X Factor Contestant Talks About Her Two Moms
I’m not a reality TV fan in general, but I was struck by this video of 13-year-old X Factor contestant Beatrice Miller talking about her two moms—and then singing her heart out.
November 2012
LGBT Parenting Roundup: Post-election Edition
Here are some of the LGBT parenting stories I haven’t covered elsewhere—our families in the South, new advertising campaigns, and more.
Adoption: Starting the Journey
November is National Adoption Month, and while it’s certainly not the only time we talk about adoption around here, it’s a good time to re-emphasize the many stories and resources by and for LGBT adoptive parents. I’ll be putting up extra adoption-related posts throughout the month. I hope you’ll stop by, whether you’re an adoptive parent, considering adoption, or simply want to show your support for one of the many ways we create our families. Let’s start at the beginning, with a lovely letter by a prospective mom to the child she and her partner hope to adopt.
Gay Penguin Dads to Form Support Group
Well, no. But the pair of male penguins that just hatched an egg together in Denmark makes the fourth such couple, by my count. At the very least, they should all get together and have brunch while the chicks swim. (Maybe they’ll even invite the gay flamingos.)
Victories Big and Small
I think most of the LGBT community in the U.S. is celebrating the election results this week, and rightly so. As we revel in the amazing reality of four states voting the right way on marriage equality, we should nevertheless remember that these political victories are only the tip of the iceberg. They rest on the everyday victories of LGBT people and our families—the courage that we find to make ourselves visible, changing hearts and minds one person at a time. I was reminded of this by a post over at The Adventures of K & D, a lesbian couple in Florida.
A Rainbow After the Storm
We can talk about academic studies of how LGBT people are good parents—but such studies don’t replace personal stories like the one about the preschool son of Gabriel Blau and Dylan Stein, two gay dads in New York. The preschooler wanted to give the money in his piggy bank to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The Wind at Our Backs
What a night. A president who supports LGBT equality and the right of women to control their own bodies. The first time voters have affirmed marriage equality at the ballot box—in Maryland, Maine, and Washington—and defeated an attempt to ban it—in Minnesota. Our first openly LGBT U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Openly gay representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and David Cicilline (D-RI) re-elected, joined by newcomers Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI)—a record number of out members of Congress. A record number of women in the Senate. I had dared not dream of so many wins.
And yet.
President Obama to 10-Year-Old with Gay Dads: “No two families look the same. We celebrate this diversity”
Ten-year-old Sophia Bailey Klugh had one question for President Obama: “If you were me and had two dads that loved each other, and kids at school teased you about it, what would you do?” Yesterday, the President responded.
Election Menagerie: Donkeys, Elephants, and Guinea Pigs
I’m having a feeling of déjà vu. Four years ago, I was waiting to see if Barack Obama would be elected president; waiting to see the outcome of a ballot measure in California that would decide the legality of marriage equality in that state; and baffled that a patron of a Colorado library had asked for the removal or reshelving of the children’s picture book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, claiming it was “inappropriate for children” because it showed two anthropomorphic male guinea pigs getting married.
Teens of Lesbian Moms Are Good Students and Happy: Study
The latest results from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), the longest-running and largest study of American lesbian families, show that almost all of the teens in the NLLFS are academically successful and say they are happy with their lives. That’s great news—but brings with it one matter for concern.
