gender

Kids of Lesbian and Gay Parents Play in Less Gender-Stereotyped Ways

A new study has shown that adopted children of same-sex parents are “significantly less” gender stereotyped in their play habits than adopted children of opposite-sex parents. That news is likely to be seen as a Bad Thing by many on the extreme right—but as the study notes, many scholars, parents, and educators today believe a more flexible attitude towards gender roles is less limiting to children’s development. Such openness may thus have psychological benefits—and that’s a Good Thing.

Parenting Beyond Our Genders

One of the most common arguments against same-sex parents is that “all children need a mother and a father.” But some LGBT parents are making the argument that being a mother or a father is not necessarily correlated to being female or male—regardless of one’s gender identity.

“Girls” Toys and “Boys” Toys: Some Progress and Some Cautions

The winter holidays always seem to highlight that the world tends to divide toys into “girls” and “boys” varieties. Most of us here, I think, would agree that  no one should be forced into particular types of play based on real or perceived gender. Over at Skepchick, Natalie Reed has a great article on “Guyliner, Murses,

Parents Increasingly Accepting of Children’s Gender Variance, Says NYT

The New York Times ran a must-read article yesterday on gender variance in children, “Boys Will Be Boys? Not in These Families.” Parents, says author Jan Hoffman, are increasingly accepting of gender nonconforming behavior in their children. “Rather than looking away,” she writes, “they are trying to understand their toddler’s unconventional gender behavior, in order

Who’s Your Daddy?

As promised, here is another in my series of quotes from Who’s Your Daddy? And Other Writings on Queer Parenting. I’ll be running them for a couple of weeks courtesy of the book’s editor, Rachel Epstein. I’m choosing the quotes I feel are most intriguing and thought provoking; I don’t always agree with the sentiments,

Tinkerbell: The New “Butch Action Star”

Conservative writer Debbie Schlussel, best known for her anti-Islamic vitriol, has a new target: Disney’s Tinkerbell. Schussel criticizes the new look Tink is sporting for her latest movie, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, calling it “butch and silly” and “not that different from Peter Pan.” (Clearly she’s forgotten that women played Peter Pan in

New Blog on Gender and Pop Culture

A friend whom I’ve known since college has launched a new blog with her husband, in which they offer their perspectives on gender and popular culture. They’ve only been at the blog, The Two Body Solution, for a short time, but they’re both English professors and have been writing about this sort of thing in

Pixar’s “Up”: A Lesbian Mom’s Perspective

(Originally published in Bay Windows, June 17, 2009.) Disney Pixar’s new animated feature, Up, is a good movie, better than most children’s fare. My kindergartener and I both enjoyed it—but it left me with a few lingering qualms about its depiction of parenting and gender roles. The story revolves around 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, who is

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