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Strollerderby
There is far more to being a parent than genetics. Sure, there are animals where the male drops by, makes a deposit, and leaves the female to bear and raise the young on her own, but they’re, well, animals. Most of us, I think, see ourselves as being evolved past that. For humans, being a parent means caring for the child more than it means being genetically related. For that matter, other than in cases of medical issues, does genetics really matter?
You may recall the landmark case of Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, from 2000, in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the BSA, being a private organization, has the right to discriminate as it wishes, when it comes to its membership and its volunteer staff. Since that decision was handed down, the Scouts have indeed continued their policy of discriminating against gays and atheists. Since that decision, also, the Boy Scouts have steadily lost many special accommodations and benefits they once enjoyed. Now they’ve lost another.
Remember Will Phillips, the ten-year-old boy from West Fork, Arkansas who decided that he was not going to recite the Pledge of Allegiance until the phrase “with liberty and justice for all” was accurate — that is, until everyone was able to marry the person they love? Young Will was, of course, referring to the issue of marriage equality — more specifically, the lack of marriage equality in this country. Will’s protest garnered international attention after he got in trouble for talking back to a substitute teacher about it — after four days of the teacher trying to force him to stand and recite the pledge, he told her “Ma’am, with all due respect, you can go jump off a bridge.”
Like nearly every one of us did way back when, 17-year-old Zikerria Bellamy applied for a job at McDonald’s. Lots of teens appreciate the free food, the experience, and, most of all, the money that comes with the job. Unfortunately, Zikerria wasn’t hired. That wouldn’t be of much interest were it not for the reason she was turned down — Zikerria is transgendered. And if that weren’t bad enough, one of the managers of the restaurant actually called her and left a voice message saying “We don’t hire faggots.”
Earlier this year, Alameda Unified School District, just across the bay from San Francisco and, undoubtedly, home to many school children with gay and lesbian parents, approved a curriculum that teaches tolerance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered members of the community. Two board members, however, voted against the program, one because the curriculum is not comprehensive enough — she felt it should have included race and religion — and the other because there was no opt-out provision. The latter issue prompted the Pacific Justice Institute to file a lawsuit on behalf of parents who, I guess, want their children to think it’s okay to bully kids based on sexual identity and gender preference.
Based on my own personal, anecdotal experience, I’d have to agree with these conclusions — the lesbian parents I know are far better parents than I am. The same, actually, is true of the guys raising kids together too. Of course, all that is nothing more than one person’s experience and may very well be more indicative of my lack of skill than their exceptional abilities. There is, however, actual scientific research on the matter and it matches what I’ve encountered personally — Lesbians are better parents than straight couples.
Last week, I wrote about the Scholastic company’s request that an author, Lauren Myracle, change her new book to eliminate a lesbian couple — the mothers of one of the main characters. Myracle refused and Scholastic decided not to include the book in their spring book fairs. Then people got wind and, understandably, got upset. And now, Scholastic has changed it’s mind — the book will be available at their middle school book fairs this spring. So why are parents and LGBT advocates still upset?
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