Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  IDENTITY

Minority workshop focuses on LGBTQ families
by Yasmin Nair
2008-08-01

This article shared 4430 times since Fri Aug 1, 2008
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


LGBTQ families are frequently non-normative, and not just because they're headed by queer people. Queer families may consist of single women raising children with sperm donors who maintains links with their offspring. Two men might raise children together even after breaking up.

All this becomes more complicated when race and/or ethnicity enters the picture. How does the media respond to such unlikely configurations and what can—and should—LGBTQ families do to effect the representations of their families?

Lisbeth Meléndez Rivera is the manager of Project Harmony, an offshoot of the Family Equality Council, which advocates for the rights and visibility of LGBTQ "parents, guardians, and allies." Rivera conducted a Center on Halsted-sponsored daylong workshop July 20 that coincided with Latina/o Pride week. Project Harmony advocates for families of color.

The workshop drew attendees who ranged in age, race, ethnicity and relational status. Participants divided into groups and answered questions like, "What's the greatest bond a family has?"

Responses indicated that LGBTQ people's relationship to the concept of "family" can be complicated. For instance, in response to the question of "the greatest bond," one woman said that her "family of choice" ( partner and friends ) was more meaningful than her biological family—which had expelled her after she came out.

It became clear that LGBTQ families of color can face particular challenges. Rivera gave a personal example that highlighted the issue of how such families might be perceived in public. Rivera and her partner have a son who is blonde and blue-eyed. On one occasion, while mildly arguing with her son in public, they watched as two white gay men came up to him and asked if his "nannies" were treating him badly. For William Hall and Kevin Tindell, two Black men raising children of color, parenting includes showing their children how to negotiate racism rather than insulating them from it.

According to Rivera, the aim of such workshops is "to collect a variety of stories. How do we come to be families? What role does race, class, and location play in creating family relationships? Is marriage the only thing that we consider to be family?" She said that many queer parents are also single parents, and that they are legitimate families deserving of protection.

During the workshop, C.C. Carter spoke of raising a son with an ex-partner and her current partner and of the conversations she needed to have with day care providers to explain a situation that should be seen as "normal." For participants, the workshop provided a forum to air their thoughts about living as LGBTQ parents. It also appeared to give them much to think about. Sharon, who is white, said she tended to be overprotective about her twins as the children of gay parents facing questions about their family. But, after listening to William and Kevin, she decided that it was time to let them negotiate such issues more independently.


This article shared 4430 times since Fri Aug 1, 2008
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Family of 2004 murder victim holds event in Lake View; reward announced 2024-03-24
- The year 2004, for the family and friends of Lake View resident Kevin Clewer, will forever be marked by tragedy. On March 24 of that year, Clewer, 31, was found in his apartment at 3444 N. Elaine Pl.; he was the ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Dorothy Elizabeth McGroarty 2024-03-14
- Dorothy Elizabeth McGroarty, 82, of The Breakers at Edgewater Beach, and a former resident of Andersonville, passed away Feb. 16 surrounded by her loving family. Born in Dearborn, Michigan, Dorothy was raised on Chicago's South and ...


Gay News

UPDATE: Nex Benedict's death ruled a suicide; family responds 2024-03-13
- A medical examiner's report concluded that the cause of death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict (he/they) was suicide, media reports confirmed. Benedict—a 16-year-old transgender student—died Feb. 8, a day after ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill 2024-02-29
- On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Trailblazing judge and attorney Patricia M. Logue passes away 2024-02-26
- The Honorable Patricia Logue ("Pat" to her friends, Trish" to her family) was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her ...


Gay News

Unprecedented Alabama Supreme Court ruling undermins access to family-building healthcare, GLAD responds 2024-02-23
--From a press release - Feb. 23, 2024 (Boston) — Today, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) issued the following statement from Polly Crozier, GLAD's Director of Family Advocacy, on the Alabama Supreme Court decision ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted to host trans youth & family summit 2024-02-19
- Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., has announced that its Trans Youth & Family Summit 2024 will take place March 16. This year marks the sixth annual event, which partners between Youth Services' Pride Youth ...


Gay News

Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret Valentine's Day Feb. 17 2024-02-16
--From a press release - Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret puts their own spin on Valentine's Day with a show celebrating things done and sacrificed for love - not just romantic love, but love for pets, friends, family and art. Join the ...


Gay News

Quantum Leap reboot springs into LGBTQ+ representation 2024-02-09
- Through the magic of television, Quantum Leap is once again jumping into the past to bounce back into the future—and in a recent episode, "The Family Trasure," non-binary artist and performer Wilder Yuri and writer Shakina ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Paris Johnson 2023-12-29
- Paris Johnson, 29, of Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, passed away unexpectedly Nov. 28. He would have celebrated his 30th birthday Dec. 20. Born into a military family in Sacramento, California, Paris moved often in his youth, ...


Gay News

OPINION For LGBTQ+ children, the holidays are often the most challenging time of the year 2023-11-21
- Holiday time for most of us is a time to spend more time with family and loved ones, but for many children, it is a harsh reminder of their non-acceptance and thus, is all the more difficult as well. ...


Gay News

Club Q shooting survivors to speak at Chicago's Beer Culture Summit 2023-10-15
- Last November, Jessica Fierro traveled back to Colorado after speaking at the annual Chicago Beer Culture Summit. Just one week later, her family changed forever at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. Her daughter's ...


Gay News

Reeling Film Festival chooses Family first for opening night 2023-09-24
- Reeling: The 41st Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival kicked off a night of festivities with its first feature The Mattachine Family at Music Box Theatre on Sept. 9. One of the longest-running film festivals in the ...


Gay News

Chicago musician, producer and DJ Don Crescendo killed in Avondale stabbing 2023-09-20
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ nightlife community and allies have rallied around the family and close friends of local longtime musician, producer and DJ Rodney Donovan Taylor, a.k.a. Don Crescendo, in the wake of his death by stabbing last ...


Gay News

Queer parenthood explored: A transparent dive into surrogacy and hope 2023-08-29
By Matthew Schueller. Guest commentary for News is Out - I feel extraordinarily lucky. As a kid, I never imagined my life could look like this. Growing up in the closet in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon, an area many consider to be the conservative Bible ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.