When my son was 7, I asked what he thought I should write about for Mother’s Day, and he said, “Tell them that having two moms is just like having two people of any kind take care of you, except it’s more work on Mother’s Day.”
For Mother’s Day or all year ’round, here are some great picture books about the relationships between queer moms and our children—with married/coupled moms, single moms, divorced moms, cis and trans moms, and even more variety!
Mother’s Day is here, with Father’s Day on its heels. As we head into the season of parenting holidays this year, I am thinking about both parental rights and reproductive rights and our urgent need for actions in support of inclusion and justice.
Mother’s Day (or Mothers’ Day, if that suits you better) is almost here, so why not celebrate with some new picture books featuring queer moms?
When the lesbian mom who’s also the CEO of GLAAD writes a children’s book with her spouse, you can bet your rainbows it’s going to be LGBTQ inclusive. Read on for a review and a sneak peek inside!
Wishing a very happy day to all who claim today as their own, whether you spell it Mother’s Day, Mothers’ Day, or (my proposal from a few years back) Motherz Day. No matter what parental name your kids call you, if you want to celebrate today, then do it.
Doritos Mexico has launched a surprisingly touching ad for Mothers’ Day that features real kids from two-mom families reading letters of thanks to their mothers.
Kierra Johnson, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, is also the mother of three. She spoke with me for Mother’s Day about her experiences as a parent in “a big fat queer blended family,” her advice for other queer parents, and how being a parent has impacted her work.
Most of us have seen the New Yorker cartoon from 2011 that always seems to recirculate this time of year: A teacher leans over the desk of a child making a card that reads, “Happy Mothers’ Day.” The child looks up at the teacher and says, “I have two mommies. I know where the apostrophe goes.” It’s funny, of course, as it reminds the audience that yes, there are families with two moms (and kids who are really good at grammar). At the same time, though, I sometimes worry that the cartoon may reinforce the incorrect assumption which conflates all LGBTQ moms into two-mom units.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be fraught times for LGBTQ parents and our children, seemingly designed to underscore that our families are different. I try to see them, however, as opportunities to remind the world that queer families exist. By raising our voices on these days—or sometimes, simply being visible—we resist the attempts of those trying to ignore or eliminate us, and we welcome all who take on the mantle of parenthood.
