COLAGE News Blog

COLAGE Invites You to Watch and Respond to 30 Days Jun 24 08

COLAGE invites our members and allies to watch tonight's episode of 30 Days. Tomorrow after you watch, visit the bulletin boards of the show to applaud the efforts of the families and youth who shared their stories. We also invite you to contact FX Networks to express concerns about a defamatory claim by an anti-gay activist that will appear, unchallenged, in the show.

30 Days, FX Networks’ original series produced by Morgan Spurlock, "examines social issues in America by immersing individuals in a life that requires them to see the world through another’s eyes," according to the show’s Web site.

During the June 24 episode, entitled "Same Sex Parenting," Kati, a woman who opposes gay and lesbian parents and their families, lives for 30 days with gay parents Dennis and Thomas and their four adopted sons, a family who have attended COLAGE and Rainbow Family Great Lakes Family Week in Michigan for many years. The episode includes the personal stories of kids raised by lesbian and gay parents shared by members of COLAGE Ann Arbor and COLAGE NYC.

Regrettably, the episode also features a defamatory statement by Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, an anti-gay activist organization, who claims: "Homosexuality is associated with higher rates of sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse, and those are all reasons for us to be concerned about placing children into that kind of setting." While there is no credible scientific research that backs Sprigg’s claim - and much that disputes it - the episode presents his assertion as if it was fact and offers no credible social science experts or child health authorities to challenge Sprigg’s assertion. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, and many other child health and social services authorities who support parenting by qualified lesbian and gay parents and dispute Sprigg’s claim.

"While we applaud the youth, adults and families who shared their experiences with Kati and Morgan Spurlock during this episode, we are disheartened that FX Networks are including defamatory and inaccurate information in the program," shared Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director. "We appreciate the opportunity for our youth and families to authentically share their lives since we know that when children, youth, and adults with LGBTQ parents and their families speak truth to power by sharing their lives with everyday Americans, that hearts and minds are changed. It’s unfortunate that the same episode provides a platform for anti-gay activists whose misinformation feeds bigotry and hatred."

TAKE ACTION!
1. Watch the show with your family and friends. Be prepared to discuss some of the potentially sensitive emotions and issues the episode may raise.

2. Tomorrow, with our colleagues at GLAAD and Family Equality Council, COLAGE urges concerned youth, adults and families to contact FX Networks, and 20th Century Fox, to express their concerns over providing a platform for such an inaccurate, misleading claim by the Family Research Council. Community members should let FX Networks know that it is irresponsible and unacceptable to put forth such a damaging, defamatory assertion about lesbian and gay parents, and worse, refuse to include the voices of credible experts to dispute it.

3. Lastly, visit the bulletin board for 30 Days online here and share your support for Tom and Dennis, their sons and the other members of the COLAGE and LGBT family community who courageously shared their experiences for this show.

FX Networks:

Nick Grad
Executive Vice President of Original Programming
(310) 369-0949
ngrad@fxnetworks.com

Chuck Saftler
Executive Vice President of Programming
(310) 369-0949
csaftler@fxnetworks.com

Scott Seomin
Vice President of Public Relations
(310) 369-0938
scott.seomin@fxnetwork.com

The COLAGE Board of Directors is Seeking New Members Jun 20 08

The COLAGE Board of Directors is an intergenerational, multi-racial/multi-cultural group of dedicated volunteers that includes youth and adults with LGBTQ parents, LGBTQ parents, and allies from all over the United States. The Board convenes for in-person meetings twice annually in addition to participating in ongoing conference calls and committee meetings. The Board provides crucial guidance and oversight for COLAGE and its programs, performs important fundraising and governance duties, and supports the staff of COLAGE in their ongoing work.

This is your opportunity to join COLAGE's Board of Directors during a very exciting time for the organization! Having recently completed a new strategic plan, COLAGE is looking for dynamic, passionate and active leaders to join the Board of Directors and work with the organization to take it to the next level of its development and impact.

To ensure that all organizational decisions and actions are guided by and reflect COLAGE's diverse membership and constituencies, we are currently seeking people who have one or more of the following backgrounds or identities to apply:

o Are you between the ages of 15-17? Or over 40? And have one or more LGBTQ parents?
o Do you have one or more transgender parent(s) and/or identify as trans?
o Are you a person of color and active in communities of color?
o Are you straight/heterosexual and have one or more LGBTQ parents?
o Are you an LGBTQ parent?
o Are you from/Do you reside in the Deep South, Southwest, Southeast, Midwest, or a rural area of the U.S.?

COLAGE especially seeks dedicated board members with skills and experience in:
o fund and resource development and/or access to goods and services in-kind;
o public relations, marketing, media communications, and e-communications;
o law, especially LGBT / family law, employment labor law, and legislative policy development;
o non-profit organizational development and governance or previous board experience;
o financial management, investment & oversight or non-profit accounting;
o youth development, leadership & organizing.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

o Uphold COLAGE's mission, vision, values, and methodology
o Volunteer average of 10-20 hours per month (some months more, some less)
o Attend in-person all-board meetings twice per year. Spring meeting is in SF Bay Area, Fall meeting location rotates. (Next FALL meeting will be held during the weekend of OCTOBER 11-13, 2008.)
o Participate in all-board conference calls every 6 weeks
o Actively participate on at least one board committee, including monthly calls
o Make a personally significant annual financial contribution to the organization and actively participate in fundraising
o Be an ambassador for COLAGE and LGBTQ families (including being 'out' about your family) in your community

APPLICATIONS DUE: Friday, June 27th, 2008

TO APPLY:

Please submit completed COLAGE Board Application Form to COLAGE Board Development Committee via nominations@colage.org. The application is available online here.

When your application is received, you will be notified and may be asked to participate in an interview with one of our current Board members or Executive Director.

Life Changes for kids of Newlyweds Jun 18 08

In honor of the historic first day of marriages in California, COLAGE shares this newspaper article featuring comment by Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director.

What's Next? The Family Dog Jun 5 08

This essay was written by Miranda McLoughlin for Blogging for LGBT Families Day. Miranda is originally from Lubbock Texas and now attends the Academy of Art in San Francisco. You can learn more about Blogging for LGBT Families Day at Mombian.

It will always be a mystery to me how people can have something as detestable as being against equal rights on their conscience and consider themselves decent human beings. If I'd grown up in the times of segregation that would still be something I'd never understand. Call me sheltered, but I was genuinely shocked when I recently heard this anti gay marriage "argument": "What's next, the family dog?" Genuine stupidity never fails to shock me, so this statement was doubly shocking because it was coupled with bigotry that was just as genuine. Living in San Francisco for the past three years has spoiled me when it comes to clear thinking about discrimination, especially since I've been involved in COLAGE, a grassroots activist group for people with one or more LGBT parent.

In a word, having a gay dad is fabulous. Many daughters learned to dance standing on their father's feet; I learned to do the Macarena before it became a big hit. My father used to take me to gem shows with an equal enthusiasm for sparkly things. Dad, his partner Pete and I bond while watching What Not To Wear and making fun of how terribly some people dress. I've raided their 90's dance music collection. And when I was much younger I sang Jasmine's part to A Whole New World while my dad played it on the piano and sang Aladdin's part.

Although they do not allow themselves to be constrained by the social masculine norms, gay men are still men at heart. For my family that meant few and far between mushy discussions about feelings, sports fanaticism, and toilet seats constantly being left up. In addition to doing some non-traditional father-daughter activities, I didn't miss out on the traditional ones either. We played backyard baseball, which consisted of my dad pitching, me hitting, and our border collie Tux chasing and bringing back the ball while his son Buster herded him. We also went to hockey games because I refused to accompany him to any other sporting event he had tickets to. For my birthday one year, my dad and Pete built an agility fan jump so I could train our dogs. And it was my dad who taught me to slalom water ski and insisted I go to ski school in Greenville, Texas so I could learn to do the buoy course and wakeboard.

However, unlike some of my fellow queerspawn, I have the added bonus of maintaining a healthy relationship with my biological mother since I came to be through a divorce. In fact, a lot of my upbringing involved living with my single mom, which is also frowned on in some parts of society. There was a time when I thought no child should be without a mom and a dad. But there was also a time when I thought there might be monsters under my bed.

Today is the third annual Blogging For LGBT Families Day. Personal activism such as participating in this and conversing with people who are pro-discrimination is my favorite form of activism because I believe truly changing people's minds is a powerful and imperative step towards equality.

Today is Blogging for LGBT Families Day! Jun 2 08

Today is Blogging for LGBT Families Day and you can still participate in this creative way to raise awareness about COLAGE and the issues impacting us and our families.

The event, developed by LGBT-parenting site Mombian, aims to raise awareness of LGBT families, their diverse configurations, and how current prejudices and legal discrimination have a negative impact on the lives of LGBT people and their children. Bloggers of any sexual orientation, gender identity, and parental status are welcome to participate.

Already several COLAGE members have participated in this visibility campaign:

Whitney Moses, COLAGE Board of Directors Chair reflects on her queer family and how it links to her activism with the COLAGE Movement.

Abigail Garner, writer of Families Like Mine shares a powerful story reminding us of the risks being outspoken can have.

Cheryl Morgan, talks about why COLAGE is important to her.

Many more of the postings can be ready by visiting the Mombian site

If you still want to participate:

Blog on a topic related to LGBT families today. There's no set formula or format. Photos and videos are also welcome. (Post them on your own site or make sure they are publicly visible on a photo- or video-sharing site.)

Send e-mail to lgbtfamilies@mombian.com and meredith@colage.org with the subject=Blogging for LGBT Families Day and with the permalink to your post. (If you know how, you may also add the tag "blogging for lgbt families day" to your entry.)

If you only post on Facebook or MySpace, you may also add the event organizer, Dana Rudolph, as a friend to notify her of your post. (Here's her Facebook page and her MySpace page. If you do a search for her name, though, make sure to look for the Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day banner image, as there are multiple Dana Rudolphs.) If you do have a regular blog, however (at your own domain or one on Blogger, Typepad, WordPress.com, etc.), please post there, since then your post will be readable even by those who don't have Facebook or MySpace accounts--and the whole point here is to share our posts.

We truly hope that as many youth, adults, parents and allies in the COLAGE community will participate in this creative visiblity awareness raising campaign. If you have any questions, call COLAGE at 415-861-5437 or contact Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director at meredith@colage.org.

COLAGE Atlanta Pool Party Jun 2 08

Join COLAGE Atlanta for a fun pool party for youth and adults with LGBTQ parents, their families and allies.

Saturday, June 14th, 2008
3 pm
Pangborn Swim & Tennis Club
2740 Millwood Court, Decatur, GA 30033

For more information call 770.363.5573 or email atlanta@colage.org