In early June, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess, a lesbian couple who have been fostering an 18-month-old girl since shortly after she was born, can maintain custody and not turn the child over to an opposite-sex couple for adoption, as ordered by a lower court. Here’s my
Today marks the birthday of Louise Brown, the world’s first “test-tube baby.” Her birth in 1978 heralded a new era of fertility services for many women, including lesbians. Helen and I conceived our own son this way, using my egg and her womb, so we bear a personal debt to Ms. Brown, her parents Lesley
Children and Gender Brett Berk rightly shreds the conclusions of a recent study on children and gender roles. Sassymonkey at BlogHer looks at the recurring question of why there aren’t more books for boys, and astutely asks, “Maybe the question isn’t about where the books for boys are but why boys need books about boys?
Helen and I explore the importance of imagination, with a look at how modern media and toys stifle kids’ creativity and what parents can do to change this. Are Lego bricks a force for good, or have they gone downhill since the time of our childhood? Helen also demonstrates a whirling homemade toy that could
Tune in to ABC’s Primetime: Family Secrets at 10 p.m. ET tonight for the story of Chloe and Rene Prince and their two sons, ages six and seven. Chloe, formerly Ted, underwent gender reassignment surgery last year, and the show explores how her transition has impacted her and her family. Six-year-old Barry explains, “She had
Here’s a fun one for the kids (and grown-ups, too), in honor of the 40th anniversary of the moon landing: Google has launched an upgrade to its Google Earth software with information and activities about the lunar landings. According to Google, you can now: Take tours of landing sites, narrated by Apollo astronauts View 3D
Helen and I discuss the lesbian moms who appeared on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie this week, and tell you why we thought the portrayals by Blythe Danner and Swoosie Kurtz broke new ground. We also share highlights from our recent trip to Washington, D.C., and offer some tips for traveling with kids so the whole family
Johann Hari at HuffPo reports that—shock—we’re in the middle of a gayby boom, and Bruno is spreading the word. He writes, “This quiet trend has finally poked its way to public attention with the sight of Bruno – the crazed Austrian fashionista played by Sasha Baron Cohen – sitting with a little African baby on
Politics and Law First, a great ruling from the Oregon Court of Appeals via the vigilant Nancy Polikoff: “If the biological mom’s partner consents to the insemination [of her partner], she is also the parent of the resulting child.” The ruling states, in part: “There appears to be no reason for permitting heterosexual couples to
My spouse Helen, whom I’ve lured into blogging, has just posted about the opportunity for lesbian and gay stay-at-home parents to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth. Because Uncle Sam still doesn’t recognize a partner’s income when we file our federal taxes, most of us lesbian SAHM’s (and gay SAHD’s) end up in a
