Sphen, a gentoo penguin who rose to worldwide fame with his same-sex mate Magic after they incubated eggs and raised two chicks together, died this month at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. When Magic saw Sphen’s body, “He immediately started singing, which was beautifully reciprocated by the colony,” the aquarium said.
If you read only one book on how to parent, make it S. Bear Bergman’s brilliant new Special Topics in Being a Parent: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned About Parenting, Mostly the Hard Way. It will be a rare person of any identity who doesn’t gain something useful from the wise, judgment-free, gently humorous, and delightfully illustrated volume.
Today is Gay Uncles Day—and gay (and other queer) uncles have been the subject of picture books since 1989! Here are some of them (and a few for grown-ups) to help you celebrate these special people today and any day!
Brian Rosenberg is on a very personal mission to help LGBTQ+ people build their families. When he was in his 20s and 30s, he said in an interview, “Gay men were not thinking about becoming parents because everyone who would have done it was dying, and many of us, like myself, have HIV, and so we weren’t planning for it.”
WNBA basketball star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner and her spouse, attorney Cherelle Griner, are parents! The couple announced the arrival of their first child today, just ahead of the WNBA All-Star Weekend.
Helpusadopt.org, a national adoption grant program, has announced it is increasing its maximum adoption grants from $20,000 to $30,000 in order to help families in financial need with the rising costs of adoption.
Queer birthing parents who faced postpartum mental health challenges often avoided seeking help because of fears of being declared unfit, the involvement of child welfare services, the stigma of mental illness, and concerns about racism, homophobia, and transphobia, according to a new study.
I launched Mombian 19 years ago today, which makes it the perfect time to thank all of you who have read, shared, and commented on my work, inspired me with your ideas and family stories, and taught me much about parenting, queerness, and community.
Here’s to the dads, to all who fill that role, and to all who claim today as their own. Let’s celebrate with a roundup of recent picture, middle-grade, and grown-up books featuring queer dads!
Father’s Day is this Sunday—a holiday that might seem to exclude families with two moms. The reality is a little more complex.
