Representing Archives - Page 113 of 190

Guest Post: When Something is Wrong, Write

February 13, 2013

Jennifer Gennari is the author of the new middle-grade book, My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer, about a girl living in Vermont with her mother and her mother’s soon-to-be fiancée, just after Vermont approved civil unions for same-sex couples. I reviewed it a few weeks back, and reached out to her to write a guest post for Mombian, which she kindly agreed to do. Below, she discusses the moment of homophobia against a teen in her community that led her to pen the book, and the personal experiences she wove into it. Thanks to her for sharing this with us.

“Family Pride” Offers Sweeping Look at LGBT Parents and Their Children

February 12, 2013

Family Pride, by Michael Shelton, is a good book with a bit of an identity problem.

New Book by Lesbian Moms Looks at Racial Justice and LGBT Equality

February 11, 2013

In his second inaugural speech, President Obama linked “Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall”—the birthplaces of the women’s, Black, and LGBT equality movements—and reminded us of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words that (as Obama paraphrased) “our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.” A new book about two lesbian moms and their children reminds us that LGBT equality is indeed bound to the need for racial justice.

New Film About Homophobia in Jamaica Features Lesbian Mom

February 5, 2013

Jamaica has one of the worst records in the world on LGBT rights. Male same-sex relationships are punishable by up to 10 years in jail, and attitudes, harassment, and hate crimes are endemic across the LGBT spectrum. Filmmaker Micah Fink wants to tell the stories of two Jamaicans affected by homophobia, one of whom is a lesbian mom.

New Disney World President Is Gay; When Will We See LGBT Disney Characters?

February 4, 2013

George Kalogridis started as a busboy at Walt Disney World and will now become the theme park’s fifth president, South Florida Gay News reports. Oh, and he’s openly gay. What will this mean for the park and for the prospect of greater representation of LGBT families within the Disney empire?

We’re All In This Together

January 30, 2013

I was thrilled to see that the same book won the American Library Association’s top honors Monday for both the LGBT- and Latino-related children’s book awards, proving that one book can address multiple aspects of identity (and countering the prevalent media impression that the LGBT community is predominantly White). It just so happens, too, that the intersecting of identities is a major theme in LGBT politics this week.

American Library Association Honors LGBT-Inclusive Books for Kids and Young Adults

January 28, 2013

LGBT-inclusive children’s and young adult books are hard to find. Good ones are even harder. I’m delighted, therefore, that the American Library Association has just honored a number of new ones in two ways, through their Stonewall Book Awards and their Rainbow List.

LGBT Family Books: A 2012 Roundup

January 15, 2013

The year 2012 saw several notable books about LGBT parents and our children, including one for the often-ignored middle-grade readers, a young adult novel about two African American teens with a transgender dad, two memoirs (one by a gay dad, and another by the son of lesbian moms), and a fascinating history of LGBT family rights. They make better gifts than yet another “I Love My Mommies” t-shirt.

Jodie Foster: Coming Out, Motherhood, and Contributing to the LGBT Community

January 14, 2013

It’s official. Not just “calling her then-partner ‘my beautiful Cydney’ in public” official. Not just “the kids have both their names” official. It’s “now she’s said it to the world” official: Jodie Foster came out. She did so in a heartfelt speech at the Golden Globe Awards last night, after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.

Disney Channel Campaign Features Boy with Lesbian Moms

December 27, 2012

Here’s some great news to end the year: The Disney Channel’s social outreach campaign, “Make Your Mark,” currently includes a video about a 14-year-old boy who happens to have two moms. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) calls the video “the first of its kind for the Disney Channel, which has not included an openly gay character on its programming.”