From the time he could talk, the Whittington family’s child Ryland insisted he was a boy, even though his parents initially thought he was a girl. Their support of his true identity is a heartwarming and inspiring story for all parents.
Want an LGBTQ-friendly place for your kids to spend time this summer, but worried about the costs? I’m pleased to report that CampOUT, for kids of LGBTQ parents and LGBTQ kids, is offering almost full “camperships” for the fees of many campers.
A new study shows that having a child triggers changes in a mother’s brain — and that becoming a parent via surrogacy can trigger changes in a gay man’s brain, too. Interestingly, the gay men’s pattern of brain activity “resembles that of both new mothers and new fathers,” reports Reuters. The article speculates that the research “could feed into the debate over whether gay men should be allowed to adopt children.” As fascinating as the findings may be, I rather hope they’re not used in the adoption argument.
May we all spare a thought today for those who have given their lives in service to our country. On this somber day, it is heartening to see that the military may be moving towards treating fallen lesbian and gay service members the same as any others.
Let’s set aside the obvious political stories for a moment to take a look at some other LGBT parenting news, including a few family profiles, entertainment news, and penguins. Seriously, with all these stories, the penguin should be adopted as the mascot for LGB parents.
Today is the second national Give OUT Day, an event to encourage people to make charitable donations on a single day in support of the LGBTQ community. Any day is a good day to give, of course, but doing so en masse like this helps show the power of our community and allies.
If you read just one post this week, make it “The Lord Looks at the Heart: When My Son Became My Daughter,” by Debi Jackson, a self-described “conservative Southern Baptist Republican from Alabama.”
While we’re talking about celebrating more than one mom for Mother’s Day, here’s a great song by a man who has four of them.
When I spoke at HuffPo Live last week, the interviewer asked what our son did for us on Mother’s Day. What he does is only part of our family celebration, however. Here’s what our whole day looked like this year.
As I was thinking about what to write for this column, I did what any self-respecting parenting writer would do, and asked my son. “Write about how there are many types of moms,” he suggested. “You know, like how some moms are all girly but you’re not.”
