Selves and Identities

Horn Book Magazine on Books and Gender

The September/October issue of Horn Book Magazine, one of the leading journals on children’s and young adult literature, is all about books and gender. You can revisit the lesbian classic Annie on My Mind, learn how author Brian Selznick answered the question “Are you part man and part woman?,” discover “Gender Alchemy: The Transformative Power […]

Marriage Leads to Housework, At Least for Women

Married men say they do less housework than unmarried cohabiting men, according to a new international study published in the Journal of Family Issues. Cohabiting women, however, report doing less housework than married women, and cohabiting men still do less than cohabiting women. The lead author of the study, according to USA Today, says “the

Gender Protections In Schools: Shows Progress, but Room for Improvement

The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC) today released its 2007 Gender Equality National Index for Universities & Schools (GENIUS Index). The index evaluates how well colleges, universities, and K-12 school districts are doing in ending gender discrimination and raising awareness of gender identity and expression. It looks at non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies as well as

Medieval Civil Unions?

Did the concept of a civil union originate in medieval Europe? That’s the intriguing possibility raised in the respected Journal of Modern History by Allan A. Tulchin of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. (Via Box Turtle Bulletin.) As a recovering academic with a graduate degree in medieval history, I find this fascinating—though I’ve got the usual

From the Ivory Tower to the Family Room

(Originally published in Bay Windows, August 23, 2007.) “I just keep having this desire to do work that seems impossible,” says Dr. Abbie Goldberg of her research on LGBT and other understudied families. The assistant professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester is passionate about delving into these areas few other social scientists have

Red Sox or Wicked?

My partner and I took our son to his first baseball game this past weekend. It was a minor-league game, since we figured that at four years old, his attention span might not last a full nine innings, even with Cracker Jacks and ice cream. (We were right, despite the attraction of the grinning-baseball mascot.)

Fine By Them: Erin Lee and Marci Make Kids Music Inclusive

(In my analysis of Thursday’s HRC/LOGO Presidential Forum, I mentioned that schools should teach about LGBT families and the acceptance of diversity from day one. It’s coincidental that I wrote this piece for Bay Windows this week, but I think it’s appropriate.) The song “Fine By Me,” by children’s musicians Erin Lee Kelly and Marci

T-shirts

Clothes Make the Mom

I don’t identify as butch, despite a predilection for sports and an aversion to high heels. I prefer to think of myself as a middle-of-the road sort of gal, although I did femme it up a bit when working in the corporate world. At five feet tall, I found it paid to make an effort

Mice Brains Wired for Both Female and Male Behavior

From the world of science comes further proof that gender is a mysterious and fluid subject. Neuroscientists at Harvard found that by blocking female mice’s ability to smell pheromones, they exhibit much more “masculine” behavior, “without any significant rise in testosterone or other steroid hormones.” All the thinking until now was that female brains can

What Determines Your Vote?

Two articles caught my eye today, on two different issues. I was going to write about them separately, but then realized they in fact relate to the same matter—our identities as both LGBT individuals and parents. The first is an article in the Huffington Post by Evan Wolfson, head of Freedom to Marry. Wolfson says

Scroll to Top
Mombian
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.