Here are some stories about LGBTQ families that I haven’t covered elsewhere, rounded up for you! See what’s going on with LGBTQ families around the world!
Politics and Law
- Greece has legalized marriage and adoption for same-sex couples. NBC News reports, however, that it still “prohibit[s] same-sex male couples from having children through surrogate mothers in Greece, an option available to single women and heterosexual couples who require surrogates due to health reasons.” Several same-sex parents in Greece spoke with France 24 just in advance of the landmark legislation, talking about what the landmark legislation would mean for them.
- Gay fathers and Irish citizen Mark O’Looney and Eoin Cannon are battling with Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs as they try to obtain Irish citizenship for their daughter, born via surrogacy in the U.S., reports BNN.
- A large majority of Scottish parents (70%) support the national LGBT Inclusive Education programme, according to a study conducted by Survation on behalf of Time for Inclusive Education (TIE), the country’s LGBT-inclusive education charity. Only 15% expressed opposition. The study explored parents’ feelings about their children learning about LGBT-related bullying and prejudice, different family types, and LGBT historic figures. The study comes just over five years after Scotland became the first country in the world to commit to incorporating LGBT-inclusive education throughout the curriculum.
Family Profiles
- Gay dad Enrique Grobbelaar writes about his own experience and “the Rise of Rainbow Families in South Africa” at MambaOnline.
- Lotte Jeffs, co-author of The Queer Parent: Everything You Need To Know From Gay to Ze, among other books, writes of her own experience becoming a parent via IVF and about the many ways other queer people are becoming parents in the U.K.
- LGBTQ Nation profiles Nevada State Sen. Dallas Harris (D), who is running for reelection this year. While much of the interview is about policy, she also talks about her spouse and the 12-year-old and two-year-old children they are raising. (Also, note to the editor: It’s very cool that she has a second-degree black belt in taekwondo, but that doesn’t make her a “martial arts master”—that’s a title usually reserved for much higher degrees of black belt (I say as a first-degree black belt).)
Media and Entertainment
- MSN reminds us that “It’s been ten years since the first Super Bowl ad featuring an LGBTQ+ family,” a Coke ad featuring two dads taking their daughter roller skating.
- Actor Samira Wiley spoke with Buzzfeed about her time on Orange Is the New Black—but also about the most surprising part of motherhood and how her own upbringing has influenced how she parents.
- WWE Star Daria Berenato married fitness model Toni Cassano, with Cassano’s daughters, ages 8 and 12, taking part in the ceremony, reports People. The older daughter played piano while Cassano walked down the aisle, and the younger was in charge of the rings. This reminds me of a piece I wrote many years ago about ways to include children in your wedding.