LGBTQ Back-to-School Resources: 2021 Edition
It’s that time of year again, believe it or not, so here’s my updated annual collection of back-to-school resources for LGBTQ parents, parents of LGBTQ children, and educators!
It’s that time of year again, believe it or not, so here’s my updated annual collection of back-to-school resources for LGBTQ parents, parents of LGBTQ children, and educators!
Please join me and other LGBTQ advocates and educators on Tuesday, August 3, for a Back To School LGBTQ+ Families webinar hosted by Out Leadership!
Imagine: U.S. civics lessons reframed as a call to action, set to rap, R&B, and pop music sung by some of today’s top artists, and skillfully animated, in a show created by Emmy Award winner (and lesbian mom) Chris Nee, with a theme song by Grammy Award winner (and bisexual mom) Meshell Ndegeocello, and an episode featuring Grammy Award winner (and lesbian mom) Brandi Carlile. Happy July 4, everyone—this thing exists! Listen to Carlile’s song here and learn how to catch the rest of this great new show.
This Pride Month, I am feeling a double sort of pride: Pride at being part of the LGBTQ community and pride in my son as he graduates from high school.
Queer Kid Stuff (QKS), which began as an online video series and has expanded into a whole host of fun and educational content, has relaunched its website along with a brand-new Queer Kid Community for parents, educators, and other grown-ups who want to connect with each other and further QKS’ mission to “spread queer joy.”
Today marks the Day of Silence, when many students from middle school to college choose to remain silent to protest the harm caused by harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ people in schools. This year, GLSEN is offering students both in-person and virtual ways of participating.
While the current legislative season is seeing a horrifying record number of anti-transgender bills, there were three wins this week: the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo affirming that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, contrary to what the Trump administration had said; the governor of Arkansas vetoed a bill that would have prevented transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medication or surgery; and the NCAA president has spoken in support of transgender youth in sports.
A bill introduced in both houses of the Tennessee Legislature would prohibit public schools from using textbooks or instructional materials “that promote, normalize, support, or address lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) issues or lifestyles.”
In the past month, school districts in two states have tried to ban Call Me Max, a delightful picture book about a transgender boy by a transgender author, calling it “not appropriate” for the children who heard it read to them. This would be awful at any time, but at a moment when trans youth are under threat from anti-trans bills in at least 24 states, it feels like the tip of a much bigger iceberg.
A new study has found that children with same-sex parents do better academically than those with different-sex ones. This is yet another study among dozens that show our children do as well as—or better than—those with different-sex parents, based on various metrics of well-being. Such studies have been vital in fighting for our rights in courts and legislatures—but often the “better than” results lead to a flurry of headlines asking if same-sex parents are better than different-sex ones. Sure, I’d like to believe in my family’s superpowers—but there’s a danger in jumping to that conclusion.