Here’s a roundup of some of the things happening in the world of LGBTQ parenting while I was busy with my own family this past week.
Things that Make Me Happy
- Asher Jak at Autostraddle has a great piece on “Adventures in Babymaking as a Single Black Lesbian.”
- A Florida circuit judge ruled that the child born through in vitro fertilization to a married same-sex couple was the legal child of both parents, just as for different-sex couples.
- Same-sex couples in Florida may jointly adopt and also now use step-parent adoptions, cheaper and less intrusive than second-parent adoptions, to secure their family ties.
- U.S. parents who used surrogacy to start their families may still be able to be recorded on their children’s birth certificates even if they have missed the usual six-month deadline, Gay Star News reports.
- Gay dads Kordale and Kaleb, who recently starred in a commercial for Nikon, spoke with The Grio about their family, a possible fourth child, and the Kickstarter for a film based on Kordale’s memoir of his life.
- Hong Kong has its first support group for gay parents.
- Lesbian mom and Mayor of Houston Annise Parker was named the top mayor in the U.S. and the seventh best in the world, according to the City Mayors Foundation (via Towleroad).
Things that Annoy Me
- A private school in Tennessee turned down two children because their parents are gay. The Tennessean reports that “While the school is not affiliated with any specific church or denomination, the Davidson Academy letter says that the school was founded by Christians and operated in the Christian tradition based on ‘clear tenets of faith and practice.'” One of the dads asserted, “We want our children to have a Christian education, and we’re finding that very, very hard.” Kudos to the Tennessean for its follow up piece, noting “some Christian schools in Nashville have admitted children of gay parents.”
- An Argentinian swim school has refused admission to the daughter of two moms, stating (according to one mother) that the classes are for “traditional families.”
- A Slovakian referendum on marriage and adoption for same-sex couples saw a low turnout, although 95 percent of those who did vote backed the existing ban.
- A handful of parents in the Lampeter-Strasburg School District in Pennsylvania were upset that a teacher read Jacob’s New Dress
to her kindergarten class without getting parents’ permission first. The book, which I reviewed last year, is about a young boy who wants to wear a dress to school.Although that was annoying, some people’s responses gave me hope: Superintendent Kevin Peart told the local newspaper, LNP, that it was “never about proselytizing or promoting a lifestyle we recognize the community is uncomfortable with. The fact is that the book was read to a specific class to address a specific need of a specific student identified by our staff and parents.”The LNP editorial board also backed the teacher, noting, “If there was any agenda being pushed by the Lampeter-Strasburg educators, it was this: Kids need to be kind to other kids, even when they don’t act or talk or play or learn — or dress — the way others expect. Don’t be a bully. Be a friend.” They also observed, “Would they have expected to be notified if the book had been about a little girl who wore ‘tomboyish’ clothes? Does anyone read gender identity issues into ‘Pippi Longstocking’?”
Things that Make Me Sad
- Niki Quasney, 38, a mother and one of the plaintiffs in Lambda Legal’s case to gain marriage equality in Indiana, passed away from ovarian cancer.
