Italian High Court Makes Gay Adoption Easier, Not Automatic

Italy’s highest court has made it easier for gay adoption, gays to adopt a partner’s biological child but the decision does not give long-sought automatic recognition to the families of same-sex couples.

A Cassation Court ruling on Wednesday confirmed a lower-court decision permitting gay adoption, or the so-called “step-child” adoption in cases where the family bond is well-established. The gay rights group Famiglie Arcobaleno (Rainbow Families) called the decision a step forward but said it falls short of its goal of having immediate recognition at birth of both parents in same-sex unions.adoption

Italy earlier this year became the last holdout in Western Europe to legally recognize civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, but only after sacrificing a hotly contested provision to allow gay adoption.

Associated Press via ABCnews.com – June 22,2016

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in Adoption / In the News / International / Legal  by Anthony Brown 1 comments

Ron and Greg’s Story

Ron and Greg are personal friends of mine and have been mentors to gay dads around the world.  Enjoy their amazing story and meet their kids, Elinor and Tomer.

 

in Parenting / Personal Stories / Surrogacy / Videos  by Anthony Brown 2 comments

How Can Gay Parents Explain Orlando to Their Kids?

Ever since the tragedy in Florida, many are asking, how do gay parents explain Orlando to their kids?

Today’s column is written with a sense of emergency. The baffling massacre in Orlando has insinuated itself into me in unexpected dimensions, and caused me to ask all kinds of questions that, amazingly, I’d managed to sidestep until now. How do gay parents explain Orlando and talk about violence against LGBTQ people? What can I do differently, if anything, to keep them safe when the toll of violence is made so clear? How do I balance talking about uncertainty with the need to reassure them? And, perhaps most troubling, how do I deal with this fact: My fear for my children is bound up in my fears for myself, usually safely stowed in the overhead compartment but subject to falling out when I encounter unexpected turbulence. (I should add here that I don’t have to create or answer these questions on my own; I have a level-headed husband who’s been just as involved in working through this mess.)LGBTQ

I’ve been a regular contributor to Slate for years, but an introduction seems in order. This will be the first in a series of monthly columns I’ll be writing on one type of parenting: ostensibly, gay parenting, but more accurately, just my own up-and-down efforts at the task. Tolstoy’s opening line in Anna Karenina is famous but wrong—all families, not just the unhappy ones—are unique. So while the pieces will run each month in this Outward blog, any broader lessons that might be drawn for LGBTQ families—let alone other families—will be some combination of luck and the (soon-to-be-legion) readers’ own connections to whatever I happen to be discussing.

My kids have been lucky so far. They haven’t had to deal with any of the bullying and collateral trauma that their fathers did, and, in our progressive Philadelphia community, our family structure hasn’t caused them any problems, either. So figuring out what to say to them about violence against LGBTQ people is quite different from, say, the anguishing task Ta-Nehisi Coates set for himself in Between the World and Me. Though he recognizes the generational changes that complicate understanding his son’s experience, his eloquent, heartbreaking account of the thousand natural shocks to which African American bodies are heir is their shared, lived reality.

Our kids, by contrast, are usually safe—to the extent that any kids are safe, at least. That makes explaining anti-LGBTQ violence a different kind of challenge. They’ve had infrequent, and mostly painless, reminders of the stubborn fact that their family is different. Here’s a memorable example:

Scene: Coffee shop, circa 2010. An early Saturday morning. Me, alone with the kids.

Waitress: “Oh, is it mom’s day to sleep in?”

Kids, age 6 [in chorus]: “We don’t have a mom. We have two dads.”

Waitress, not missing a beat: “Wow, you’re lucky! I don’t even have one dad, and you have two!”

See? Kind of a positive experience.

So when Orlando happened, we were starting from zero. Our kids have no experience with fear or rejection of their family. They’re much less at risk, it seems, than we were as children. (I mostly avoided being bullied, but only through a series of baroque stratagems, the creating and sustaining of which imposed their own costs.) But we needed to talk about the incident, especially since we were taking them to a vigil to mourn and mark the event, collectively.

We found ourselves explaining how and why some madman would even want to harm gay people. A simple script seemed sensible: Most people, as you know, treat gay people the same way they treat everyone else. A few people still don’t like gays, though. And a very, very tiny number of people, with serious mental health problems, do crazy, horrible things like what happened over the weekend in Orlando. (From what I understand, the daily CNN news report the kids consume in school discussed the massacre on Monday, but, incredibly, the teacher didn’t follow up the harrowing broadcast in any way.) We opted for reassurance over nuance.

by John Culhane, Slate.com – June 14, 2016

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in Parenting / Recently Added  by Anthony Brown 0 comments

A Perfect Father’s Day: MHB Puts Surrogacy Within Reach

Men Having Babies, MHB, started back in 2005 as a “peer support network for biological gay fathers and fathers-to-be,” according to the group’s website.

 

“We were heartbroken.”

“We just figured it wasn’t going to happen for us.”

“We spent everything — all of our savings — over nine years.”

“We took one look at the price tag, and figured it wasn’t within reach.”

These are the statements of two couples — Jay and Victor, and Daniel and Ricardo — who, at one point or another, came close to giving up on their hopes to become fathers.

It’s frustrations such as these, which are unfortunately all too commonly heard from would-be gay fathers, that prompted a group of gay men to form “Men Having Babies” or MHB,  a resource organization to help prospective gay dads navigate the often-troubled waters of surrogacy.

The organization started back in 2005 as a “peer support network for biological gay fathers and fathers-to-be,” according to the group’s website. Originally, the group operated as a small program out of New York City’s LGBT Community Center. In 2012, however, it morphed into a standalone non-profit organization, and has since expanded to offer workshops and seminars for gay men interested in becoming biological fathers from cities ranging from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv.MHB, gpap

While many other resource organizations exist to help LGBT parents, MHB is, to their knowledge, the only of its kind focused on easing the considerable financial burden of surrogacy for prospective gay fathers — the average cost of which is roughly $120,000.

“There are a dozen or so foundations that provide financial assistance to infertile people,” said Ron Poole-Dayan, the executive director and founding member of MHB, “but none offer to help to gay men, even though they need substantial third party assistance in order to become parents.”

Ron pointed out that as a category, gay men can face more obstacles in their quests to become parents than others. “These include biological, legal, and social constraints, as well as significantly higher financial costs.”

One of the main aspects of the organization’s mission, then, is to promote the affordability of surrogacy. It’s a cause close to the hearts of all those involved with MHB. According to A.J. Edge, the director of operation and finance for MHB, all of the organization’s board members have previously gone through their own surrogacy processes.

“They know that surrogacy is not something that’s open to anyone,” A.J. said. “And that it can be overwhelming and daunting — so that’s why GPAP was born.”

MHB created GPAP — or the Gay Parenting Assistance Program — to assist prospective gay parents who cannot afford the full cost of biological parenting on their own. The program is split into two “stages.” Those approved for Stage 1 become eligible for substantial discounts off the cost of surrogacy services from dozens of leading service providers. Stage II assistance, though more selective, is even more comprehensive — those accepted are provided with direct cash grants and free services to cover a considerable portion of the cost of surrogacy.

“In the last two years, more than 300 couples became eligible for substantial discounts off the cost of surrogacy services,” said Ron Poole-Dayan, the executive director of MHB, “and more than 40 couples have received direct financial assistance, including grants and free services. Ten babies were already born to Stage II couples, and many more are on their way.”

Without this type of assistance, the cost of surrogacy can be prohibitively expensive for many gay dads, or at least those who don’t happen to have an extra $120,000 hiding under their mattresses.

This sticker price was enough to deter Jay Todd and Victor Gonzalez, a couple of 17 years, when they took their first steps towards becoming fathers five years ago.

“We thought you needed to be like Elton John to have kids through surrogacy,” Jay joked. “It just seemed out of reach for most families — like such a fantasy.”

So instead, the couple first tried to adopt, a process that proved to be more emotionally fraught and expensive than they had hoped. “We spent thousands of dollars,” Jay said, “and it was very emotionally difficult time for everyone involved.” The couple came close to completing an adoption a couple of times — once with a child in Indiana, and a second time with a sibling group in Colombia — but neither worked out in the end.

The couple stresses that they have no regrets, and wish nothing but the best for the birth parents and their children. Still, the experience left them emotionally exhausted, and they decided to sideline their dream of becoming fathers. “We had to give up,” Jay admitted. “We just figured it wasn’t going to happen for us.”

Then, the couple learned about GPAP, and were approved for Stage I assistance. “We got substantial discounts from Simply Surrogacy and CT Fertility,” Jay said. “It probably saved us around $10,000.”

June 19, 2016 via Gayswithkids.com

Click here to read the entire article.

in Family Stories / International / Personal Stories / Surrogacy / Uncategorized  by Anthony Brown 1 comments

Men Having Babies’ Gay Parenting Assistance Program Expanded to Help Prospective Surrogacy Dads with Discount on Fertility Medications

Men Having Babies (MHB) Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP) announced today that EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the U.S. and Canada, will provide eligible prospective gay parents with up to a 75% discount on select fertility medications for use by their surrogates when redeemed at an EMD Serono participating pharmacy.

GPAP annually provides dozens of prospective parents with over a million dollars worth of cash grants, discounts and free services from more than fifty leading service providers. “GPAP was created to promote affordable surrogacy services for gay men, the first such program to do so,” said Ron Poole-Dayan, the executive director of Men Having Babies. “In the last two years more than 300 couples became eligible for substantial discounts off the cost of surrogacy services, and more than 40 couples have received direct Stage II financial assistance, including grants and free service. Ten babies were already born to Stage II couples, and many more are on their way.”

“Our mission at EMD Serono is to advocate for people who want to have a child,” said Craig Millian, Sr. Vice President, US Fertility & Endocrinology at EMD Serono. “We are excited to be the first manufacturer to provide financial assistance, in the form of discounted medicine, directly to the gay community. Most importantly, we are thrilled to work with Men Having Babies to try to help more and more people build families.”Men Having Babies

The collaboration will be officially announced at a special dinner reception at the upcoming Surrogacy and Gay Parenting conference in Dallas, TX, this Father’s Day, which EMD Serono is co-sponsoring. The conference is based on the successful model of programs MHB has already organized in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Brussels and Tel Aviv. It will bring together under one roof community activists, experts, parents and surrogates who will share their experiences. Prospective parents at all stages of their journey are encouraged to attend – from those who are just beginning to weigh their parenting options to those who are already in process.

Some of the other sponsors of the Dallas conference are also major supporters of GPAP, including Simple Surrogacy and Fertility Specialists of Texas, which have already helped several couples that have had children or are currently pregnant.

“For a same-sex couple, conceiving a child through third-party infertility treatments can be incredibly expensive,” said Jerald S. Goldstein, MD, medical director and founder of Fertility Specialists of Texas. “Through strong support initiatives like the Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP), having a biological child is becoming more of a reality for intended fathers worldwide. We are proud to partner with Men Having Babies and to be a continued participating infertility center with GPAP.”

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) JUNE 16, 2016

Click here to read the entire release.

in Egg Donation / In the News / IVF / Surrogacy  by Anthony Brown 1 comments

Gay couple’s baby recognized as German in landmark ruling

Gay couples in Germany have limited rights when it comes to starting a family. But what if a child is born in a country with full same-sex marriage rights? One of Germany’s highest courts has given an answer.

 

The Federal Court of Justice on Wednesday granted German citizenship to a South African child born to lesbian mothers in a major development for LGBT family rights.

The court case centred around a child born in 2010 in South Africa to a lesbian couple – the biological mother was South African while the other mother was German.

lesbian family law

The parents were legally married in South Africa and therefore were automatically recognized equally there as the child’s parents.

But when the mothers went to Germany to register their partnership, authorities in Berlin refused to offer the child German citizenship because the biological mother was foreign.

Children born to at least one German national outside the country are normally considered German citizens within heterosexual pairs.

But unlike heterosexual couples in Germany, same-sex partners cannot marry and therefore any child had or adopted by a pair is not automatically considered the child of both.

The only way that same-sex couples can start a family together is through something called successive adoption – generally one partner adopting the biological child of the other.

The German mother had not done this in her home country.

June 15, 2016

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in In the News / International / Second Parent Adoption / Step Parent Adoption  by Anthony Brown 1 comments

The Corrosive Politics That Threaten L.G.B.T. Americans

As families began planning funerals for the victims of Sunday’s rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., gay Americans mourned a loss that extended beyond the lives cut short.

Omar Mateen shattered the tenuous, hard-fought sense of personal safety that many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have begun to feel as the movement for equality has made significant gains in recent years. His bullets and the blood he left behind that early morning were a reminder that in many corners of the country, gay and transgender people are still regarded as sinners and second-class citizens who should be scorned.

While the precise motivation for the rampage remains unclear, it is evident that Mr. Mateen was driven by hatred toward gays and lesbians. Hate crimes don’t happen in a vacuum. They occur where bigotry is allowed to fester, where minorities are vilified and where people are scapegoated for political gain. Tragically, this is the state of American politics, driven too often by Republican politicians who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish.LGBTQ

Since the 1990s, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans have made considerable progress in the fight for equality under the law. By living openly and proudly, they have changed society’s attitudes about sexual orientation and gender identity. That shift has prompted politicians who were once wary about embracing equal rights for L.G.B.T. Americans — including President Obama and Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee — to become resolute allies. The 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage was celebrated by many in the gay community as the crowning achievement of a decades-long quest for respect and dignity.

Yet, that fight remains far from over. Since the marriage ruling, several Republican-led state legislatures and Republican governors and federal lawmakers have redoubled their fight against legal protections for people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. So far this year, more than 200 anti-L.G.B.T. bills have been introduced in 34 states.

Donald Trump, unlike some other prominent Republicans, called the Orlando massacre what it was: an attack on gay people. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, could not even offer that recognition to a community in pain.

Yet, Mr. Trump has vowed to choose Supreme Court justices who would overturn marriage equality, and he supports the deceptively named First Amendment Defense Act, an effort to approve discrimination against gay and transgender people nationwide under the guise of religious freedom. And Mr. Trump backtracked from his statement that transgender people should be able to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity after Senator Ted Cruz used his words to attack him during the nomination fight.

Click here to read the entire article.

by The Editorial Board – New York Times – June 15, 2016

in Legal / Recently Added / Religious  by Anthony Brown 0 comments

Living Wills and Health Care Proxies

Living Wills and Health Care Proxies, sometime know as Medical Powers of Attorney, are vital aspect of an individual’s, couple’s or family’s estate plan. Many overlook these critical documents, but it may be at their own expense.

Why are these documents so important? – No estate plan is complete until it addresses unexpected medical crises which could leave someone alive, but in a compromised mental or physical condition.  Many people feel uncomfortable even thinking about these situations; however, they are exactly the reason why comprehensive estate planning is so important, including Living Wills and Health Care Proxies.

Without Living Wills and Health Care Proxies, a person may not be able to decide for themselves what medical decisions can be made about their condition or who can make them.guardianship, Gay Estate Planning, estate planning for same sex couples, estate planning law firms

What are Living Wills and Health Care Proxies – A Living Will is a witnessed and notarized document that states exactly what medical measures a person wants or does not want if a specifically outlined medical conditions arise.  It is important to note the Living Wills only apply to medical conditions which are terminal, with little or no hope of recovery.  If a doctor or hospital can get you better, they will use everything at their disposal to do so.  Living Wills address those situations where there is no hope for recovery, then you are empowered to decide what treatments a doctor or hospital to perform.

A Health Care Proxy, or Medical Power of Attorney, allows a person you designate to have access to medical records and make specified medical decisions for you. Comprehensive health Care Proxies will also allow the designated person to look into your medical file if needed to make the best decision.  This is accomplished by including a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) waiver which authorizes hospital; and doctors to share your medical information with the proxy you have designated.

Other Considerations – It is also important to discuss with your Health Care proxy what your wishes are as defined in your Living Will.  You should never designate someone without first ensuring that they are capable of and comfortable with carrying out your end of life wishes.

If you do not have a Living Will and are unable to convey your wishes directly, a hospital has an obligation to keep you alive, whether that is your desire or not, unless your closest living legal relative (in most states) authorizes them otherwise.

The most noteworthy example of how not having a Living Will can become a nightmare was the Terri Schiavo case in Florida. Ms. Schaivo did not have a Living Will when she suffered a massive heart attack in 1995 and was declared by her doctors to be in a persistent vegetative state.  He husband petitioned the court to have her feeding tube removed and her parents opposed that petition.  In all, the Schiavo case involved 14 appeals and numerous motions, petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in federal district court; extensive political intervention at the levels of the Florida state legislature, then-governor Jeb Bush, the U.S. Congress, and President George W. Bush; and four denials of certiorari from the Supreme Court of the United States. (procedural history courtesy of Wikipedia.)  All of this could have been prevented if she had a Living Will.

If you are incapacitated and cannot convey your wishes to a medical facility about your treatment, they will look to your Medical Power of Attorney. If you do not have one, the facility will look to your closest living legal relative for guidance.  This person may or may not be someone you wanting medical decisions for you.  The legal priority that must be followed in most states is a spouse, an adult child, a parent, a sibling, an adult niece or nephew, an aunt or uncle and finally, a first cousin.

Living Wills and Health Care Proxies are foundational elements of a person’s estate plan. These are also often the documents most critical to elderly individuals or those with preexisting medical conditions.

For more information about Living Wills and Health Care Proxies, or other healthcare documentation, contact Anthony M. Brown at Time for Families and speak to a specialist family lawyer to secure you and your family’s future.

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in Estate Planning / Featured Articles / Services  by Anthony Brown 1 comments

FAMILIES OF CHOICE SERIES Anna and Kaya

Families of choice can provide increased connection, security and joy to the lives of LGBTQ people. Our in-depth look at families of choice across our communities continues this week with Anna DeShawn and Kaya Powell. Anna and Kaya, engaged to be married in 2017, are both active in a number of LGBTQ community organizations. In their first interview as a couple, Anna and Kaya share with Windy City Times their experiences of families of choice.

Interviewee names: Anna DeShawn, Kaya Powell

Ages: 32, 38 respectively

Relationship Status: Engaged

Neighborhood: Bronzeville

Activities :

—Anna: Owner and Operator of E3 Radio; www.e3radio.org

—Affinity Community Services Board Member; http://affinity95.org/acscontent

—Kaya: Project Curve Appeal; http://pinkcitycorp.com/pink-city-corp/project-curve-appeal.

—Kaya’s Creations, Co-Owner Drinks By A Diva

Windy City Times: What is your definition of family?

Anna DeShawn: Family to me are persons who care and love you for exactly who you are. Using the word unconditional is a figment of our imagination, there’s conditions on everybody’s love to an extent, but it’s people who you can absolutely depend on.

Kaya Powell: I concur, I feel like that is the same definition for me. It doesn’t have to be your blood family. A person who is there when times are rough as well as when times are good, I would call that person family.families of choice

WCT: By your definition of family, who is in that inner circle?

KP: For me, that number is really really small, only a handful. They’ve been there when I need them, in my corner, pushing me to do better for myself. That number only consists of one blood related person.

AD: It’s probably five or six people. I can trust them and if I need anything I know I can call them up and they’d be right here.

WCT: Kaya, could you speak to why your inner circle is mostly family of choice?

KP: I love my family, but I don’t share as much with them. I share more with outside individuals because I know they are non-judgmental, don’t say things that eventually get back to me. I know they will be there for me, more than my own family.

WCT: What are the needs family of choice fulfill in your life?

AD: For me, its 100-percent acceptance and no judgment. I have no doubt in my mind that my family of origin loves me, but at the same time they all have their own hangups about my sexuality. It doesn’t play out in every scenario, but there is a boundary that I know exists. As I get older, I don’t always feel like having a conversation, I just want to show up and have a good time and we all love each other for where we’re at. With my friends there’s nothing extra, other than just me showing up.

WCT: In your family of origin are you sometimes the gay spokesperson?

AD: Oh yeah, when I came out it was so funny, they meant well but I got two copies of Brokeback Mountain! [Hearty laughter] My sister gave me one and my aunt mailed one from Arizona, it was crazy but I know they were trying.

I equate it to being Black in a lot of ways; there’s a certain understanding we have as people of color. When you are a person who lives at the intersections of being Black, a woman and being queer, if people don’t know how to deal with you on your levels, then you tend to be the spokesperson on any of those three identities. With my family of choice we don’t need that, we all know what we are going through every day.

WCT: Kaya, can you speak to the needs you have that are met by family of choice?

KP: Family of choice accepts me for who I am, I don’t have to explain anything. It was an eye opener for my blood family when I came out, even though there were other stud females in my family. I was femme and they didn’t understand. I feel like I’m too old to have to explain what I like. I choose not to be around them because I don’t want the stares, or looks, or whispers. With family of choice I don’t have to deal with that, we accept each other as we are.

WCT: Is everyone of your family of choice LGBTQ-identified?

AD: Yes, pretty much. And all around the same age, and people of color. There’s some older folks because of Kaya, you know. [Both laugh.]

KP: I could say [there are] some infants! [Laughs continue]

WCT: How have you created family of choice as a couple?

KP: We were introduced by a mutual friend, Brandee, who has since become my family, and her wife Dionne is Anna’s buddy. We came together with a few other individuals around the same time. I find that interesting. We recently met someone who is a stud lesbian in the lifestyle and she has become our nephew.

AD: I know it’s rare for it to unfold that way with Brandee and Dionne. I work with Brandee on the radio and she’s my radio wife, we’ve been doing that since before Kaya and I. At a very basic level, it’s a true blessing everyone gets along. E3 Radio is my passion, so it would be difficult if it hadn’t worked out that way.

WCT: What attracted you to each other?

AD: She had her own life. I could never have someone who is just waiting at home for me, it causes animosity and jealousy. She had her own friends, and life. We were able to bring those together and it’s awesome. It’s been surprising, but that’s how I knew it was right.

KP: Yep!

in Family Stories / Parenting / Personal Stories  by Anthony Brown 1 comments

LGBTQ Literature for Children and Teens Comes of Age

LGBTQ Literature for Children and Teens becomes relevant and contemporary.

LGBTQ literature is taking a new turn.  When David Levithan wrote the YA novel Boy Meets Boy (Knopf, 2003), he faced a precedent in which books with LGBTQ characters were issue-based: focused on the angst of coming out in a hostile world. “We were tired of the misery plot, and wanted to re-write it,” Levithan recalls. “I wanted to write a romantic comedy.”

Today, that “misery plot” is no longer the norm and 2016’s children’s books and YA novels depict a wider range of LGBTQ experiences and family dynamics. Increasingly, the central conflict has little to do with being gay.

Such is the case with Levithan’s upcoming YA novel You Know Me Well (St. Martin’s Griffin, June), which he co-wrote with Nina LaCour, about the burgeoning friendship between a boy and a girl – both comfortably out, and both navigating the uncertainty of imminent adulthood.LGBTQ literature

“Nina and I wrote the book because we really wanted to show the common ground between a lesbian character and a gay character,” Levithan says. “Part of that is navigating romantic relationships, which is hard no matter who you love.”

Levithan, who is also editorial director and publisher at Scholastic, notes the characterization of queer characters has become far more nuanced. “Authors are really delving into what it means to have this identity,” he says. For instance, Jane B. Mason’s Without Annette (Scholastic Press, Jun.) depicts the growing tension between two girlfriends as they maneuver through the politics and elitism of a new boarding school.

“Without Annette is about navigating love,” says Levithan. “The fact that they’re girls attracted to girls – there’s obviously something specific to that, but it doesn’t define their love.”

Similarly, in Kody Keplinger’s Run (Scholastic Press, July), the main character’s bisexuality doesn’t define her. “Certainly a decade ago, if these characters existed, the whole story would be about that facet of their identity,” Levithan said.

Characters are increasingly certain of who they are, so there’s less drama around the search for identity. This assuredness is evident even in some middle grade novels and picture books. Sara Cassidy’s middle grade book A Boy Named Queen (Groundwood, Aug.) is about a boy who flouts convention and sees no need specify his orientation throughout the book.

“The story for every child isn’t going to be about coming out as LGBTQ,” says Groundwood president and publisher Sheila Barry. “In [A Boy Named Queen], the kid is very confident in every aspect of his being.” Similarly, in the picture book Big Bob, Little Bob (Candlewick, Oct.), by James Howe and illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson, Little Bob, who dresses in girls’ clothes and wears flowers in his hair, is perfectly comfortable with who he is and what he likes.

Family and Friends

While there’s still a place for stories about understanding sexual orientation or gender identity, those narratives now show a broader range of relationships within friendships and families.

in Adoption / Foster Parenting / Personal Stories / Recently Added / Surrogacy  by Anthony Brown 1 comments