘the textbooks of our lives’ in order to inform community conversation about schooling and culture.” It explores gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, and other aspects of identity, and prepares educators to bring their learnings back to their own schools.

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Some of the parenting-related stories that caught my eye this week, including a few items showing that more countries are protecting the legal relationships between children and their parents in a variety of family forms—but that many jurisdictions are still grappling with the issues raised by assisted reproduction and same-sex couples:

Five Years of Parenting and Progress

(I wrote this for my newspaper column a couple of months ago, but never posted it. Enjoy.)

This column marks five years of Mombian columns for me. Looking back, it’s been a time of tremendous change for LGBT families and for me personally. I’ve learned a lot over these years, both as a parent and a chronicler of our LGBT parenting experiences. The best part of doing this column has been speaking with a wide variety of LGBT parents, authors, activists, and others working towards equality for our families. If my words here mean anything, it is because they have been informed by theirs. Here are a few of the things I’ve gleaned along the way.

Why Burping Turtles are Like LGBT Kids Books: A Post for Dr. Seuss

Happy birthday to the good doctor, who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel on this date in 1904. While we may not be able to celebrate quite like they do in Katroo, we can celebrate Read Across America Day, an annual “reading motivation and awareness program” run by the National Education Association (NEA).

Today is also a great time to share an incident regarding Seuss’ Yertle the Turtle, since it relates to those who say that LGBT-inclusive books in the classroom are inappropriate. Geisel once said that when writing Yertle:

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