You, Too, Can Be a Queer Parent

“Do you have to use that word?” My mother made a face that looked slightly ill. Despite being a bit insulted, I feel compassion for her plight. I know my mother loves me, but she hates the word ...Read More

(Young) (Male) Americans Prefer Boy Children

In a previous post I’ve argued against framing a preference for boy children as “culturally ‘Asian.’” New data from Gallup, sent in by Kari B., shows that this preference is alive ...Read More

This Is What the National Organization for Marriage Is Scared Of?

Yesterday marked the day that gay and lesbian couples across New York were finally legally able to marry. According to The New York Times, 659 marriage licenses were issued on Sunday alone. The anti-gay ...Read More

Ending the Cold War With My Father

When my father was honored for his 32-year career in the CIA–a career that spanned the Cuban Missile Crisis to the fall of the Berlin Wall–he invited me to the ceremony. At 23, I didn’t ...Read More

Mother Loses Custody Battle For Having Breast Cancer

Judge Nancy Gordon of North Carolina ruled last month that Sofia, 11, and Bud, 5, should be raised by their father, Kane Snyder, rather than their mother, Alaina Giordano. The main reason? Giordano ...Read More

Hip Mama: For Uncommon Parents

Crack open issue number 47 of Hip Mama—The Body Issue—and here’s what you get: a photograph of a pregnant woman in the desert, posed like a warrior, belly full and exposed; a piece about the ...Read More

Honoring All Mamas on Mother’s Day

On Mother’s Day, it’s easy to get caught up in the Hallmark image of Mom. Even in the 21st century, the idealized mother often appears as straight, married and, if not stately or stodgy, at least ...Read More

Motherhood and Feminism, Part 2

In Part 1, I figured out how to be both a good mother and a good professor. Even though being out of the mom closet seems to be more acceptable in academia these days, there are nevertheless those ...Read More

Motherhood and Feminism, Part 1

I did not expect that being a mother would make me more of a feminist. In fact, I feared quite the opposite, worrying that my feminist convictions would wane under the weight of overfilled diaper ...Read More

Anti-Gay Politics Hit Home on Mother’s Day

A “Yes on Prop 8” sticker on a neighbor’s house led Jaime Jenett, a non-biological lesbian mother who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, to write this letter: Hello, You ...Read More

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