A sobering new study of secondary schools in Britain concluded that homophobic bullying is “almost epidemic.” The School Report study, conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit for LGBT-rights organization Stonewall, found: 65% of young LGB people experience homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools. 97% of gay pupils hear derogatory phrases such as “dyke” or “poof”
Newark School Superintendent Marion Bolden apologized to student Andre Jackson for blacking out a yearbook photo of him and his boyfriend David Escobales kissing. She said the district would reissue an “un-redacted version” of the yearbook to any student at the school who wants one. Jackson is disappointed about the apology, however, since it was
A few stories from round and about: “Gay woman’s home is haven for struggling youths” from Lower Hudson Online, is about Mary Keane, a single mother and lesbian in Westchester County, New York, who has opened her home to 18 foster or adopted children, some gay or lesbian and some straight. (Thanks, PageOneQ.) “Gay life:
A New Jersey High School has taken every copy of its new yearbook and blacked out a photo of a student kissing his boyfriend—even though it left photos of opposite-sex couples kissing. The photo appeared in a section of pages that students may purchase to fill with pictures of family and friends. NJ.com reports: Newark
This Saturday, June 23, is the annual Great American Backyard Campout (GABC), an event sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation “for families, youth and individuals to camp out in their backyards or local parks and to discover the fun of being in the great outdoors.” For those with young children, it’s a chance to try
Boys with ring fingers longer than their index fingers tend to do better in math, according to a new study by psychologists at the University of Bath. (Thanks, Slashdot.) This would be nothing more than an interesting tidbit that might make me check my son’s hands next time I cut his nails, except that it
Two articles today gave me cause for reflection about children of LGBT families and the development of identity: “I’m Not Gay, but My Four Mums Are,” in the Sydney Morning Herald profiles 21-year-old Eamon Waterford, who was born into a two-mom family, but acquired two more when they split up and repartnered. (Thanks, Abigail.) The
This week’s Family Voices interview is with lesbian mom Ruth, who lives in San Antonio with her partner Della and their eight children. Ruth writes “We have kids created nearly every way but alien abduction.” Although they live in a fairly conservative area of the country, their experiences with the legal and medical systems and
In a case that bounced between the jurisdictions of Vermont and Virginia and was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in April, a Vermont judge awarded Lisa Miller (formerly Miller-Jenkins) custody of her biological daughter, Isabella, though he mandated regular visitation rights for the girl’s non-biological mother, Janet Jenkins (formerly Miller-Jenkins). I’ve written about this
After winning a vote to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples residing in Massachusetts, LGBT activists are moving on to the next target: rescinding a 1913 law that has been used to prevent out-of-state same-sex couples from having their nuptials here. (The law was originally used to prevent out-of-state interracial couples from marrying in the
