On March 11, 1973, Jeanne Manford, a teacher, and her husband Jules, a dentist, at the urging of their gay son Morty, held the first meeting of what would become known as PFLAG, an organization—nay, a movement—of allyship and love.
As we close out LGBTQ History Month, I want to highlight some documentaries that look at the history of LGBTQ parents and our children and are available for streaming—several for free! Watch trailers, and in some cases, whole films, here.
For International Lesbian Day and LGBTQ History Month, here are some fun moments of lesbian mom history to know and share! (This is an enhanced version of a piece I posted for Lesbian Visibility Day in April; clearly lesbians are so awesome that we need two holidays to celebrate!)
Spawn of Dykes to Watch Out For, the fifth volume of Alison Bechdel’s beloved comic series, came out (!) 30 years ago today, highlighting the journey to parenthood of characters Toni and Clarice. Let’s take a look back as we also start LGBTQ History Month.
Carrie Chapman Catt led the women’s suffrage movement through passage of the 19th Amendment—aided by the woman a new picture book rightly calls her “partner for life.” Here’s my review, along with an exciting giveaway!
Minnie Bruce Pratt, an acclaimed poet, essayist, and activist who wrote, among other things, about losing custody of her children when she came out as a lesbian, died on July 4 of an aggressive brain tumor at age 76.
Dr. Cheri A. Pies, whose 1985 book, Considering Parenthood: A Workbook for Lesbians, helped innumerable queer women become parents during the “gayby boom” of the 1980s, died from cancer on July 4 at the age of 73. If you don’t know her name yet, you should; in many ways, all of us queer parents who came after have benefited from her work, whether we know it or not.
Dr. Susan Love, one of the world’s foremost breast cancer researchers and a visionary leader in breast cancer advocacy, died at age 75 on July 2, 2023. In 1993, Love and her partner (later wife) were also the first same-sex parents in Massachusetts to both be named legal parents of their child, a case later cited in support of the state’s landmark marriage equality ruling.
A new podcast will bring listeners a free audiobook version of an award-winning young adult novel about a gay teen, as a way of reaching teens whose access to such books may be blocked by so-called “Don’t Say Gay” laws.
It’s Lesbian Visibility Day, so here are a few pieces of lesbian mom history to honor those who went before us, even as we continue to move forward.
