International Family Equality Day Becomes an NGO
Happy International Family Equality Day! This year’s observance also marks the event becoming a non-governmental organization.
Raising
Department of Defense Program Launches New Childcare Course on Gender Safe Spaces
The Trump administration continues to push for banning some, if not all, transgender people from the military, despite all four service chiefs asserting that the presence of transgender troops has caused no harm. At the same time, one Department of Defense program has launched a new professional development course for staff at military-affiliated childcare centers and youth programs on how to create safe, inclusive spaces for gender-expansive and LGBTQ children.
Louder Than Words
Today is the Day of Silence, when many students from middle school to college choose not to speak, in order to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment. Let’s take a moment to honor those taking a stand today—and on so many other days as well.
A Parent by Any Other Name: What Our Kids Call Us, Redux
“Some L.G.B.T. Parents Reject the Names ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy,'” says the headline in today’s New York Times. That’s no surprise to readers here—but it means it’s time once again to highlight the spreadsheet of names I’ve been collecting since 2011 on this very topic. Check out people’s names and name stories and add yours!
LGBTQ Parenting Roundup
A story of adoption, a business offering expanded family benefits to all employees, progress for same-sex parents in Italy, and more!
Read on.
More States Seeking to Add LGBTQ History, People, to Curriculum
Both Massachusetts and Illinois have recently taken steps towards including the history and achievements of LGBTQ people—and the authentic telling of their lives—in the states’ education curricula.
Give OUT Today for Our Families
In the past year, the threat to LGBTQ individuals and families has grown, and the nonprofits supporting our families need our help more than ever. Please consider giving today, the sixth annual Give OUT Day, in order to increase the impact of your giving.
Lesbian Tour Guide — A Guest Post
Today’s piece is a guest post by Lara Lillibridge, whose memoir Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home, I reviewed yesterday. Here, she offers her thoughts on growing up with two moms and being a “lesbian tour guide” to the outside world. She reminds me, once again, that we parents have as much to learn from our children as they from us (maybe more), and we LGBTQ parents are wise to listen to the voices of those who grew up with LGBTQ parents. We and our own children will be better for it.
Lesbian Moms Create Dome Habitat to Protect Family from Getting Sick
Spouses Ann T. Septick and Clea N. Liness created a hermetically sealed habitat for themselves and their family to protect them from ever getting sick, a move prompted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent anti-LGBTQ moves.
Why Is This Weekend Different from All Other Weekends?
This weekend is Passover and Easter, as well as April Fool’s Day, making things pretty busy for my fun-loving interfaith family. On top of all that, my spouse Helen and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary. I’m finding a lot of resonance in all four occasions.