Archive for Gay Families

OUTSpoken Families: 10 days, 50 pledges, 60% of target – please donate….

May 16, 2013 admin No comments

Jacqui Tomlins, the woman behind the OutSpoken Families project needs your help…. I am a big supporter of resources being made available to the GLBTIQ  and wider community….. So please dig deep and support this great resource….

OUTSpoken Families: 10 days, 50 pledges, 60% of target!

When I took my first tentative steps into the world of crowd-funding a week and a half ago I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Ten days later and the response has been fantastic. I’m starting to think A Resource Kit for Rainbow Families might just happen.

Many people have left comments on the Pozible page or emailed me to say they think it’s a great idea and a much needed resource for our community.

I’ve heard from people who are at the very start of their parenting journey and for whom so many things are unknown; from couples raising kids in the country where support and resources are few and far between, and families in the midst of it all grappling with a range of day-to-day issues.

So, thank-you to everyone who has pledged, shared, tweeted or emailed. (If you’ve made a pledge, but haven’t heard from me, there should be a message for you on Pozible. Click on the icon for your name and then on ‘Messages’.)

I’ve still got 40% of the target to raise to make this thing happen (it’s all or nothing, remember; if you don’t reach the target, you don’t get anything).

You can check out the project at:

http://pozible.com/outspokenfamilies

Gay Families

Britain passes draft gay marriage legislation

February 5, 2013 admin 2 comments

British MPs have voted in favour of legislation allowing gay marriage, despite a split in prime minister David Cameron’s Conservative party.

The draft law, which proposes legalising same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 2014, was carried by 400 votes to 175 votes in the House of Commons.

The legislation is several stages away from becoming law, but has already exposed rifts within Mr Cameron’s party at a time when he is facing growing talk of a possible leadership challenge.

But with the majority of Liberal Democrat and Labour MPs supporting the bill, it passed easily.

The new law would also allow civil partners to convert their partnerships into marriages.

In a late intervention just two hours before lawmakers voted, Mr Cameron made a televised statement to say the move was about “making our society stronger”.

“I think it’s right that gay people should be able to get married too,” he said.

“This is yes about equality, but it’s also about making our society stronger.

“I know there are strong views on both sides of the argument. I respect that. But I think this is an important step forward for our country.”

Gay couples in Britain have had the right to enter into civil partnerships and adopt children since 2005.

The new law does not force the Anglican and Catholic churches – who strongly oppose the move – to conduct gay marriages, but critics say gay people may launch legal challenges.

Behind in the polls, analysts believe Mr Cameron is trying to perform a balancing act to reconcile his desire to show his party is progressive with the views of many of those inside it uncomfortable with such reform.

Amid growing talk of a possible leadership challenge against him, many Conservative MPs say they feel Mr Cameron is not a real Conservative and is sacrificing what were once core party values on the altar of populism.

If the legislation’s passage is just as smooth in the House of Lords, Britain will become the 12th country to legalise same-sex marriage.

Equality, Gay Families, GLBTIQ News , ,

Gayby Baby Documentary

July 17, 2012 admin No comments

Coming Out Australia welcomes Maya Newell to share her documentary “Gayby Baby”

Gayby Baby is a documentary that I have felt I need to make for a long time. When I was a kid, there were not that many other children with gay parents. I would have loved to have been able to watch a film and feel that my experiences were shared. So I’ve decided to make that film.

This is a film to create a voice for children in same-sex families and also to encourage a healthier understanding in the public arena surrounding queer families.

Below are some clips for you to see…..

Gayby Baby Documentary Teaser

GAYBY BABY – Interview with GUS

GAYBYBABY – Interview with India and Mila

GAYBYBABY – Interview with BRYONY

GAYBYBABY – Interview with SUNNAI

Gay Families

Gayby Baby Documentary Needs Gay Dads!!!!

June 20, 2012 admin No comments

Maya Newell is currently making a documentary about gay and lesbian families and hoping that you may be able to help.

Please have a look at the trailer here: http://gaybybaby.pozible.com.au

 

I have two lesbian mums and I am interested in telling the story of families like mine from the perspective of the children; a side to the story that hasn’t yet been told. We’re currently interviewing children from ages 7 -16 from all races and regions across Australia about their personal experiences, interactions and views on their family.  The process has been incredibly inspiring.

We have been filming with some families for a year now, however, we have yet to find kids with two dads. This is now our priority.

If you are a gay dad, or know someone who is, please get in touch. We would love you to be involved.

You can contact Maya on: 0422474465 or email gaybybaby.doco@gmail.com

FOLLOW GAYBYBABY

 www.facebook.com/gaybybaby
www.youtube.com/gaybybaby (for weekly uploads)
@gaybybaby
TRAILER http://gaybybaby.pozible.com.au

FILM INFO

Australia is in the midst of a gayby-boom. Twenty-four percent of gay and lesbian couples are now raising a child and their queer spawn are invisibly roaming Australian streets and schools.

In the 70s and 80s, when same-sex marriage and IVF for lesbian mothers was just a pipe dream, some decided not to wait on progress, but to create it. These first generation gaybies have grown-up, and together with an increasing number of gayby children they’re a cultural phenomenon we know nothing about. Who are they? And what is it like to grow up with same-sex parents?

While most kids are grappling with the idea of Man + Woman = Baby, gaybies are fluent in IVF technologies. They are well versed on how to hide their families, see a very different side to sexual discrimination, and it is largely unrecognized that gaybies have to “come out” too. The documentary will explore what our schools are teaching kids about “family”, what exactly is a “father figure” and are they important? And how does a teenager complain about their parents when they’re always trying to prove their family has a right to exist?

At a time when same-sex marriage is being passionately discussed worldwide, this film turns to the kids who live in the middle of the debate and, rather than speculating (as has been done so long by experts, politicians and activists), it asks the kids plain and simple, what is it really like having gay parents?

Gayby Baby will follow the newest generation of gaybies as they speak openly about their woes and passions; what’s great about their family, and what’s not. For some of them, being a gayby doesn’t matter at all, while for others it’s at times an uncomfortable reality.

Gayby Baby is a child’s eye view of our newest kind of family.

WHY I WANT TO MAKE THIS DOCUMENTARY

Gayby Baby is a documentary that I have felt I need to make for a long time. When I was a kid, there were not that many other children with gay parents. I would have loved to have been able to watch a film and feel that my experiences were shared. So I’ve decided to make that film.

This is a film to create a voice for children in same-sex families and also to encourage a healthier understanding in the public arena surrounding queer families.

We live in a country where same-sex couples are not allowed to marry and conservatives continually say we need a mother and a father. I want to change that because I have loved growing up with two mothers. In my opinion, children need love, security and support and it doesn’t matter if that is given by one parent, two parents or more.

Maya Newell

w: www.mayanewell.com

m: +614 22474465

Gay Dads, Gay Families , , ,

GLBT New and Prospective Parents Focus Group

February 12, 2012 admin No comments

Henry from The Bouverie Centre has asked Coming Out Australia to post this request:

They are looking for Gay Dads, Lesbian Mums to take part in a focus group, below is a brief description:

At the end of last year, my colleague Jennifer and I held some focus groups with service providers who work with new and prospective parents: maternal child health nurses, general counsellors, family mediators, psychologists, IVF counsellors, family therapists, midwives, educators, and others working in this general field.

We wanted to know what sort of information they would like to see in resources designed to support them to improve service delivery for same-sex parented families. The workers in this group had a range of experience. Some had met just a few same-sex parented families in their professional lives. Others had met many.

The groups were very interesting and it is clear that those who attended are invested in improving the services to GLBT parented families. They were eager to tell us where they thought services could be improved, but even more eager to hear what the clients themselves want. For some mainstream service providers there is a strong commitment to consumer-driven resource development and service delivery. For example, some of the maternal and child health nurses in the group wanted to know how to better support men who have newly arrived children from overseas surrogacy. Others were unsure about how to support both mums and dads in co-parenting relationships. Some counsellors in the groups had very astute questions and observations about the complexities of the emotional rollercoaster that new parenting can be, particularly when there is an added layer of stress that same-sex attracted parents often have to deal with, but they still had questions about how to offer the best service to families.

Therefore we would like to hear from more GLBT new parents/prospective parents about their experiences using mainstream service providers (or perhaps why they are reluctant to use them). If you live in Melbourne and are available to talk to us, we a hosting a lunchtime focus group:

Wednesday 7th March

12.15pm

Lunch will be provided

Children are welcome (we have toys)

The Bouverie Centre

8 Gardiner St, Brunswick, Melbourne

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Henry at h.vondoussa@latrobe.edu.au or call Jen on 9385 5131 (leave a message if she does not answer!).

We realise that this timeslot will not be a good one for people who work, or people’s who have children with midday sleep requirements. So if you can’t make this time but are still keen to be involved, please get in touch anyway as we will try and arrange another time and/or some phone interviews as well.

 

Gay Dads, Gay Families, GLBTIQ News

GLOCKIDS

January 8, 2012 admin No comments


GLOCKIDS is a peer support organisation run by Coming Out Australia for the following:

*Gay and lesbian people who have had children through a heterosexual relationship.
*Partners of gay and lesbian people with children
*Children of gay and lesbian people who were conceived through a heterosexual relationship
*Same Sex Co-parenting couples.
*Step Families in the GLBTIQ Community
*Family members of the above.

Click here for more information

Coming Out, Equality, Gay Dads, Gay Families