This Sunday, May 5, marks the second annual International Family Equality Day, when LGBTQ family organizations from around the world will join forces to raise the visibility of our families. Over 40 cities around the world will be hosting events, including ones in the US, Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Find out if there’s one near you!
The best parental advice I’ve heard this week is not LGBT specific, but still speaks directly to who I am as a lesbian mom, a self-proclaimed nerd, and the mother of one. An attendee at the recent Calgary Comic Expo asked actor, writer, and dad Wil Wheaton (of Star Trek:TNG fame) to give some advice to her infant daughter (to be recorded for later viewing) on “Why it’s awesome to be a nerd.” Wheaton’s response is empowering and inspiring, not only for nerds, but for any of us who have ever felt like our interests—and our loves—were outside the mainstream. Share this one with your kids.
(I mentioned my 20th anniversary here a few weeks ago. Here are my further thoughts on the milestone, from my Mombian newspaper column.)
My spouse Helen and I recently celebrated our 20th anniversary. Only about six of those years have been as legal spouses—but that just gives us a chance to celebrate both our real anniversary and our Massachusetts “Massaversary” several months from now. (Twice the cake is always a good thing, I say.) Hitting the 20-year milestone, however, has made me reflect on some of the things I’ve learned about marriage in that time, and some of the things I never expected when we started out.
There was good news and bad news yesterday for same-sex parents of children in or soon-to-be in college: Starting with the 2014-2015 federal student aid form, the U.S. Department of Education will ask for information about a dependent student’s legal parents regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender, as long as the parents live together. That’s good news, in that it will be the first time the form reflects the actualities of same-sex parents’ families (and those of unmarried, opposite-sex parents). It’s bad news, in that some students may receive less aid now that both parents’ contributions will be recognized—or will they?
Two thoughtful pieces this week reflect on supporting our children’s gender expression, and both are worth a read.
The Boy Scouts of America have proposed a policy change that would allow gay Scouts in their ranks, but would continue to deny leadership positions to “open or avowed homosexuals.” This policy is both a step forward and a slap in the face.
Today marks the 16th annual Day of Silence, an event sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), where students from middle school to college take some form of a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. But a federal bill reintroduced yesterday that would prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination, harassment, bullying, and violence in public schools faces a tough road ahead.
Out magazine just published its seventh annual “Power List” of the most powerful gay people in America, which means it’s time for my seventh annual list of The Most Powerful Lesbian Moms in America—as seen, I’m thrilled to say, in the New York Times.
May 9 is the first national Give OUT Day, an event to encourage people to make charitable donations on a single day in support of the LGBTQ community.
Our Family Coalition, the San Francisco Bay Area organization for LGBTQ families, is looking to improve their already great programming and advocacy initiatives. They’re asking people to take a short survey (with raffle prizes!) to help them determine the direction of their programs. The survey seems to make the most sense for folks in the Bay
