Erica Perl’s middle-grade novel All Three Stooges has just won the National Jewish Book Award for Children’s Literature—and its star, Noah, happens to have two moms. I reviewed it last April, but I’m reposting the review here in honor of the award.
Michael Morones is an 11-year-old boy living in North Carolina. He loves My Little Pony, in part because he has ACHD and relates to the character Pinkie Pie, an excitable pony. Schoolmates bullied him and called “gay” for liking a “girls'” program, however. He is now in critical condition in the hospital after a suicide attempt.
I don’t need to tell most readers that LGBT youth are at a higher risk than their non-LGBT peers for attempting suicide. Until today, however, no “Best Practices” have been identified or designated to help reduce vulnerability and risk among LGBT children, youth or adults. That has now changed.
Last night’s Glee dealt with a tough and timely topic, bullying-related suicide. Even if its treatment felt somewhat superficial and hurried, it will have served its purpose if it helps save even one life. As a lesbian mom, too, I found it particularly interesting that when Kurt (Chris Colfer) is helping Karofsky (Max Adler) imagine a future to live for, he asks him think about having a son and taking him to his first football game. Karofsky’s face lights up at the thought. Fictional though the scene is, it reflects the truth that LGBT young people today can envision a future that includes children.
(I broke this story a few weeks ago in my Mombian newspaper column, reprinted below. It’s about a lesbian teen making a difference—and underscores for me how much things have changed since I was a teen. Despite the horror stories we still hear about bullying, suicide, and other ills, there are more gay-straight alliance clubs,
Listen. Share. Wonder what we need to do to get this on Glee. Available October 19th on iTunes, with all download proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth.
Helen and I dedicate our video this week to the It Gets Better project, which aims to send messages of hope to LGBTQ youth. (If the embedded video above doesn’t work for you, try it at YouTube or Dailymotion.) Brought to you in partnership with After Ellen.
Another 11-year-old boy, Jaheem Herrera, has hanged himself after enduring repeated bullying. (The horrible news comes via Will at Pam’s.) There is some reporting that he was bullied with anti-LGBT taunts, among others. Just last week, after the suicide of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, I asked “How many more children must die before we as a
