The Family Equality Council wants your help in shaping what the organization will do in the future. I hope you’ll take a few minutes and take their 2014 survey to share your experiences and priorities with them. Then read on to hear about some of the films about lesbian and gay families that they’re involved in developing and promoting.
“Why don’t we see LGBT parents portrayed in children’s films?” asks Guardian writer Joanna Benecke. Good question — an extension of the question I’ve been asking about children’s television for some time now. Benecke offers us a glimpse of hope, though, and the news that an upcoming feature film for young adults will likely feature a boy with gay dads.
The Fosters, ABC Family’s acclaimed drama about lesbian moms Stef and Lena and their growing multi-ethnic family, ended its first season last night with a joyous adoption and some unexpected plot twists (which I won’t mention in case any of you haven’t seen it yet). The episode was full of both the teen and lesbian mom drama we’ve come to expect — my only criticism is that we have to wait till June 16 for more. The show’s marketing team, however, let a little bit slip about what to expect in 84 days when Season Two begins.
Two new, very different memoirs continue to expand our sense of what an LGBT family looks like. One is the story of a lesbian mom struggling against her son’s anti-gay Catholic school while grappling with her relationship to the Church and to her own mother. The other is about a butch lesbian and her experience being pregnant—the print version of a graphic novel first serialized online.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: In a children’s fairy-tale story, a noble young man may marry a princess, but chooses her brother the prince instead. That’s right, it’s the plot of King and King, Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland’s 2003 picture book. It’s also a major part of Daniel Errico’s The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived, a recent addition to the LGBT-inclusive children’s book genre. Does the new book bring anything new to the table?
I can’t help posting this photo of Stef and Lena from ABC Family’s The Fosters. They look like they’re having one of those days we’ve all had as parents. Please join me tonight at 9 p.m. ET on Twitter to live tweet with the hashtags #TheFosters and #gaydybunch, and rejoice in the fact that we have these two as role models, through the ups and the downs of parenting.
Two more stars of the entertainment industry can now (or soon) be counted among those of us women parenting with another woman.
A new picture book by Sarah and Ian Hoffman, Jacob’s New Dress (Albert Whitman, 2014), is welcome addition to the small but growing number of books for and about young gender nonconforming and transgender children.
I asked my son to share some of his favorite books, in honor of this week’s Read Across America — the National Education Association’s annual celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday and the excitement of reading. Here’s what he picked, along with his reasons for doing so.
Transparent, a new half-hour drama from Jill Soloway (United States of Tara, Six Feet Under), centers around a transgender parent who is just beginning to transition and come out to family members. But an even more impressive portrayal of a trans character right now may be that of trans teen Cole on The Fosters.
