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[CCBC-Net] Gay/lesbian families and GSAs
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From: Kathleen T. Horning <horning>
Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 09:13:36 -0500
I know there are many photo-essays about families that include a gay or lesbian family (or, occasionally, two), but they are all depicted in the most traditional way, e.g. Sara lives with her two moms. I understand that in a general book about families, any depiction of a g/l family will likely be the kind that is closest to traditional heterosexual nuclear family ("See? We're just like you!") But what I love about the families in our glbt community is the great variety you find there. And what I'm most interested in is what the kids themselves have to say about their families, including kids within the same family who might have different perceptions. So I am seeing this as something that would be more like the books Susan Kuklin does for older kids.
Another great gay-related photo-essay would be about middle and high school kids active in GSAs. Each year when I go our local GLSEN banquet where awards are given out to teen activists, I'm always amazed and moved by the stories of these passionate and courageous teens, both gay and straight, who fight to establish GSAs in their schools (some in very small ,conservative towns), and the adults, both gay and straight, who have supported them. (For the acronym-challenged: GSA=Gay/Straight Alliance)
GSAs, in fact, are largely absent in GLBTQ teen literature, even though they are such an important part of teen culture right now. But that's part of what I see as a larger problem with GLBTQ literature, and that's the lack of a sense of the gay community beyond the main character and the main character's love interest. There are a few books that offer this, at least to some degree: "Absolutely Positively Not..." by David LaRochelle; "Geography Club" by Brent Hartinger; the Rainbow series by Alex Sanchez; and "Keeping You a Secret" by Julie Anne Peters. And in one of her essays in last year's "Hear Us Out," Nancy Garden discusses the difficulties GLBT adults have always had in reaching out to their younger peers, as they fear being charged with "recruiting" or worse.
KT
Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933
horning at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Jean Mendoza wrote:
> One photo-essay book about families -- Susan Kuklin's <Families> -- includes gay- & lesbian-headed families among many family constellations. that's not exactly what Annette's talking about, but I find the book appealing & wanted to mention it.
>
> Jean M.
>
> Jean Mendoza, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Early Childhood Education
> Millikin University
> Decatur, Illinois
>
>>>> "Annette Goldsmith" <ayg at comcast.net> 05/20/08 5:28 PM >>>
>>>>
> Katy, your comment about diverse families and family structure reminded me
> of Megan Lambert's article in the May/June 2008 Horn Book, "Reading about
> Families in My Family" which begins: "In my family there are two moms and
> five kids. I've yet to find a children's book that depicts a cast of
> characters that looks anything like our particular multiracial,
> foster-adoptive family constellation..." There's a lovely family photo, too.
> The stuff of a photo-essay book, perhaps?
>
> Annette
>
> Annette Goldsmith
> Tallahassee, Florida
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> [mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Kathleen T.
> Horning
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:13 PM
> To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of
> Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
>
> Nancy Silverrod has provided a great overview of where we are right now
> with GLBTQ lit, and were we could be going (and, wow! before she's even
> fully awake!)
>
> I'd love to see more done with your Point 6. I'm always amazed at the
> diversity of families and family structure within the LGBTQ community,
> with different ethnicities, different arrangements for co-parenting,
> recognition of biological parents, etc. Gay and lesbian families are,
> by necessity, intentional, and they require a lot of planning and
> cooperation. I'm not saying that traditional hetero families don't, too,
> but gay/lesbian families often go to extreme lengths in family planning,
> and they have to do all of this in the midst of a society that doesn't
> make it easy for them and sometimes doesn't even recognize them as a
> real family. Kids growing up in these different types of family
> structures would make a great photo-essay book.
>
> KT
>
> Kathleen T. Horning
> Director
> Cooperative Children's Book Center
> 4290 Helen C. White Hall
> 600 N. Park St
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> Phone: 608-263-3721
> FAX: 608-262-4933
>
> horning at education.wisc.edu
> http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
>
>
>
> Nancy Silverrod wrote:
>
>> I'll start with some brief comments. Overall, we are definitely seeing a
>> move toward the view that being lesbian or gay is an acceptable, even
>> positive, sexual identity. Many young adult books these days even have
>> minor characters who are gay. There are still very few books that take
>> on the subject of bisexuality--fewer than those dealing with transgender
>> characters. However, there are still very few lgbtq books for children
>> as opposed to the growing number of books for teens, and many of them
>> are being published by small presses, or are self-published, making them
>> difficult to find. A number of these latter books have the tendency to
>> be didactic, and libraries often have to balance that, and the sometimes
>> poor artwork, against the subject needs.
>>
>> There are a whole range of subject needs that are under-addressed, or
>> not met:
>> 1. More books about gay marriage, particularly more fiction, all
>> ages
>> 2. Books about bisexuality, fiction and non-fiction, all ages
>> 3. Books about having a transgender family member (there are a
>> few exceptions in young adult fiction) -- both fiction and
>> non-fiction, all ages
>> 4. Books about transgender parents (yes there are a number of
>> them) -- both fiction and non-fiction, all ages
>> 5. Books about gender-variant young children (even more of those
>> than transgender parents) -- both fiction and non-fiction
>> 6. Books about the various ways lgbtq people become parents
>> (adoption, pregnancy, surrogacy, etc)
>> 7. Books about young lgbtq people joining together to fight back
>> the homophobia and violence they face
>>
>> Subjects that have possibly(or hopefully) been beaten to death:
>> 1. Boo-hoo, my boyfriend's gay
>> 2. Oh no, I'm gay, my life is ruined, my parents will hate me
>> 3. Car wrecks, suicide attempts, gay-bashing
>>
>> More thoughts later, after I've woken up...
>>
>>
>> Nancy Silverrod, Librarian
>> San Francisco Public Library
>> 100 Larkin St.
>> San Francisco, CA 94102-4733
>> 415-557-4417
>> nsilverrod at sfpl.org
>>
>> Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another
>> mind. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
>>
>> A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood. -Chinese
>> Proverb
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
>> [mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Megan
>> Schliesman
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 8:20 AM
>> To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of
>> Subject: [CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
>>
>> Thank you for the posts on literature for children and teens about the
>> Middle East. While we'd like to spend more time on this topic to
>> encourage additional posts, but time being time, we need to turn our
>> attention to the topic for the second part of May: GLBTQliiterature.
>>
>> Even more than literature about the Middle East, this area of publishing
>>
>> for youth has grown tremendously in recent years.* *We have been struck
>>
>> by the fact that since first talking about this topic on CCBC-Net, in
>> June of 2004, publishing reflecting the experiences of lesbian, gay,
>> bixesxual, transgendered, and questioning youth has grown exponentially,
>>
>> and in that growth we are seeing more new voices and greater diversity
>> of experience. (Unfortunately, books for younger children reflecting the
>>
>> many families with gay or lesbian parents are still few and far
>> between.)
>>
>> We invite you to share what you've observed about GLBTQ literature in
>> recent years for the remainder of May.
>>
>> Megan
>>
>>
>>
> _______________________________________________
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> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
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>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
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>
>
Received on Wed 21 May 2008 09:13:36 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 09:13:36 -0500
I know there are many photo-essays about families that include a gay or lesbian family (or, occasionally, two), but they are all depicted in the most traditional way, e.g. Sara lives with her two moms. I understand that in a general book about families, any depiction of a g/l family will likely be the kind that is closest to traditional heterosexual nuclear family ("See? We're just like you!") But what I love about the families in our glbt community is the great variety you find there. And what I'm most interested in is what the kids themselves have to say about their families, including kids within the same family who might have different perceptions. So I am seeing this as something that would be more like the books Susan Kuklin does for older kids.
Another great gay-related photo-essay would be about middle and high school kids active in GSAs. Each year when I go our local GLSEN banquet where awards are given out to teen activists, I'm always amazed and moved by the stories of these passionate and courageous teens, both gay and straight, who fight to establish GSAs in their schools (some in very small ,conservative towns), and the adults, both gay and straight, who have supported them. (For the acronym-challenged: GSA=Gay/Straight Alliance)
GSAs, in fact, are largely absent in GLBTQ teen literature, even though they are such an important part of teen culture right now. But that's part of what I see as a larger problem with GLBTQ literature, and that's the lack of a sense of the gay community beyond the main character and the main character's love interest. There are a few books that offer this, at least to some degree: "Absolutely Positively Not..." by David LaRochelle; "Geography Club" by Brent Hartinger; the Rainbow series by Alex Sanchez; and "Keeping You a Secret" by Julie Anne Peters. And in one of her essays in last year's "Hear Us Out," Nancy Garden discusses the difficulties GLBT adults have always had in reaching out to their younger peers, as they fear being charged with "recruiting" or worse.
KT
Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933
horning at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Jean Mendoza wrote:
> One photo-essay book about families -- Susan Kuklin's <Families> -- includes gay- & lesbian-headed families among many family constellations. that's not exactly what Annette's talking about, but I find the book appealing & wanted to mention it.
>
> Jean M.
>
> Jean Mendoza, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Early Childhood Education
> Millikin University
> Decatur, Illinois
>
>>>> "Annette Goldsmith" <ayg at comcast.net> 05/20/08 5:28 PM >>>
>>>>
> Katy, your comment about diverse families and family structure reminded me
> of Megan Lambert's article in the May/June 2008 Horn Book, "Reading about
> Families in My Family" which begins: "In my family there are two moms and
> five kids. I've yet to find a children's book that depicts a cast of
> characters that looks anything like our particular multiracial,
> foster-adoptive family constellation..." There's a lovely family photo, too.
> The stuff of a photo-essay book, perhaps?
>
> Annette
>
> Annette Goldsmith
> Tallahassee, Florida
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> [mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Kathleen T.
> Horning
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:13 PM
> To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of
> Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
>
> Nancy Silverrod has provided a great overview of where we are right now
> with GLBTQ lit, and were we could be going (and, wow! before she's even
> fully awake!)
>
> I'd love to see more done with your Point 6. I'm always amazed at the
> diversity of families and family structure within the LGBTQ community,
> with different ethnicities, different arrangements for co-parenting,
> recognition of biological parents, etc. Gay and lesbian families are,
> by necessity, intentional, and they require a lot of planning and
> cooperation. I'm not saying that traditional hetero families don't, too,
> but gay/lesbian families often go to extreme lengths in family planning,
> and they have to do all of this in the midst of a society that doesn't
> make it easy for them and sometimes doesn't even recognize them as a
> real family. Kids growing up in these different types of family
> structures would make a great photo-essay book.
>
> KT
>
> Kathleen T. Horning
> Director
> Cooperative Children's Book Center
> 4290 Helen C. White Hall
> 600 N. Park St
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> Phone: 608-263-3721
> FAX: 608-262-4933
>
> horning at education.wisc.edu
> http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
>
>
>
> Nancy Silverrod wrote:
>
>> I'll start with some brief comments. Overall, we are definitely seeing a
>> move toward the view that being lesbian or gay is an acceptable, even
>> positive, sexual identity. Many young adult books these days even have
>> minor characters who are gay. There are still very few books that take
>> on the subject of bisexuality--fewer than those dealing with transgender
>> characters. However, there are still very few lgbtq books for children
>> as opposed to the growing number of books for teens, and many of them
>> are being published by small presses, or are self-published, making them
>> difficult to find. A number of these latter books have the tendency to
>> be didactic, and libraries often have to balance that, and the sometimes
>> poor artwork, against the subject needs.
>>
>> There are a whole range of subject needs that are under-addressed, or
>> not met:
>> 1. More books about gay marriage, particularly more fiction, all
>> ages
>> 2. Books about bisexuality, fiction and non-fiction, all ages
>> 3. Books about having a transgender family member (there are a
>> few exceptions in young adult fiction) -- both fiction and
>> non-fiction, all ages
>> 4. Books about transgender parents (yes there are a number of
>> them) -- both fiction and non-fiction, all ages
>> 5. Books about gender-variant young children (even more of those
>> than transgender parents) -- both fiction and non-fiction
>> 6. Books about the various ways lgbtq people become parents
>> (adoption, pregnancy, surrogacy, etc)
>> 7. Books about young lgbtq people joining together to fight back
>> the homophobia and violence they face
>>
>> Subjects that have possibly(or hopefully) been beaten to death:
>> 1. Boo-hoo, my boyfriend's gay
>> 2. Oh no, I'm gay, my life is ruined, my parents will hate me
>> 3. Car wrecks, suicide attempts, gay-bashing
>>
>> More thoughts later, after I've woken up...
>>
>>
>> Nancy Silverrod, Librarian
>> San Francisco Public Library
>> 100 Larkin St.
>> San Francisco, CA 94102-4733
>> 415-557-4417
>> nsilverrod at sfpl.org
>>
>> Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another
>> mind. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
>>
>> A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood. -Chinese
>> Proverb
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
>> [mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Megan
>> Schliesman
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 8:20 AM
>> To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of
>> Subject: [CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
>>
>> Thank you for the posts on literature for children and teens about the
>> Middle East. While we'd like to spend more time on this topic to
>> encourage additional posts, but time being time, we need to turn our
>> attention to the topic for the second part of May: GLBTQliiterature.
>>
>> Even more than literature about the Middle East, this area of publishing
>>
>> for youth has grown tremendously in recent years.* *We have been struck
>>
>> by the fact that since first talking about this topic on CCBC-Net, in
>> June of 2004, publishing reflecting the experiences of lesbian, gay,
>> bixesxual, transgendered, and questioning youth has grown exponentially,
>>
>> and in that growth we are seeing more new voices and greater diversity
>> of experience. (Unfortunately, books for younger children reflecting the
>>
>> many families with gay or lesbian parents are still few and far
>> between.)
>>
>> We invite you to share what you've observed about GLBTQ literature in
>> recent years for the remainder of May.
>>
>> Megan
>>
>>
>>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
>
Received on Wed 21 May 2008 09:13:36 AM CDT
