(Originally published in Bay Windows (PDF link), July 24, 2008) For many same-sex couples, one of the primary motivations for getting married is to gain legal protections for our children. Nancy Polikoff, professor of law at American University Washington College of Law, cautions us, however, that we should not tie parenthood and marriage too tightly.
I don’t often post about purely local events, but since this one has ties to national history, here goes: Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts, the site of the first Thanksgiving, will host “Out at Plimoth Plantation” on September 13. The event will “offer a glimpse into the lives of 17th century LGBT pilgrims and Native Americans,”
Last week, Helen and I talked about Olympic athletes who are mothers. This week, we turn to the mothers of athletes, bringing you some of our favorite stories of supportive parents at the Beijing Games. We add an LGBT twist by revealing which character from an LGBT-themed show Michael Phelps’ mom reminded us of, and
With increasing coverage of LGBT parents in the media today, it is surprising LGBT grandparents are still largely invisible. I suspect this has much to do with the frequent media focus on lesbian couples with cute little tots or funny stories about finding sperm, or, for occasional variety, gay men searching for surrogates. The idea
Lest you think I’ve become entirely obsessed with the Olympics (almost, but not quite), here’s a roundup of what’s happening in LGBT parenting news: The California Supreme Court ruled today that a group of doctors cannot use their religion as a legal excuse for denying a lesbian patient infertility treatment. Lambda Legal reports, “In a
My love of both Legos and the Olympicsis well documented. My son is also obsessed with the former and learning to love the latter. I was thrilled, therefore, to see this astounding recreation of the Beijing Olympic facilities in Legos, including the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube, the beach volleyball court, the equestrian arena, and
There are only a couple of weeks left until school starts in most areas of the U.S. For those of you with school-age children, here’s a quick poll: {democracy:10}
Dara Torres isn’t the only older mom competing in the Olympics, and this week Helen and I tell you about some more of them. Several are previous medalists and two managed to have three kids each in between Olympic appearances. In a heartbreaking story, one mother even needed to keep competing in order to raise
A few interesting features from round and about: From The Walrus magazine in Canada comes “Frontier Families: The Complexities of Queer Parenting,” by Matthew Hays, who wrote the article after two lesbian friends of his first considered and then rejected him as a sperm donor. He turns this rejection into a broad, balanced article about
Entrepreneur Jared Polis could become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Congress as a non-incumbent, according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. He won the Democratic primary last night in Colorado’s “overwhelmingly Democratic” 2nd Congressional District, and the Victory Fund says he is “nearly certain to win the seat in November.”
