This fall, NBC will premiere “The New Normal,” a sitcom about two gay men who decide to become parents with the help of a surrogate. There’s only a little information about the show available yet, but here are the pros, cons, and concerns, as I see them now. Add your own in the comments, and watch the trailer after the jump.
Sometimes it’s good to be reminded of how far we’ve come. In 1995, Floridian Mary Ward lost custody of their daughter to her ex-husband, even though he had been absent from the girl’s life for six years—and been convicted of murdering his first wife in a custody dispute. Why did the judge not award custody to Ward? She was a lesbian. Now, a new documentary tells the sobering story of the case.
Got 10 minutes? You’d be hard pressed to find a better way to spend it right now than to watch “Listen from the Heart” (after the jump), a short documentary film that profiles lesbian moms Laura Fitch and Jaime Jenett, and their son, Simon Lev Fitch-Jenett. The moms talk about dealing with their son’s serious heart condition, being a stay-at-home mom and an employed mom, respectively, being pregnant and butch, managing their relationship to each other, and more. The film is part of The Devotion Project, a series of six films showing “LGBTQ couples and the love they share.”
Conceiving Family, a documentary that follows five same-sex couples in Canada along the path to parenthood, is ironically named—all of the couples adopt, rather than biologically conceive, to bring children into their families.
If filmmaker Andrea James has her way, there will soon be a new film for young children with lesbian or gay parents. James is raising funds via Kickstarter for her project. (Video clip after the jump.)
Last night’s Glee dealt with a tough and timely topic, bullying-related suicide. Even if its treatment felt somewhat superficial and hurried, it will have served its purpose if it helps save even one life. As a lesbian mom, too, I found it particularly interesting that when Kurt (Chris Colfer) is helping Karofsky (Max Adler) imagine a future to live for, he asks him think about having a son and taking him to his first football game. Karofsky’s face lights up at the thought. Fictional though the scene is, it reflects the truth that LGBT young people today can envision a future that includes children.
The long-awaited gay dads of Glee character Rachel (Lea Michele) appear in tonight’s episode. Here’s a preview.
Actor Matt Bomer, the star of USA Network’s White Collar, officially came out as gay during a speech accepting the New Generation Arts and Activism Award from the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards. Bomer and his partner Simon Halls have three children. He thanked “my beautiful family” in his speech. (Thanks, Towleroad!)
A few days ago, I asked if Showtime’s new House of Lies series, premiering tonight at 10p.m. ET, would give a positive and unoffensive portrayal of the gender variant child of the lead character. Early indications are that they have done so. Diane Anderson-Minshall at the Advocate says, “For all the reasons other shows fail
There’s a new LGBTQ character coming to television that I haven’t seen much coverage of yet—and because the character is a gender-variant child, I’ll take up the cause of spreading some awareness here at this parenting blog. Showtime’s new comedy series, House of Lies, which starts this Sunday, stars Don Cheadle as a “charming, fast
