Resources


Resources

Library & Resources
Your Rights:
  • Over The Rainbow – A guide to the law for lesbian and gay men in Victoria. Over the Rainbow online is an initiative of the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby and the Department of Justice. This site is intended to help you understand how you can use the law to enforce your right to equal treatment and to protect yourself and your (newly recognised) families from the effects of discrimination.
Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays:
  • PFLAG Newsletters – Provides free downloadable copies of the PFLAG Newsletters from March 2000 to date.
Books for Parents:
  • Reinventing the Family : The Emerging Story of Lesbian and Gay Parents -  Homophobia in Schools, Lesbian and Gay Parents in Courts, Adoption Struggles, Biological Parenting, Legal Issues of Non Heterosexual Families
  • Complete Lesbian & Gay Parenting Handbook – Lev, Arlen Istar – Gay parenting is a productive and positive decision, but author and lesbian mother Arlene Lev admits it isn’t always an easy one. With practical wisdom and advice, and personal real-life stories, Lev prepares gay parents for this endeavor with everything they need to know and everything they can expect while making their own significant and challenging mark on family life in the 21st century.
  • Fatherhood for Gay Men: An Emotional and Practical Guide to Becoming a Gay Dad – McGarry, Kevin & Tatich, Margaret  - Personal account of a single gay man’s struggle to become a father despite obstacles both real and imagined. Also discusses the adoption process both domestic and international.
  • Gay Dads – A Celebration of Fatherhood – An internet resource and a book by David Strah with Susanna Margolis. The first book to feature inspiring portraits of gay men and their families from all across America. An evolution has quietly been occurring in the world of parenting. Recent surveys reveal that millions of children have found loving homes either by being born to, or being adopted by, gay men. This book is a celebration of all these remarkable new families. Gay Dads includes twenty-five personal accounts from men describing their unique journeys to fatherhood and the struggles and successes they have experienced as they raise their children. This is the first book to provide such an expansive exploration of this extraordinary new family unit. With beautiful black-and-white photographs of each of the families, Gay Dads is a moving tribute to familial love.
  • Gay Parent – Gay Parent magazine (GPM) is a 16 – 20 page bound newsprint magazine featuring personal stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) parents from across the country and around the world. Parents speak candidly about their experiences with international and domestic adoption, foster care, donor insemination, using a surrogate and what it is like to raise their children in their part of the world.
  • Other Gay Parenting Books – Hares & Hyenas List
Books for Children:
  • Rainbow Cubby House – Brenna and Vicki Harding – In the third book in this made-in-Australia easy-to-read series, the narrator, her mums, her friend Jed and his dads decide to build a cubby (tree house) in the backyard. Check out the three companion books: Going to Fair Day, My House and Koalas on Parade! In response to recent research evidence highlighting schools as key sites of homophobic bullying and violence, Learn to Include has worked with local children to develop and refine two new books for schools interested in helping children learn about diverse families, in particular families with two mums or two dads (Source: ‘You shouldn’t have to hide to be safe’ A Report on Homophobic Hostilities and Violence Against Gay Men and Lesbians in NSW, NSW Attorney General’s Department 2002).
  • Going to Fair Day – Brenna and Vicki Harding – This book has bright, kid-friendly pictures accompany the simple story of a girl who goes to the fair with her mums, and comes home with a new dog! Don’t miss the companion books: My House, Koalas on Parade and The Rainbow Cubby House! In response to recent research evidence highlighting schools as key sites of homophobic bullying and violence, Learn to Include has worked with local children to develop and refine two new books for schools interested in helping children learn about diverse families, in particular families with two mums or two dads (Source: ‘You shouldn’t have to hide to be safe’ A Report on Homophobic Hostilities and Violence Against Gay Men and Lesbians in NSW, NSW Attorney General’s Department 2002).
  • My House – Brenna and Vicki Harding – This book is the first easy reader we’ve seen for two “mum” families (there’s also a few companion books: Going to Fair Day, Koalas on Parade and The Rainbow Cubby House). Bright, kid-friendly pictures accompany the simple story of a girl who lives with her two moms, and what it’s like at her house.In response to recent research evidence highlighting schools as key sites of homophobic bullying and violence, Learn to Include has worked with local children to develop and refine two new books for schools interested in helping children learn about diverse families, in particular families with two mums or two dads (Source: ‘You shouldn’t have to hide to be safe’ A Report on Homophobic Hostilities and Violence Against Gay Men and Lesbians in NSW, NSW Attorney General’s Department 2002).
  • Koalas on Parade – Brenna and Vicki Harding – The fourth book in this made-in-Australia easy-to-read series is just as fun as the first three (My House, Going to Fair Day and The Rainbow Cubby House). The narrator’s mums help her make a koala costume for her school’s Costume Parade; when she finds out that her friend Hannah is also a koala, the two girls dance together in the parade and take home first prize! In response to recent research evidence highlighting schools as key sites of homophobic bullying and violence, Learn to Include has worked with local children to develop and refine two new books for schools interested in helping children learn about diverse families, in particular families with two mums or two dads (Source: ‘You shouldn’t have to hide to be safe’ A Report on Homophobic Hostilities and Violence Against Gay Men and Lesbians in NSW, NSW Attorney General’s Department 2002).
  • Daddy, Papa and Me: How My Family Came To Be – Aldrich, Andrew R. – Appropriate for school-aged children this simply told book explores the changing makeup of families. It is the heart warming story of one little boys interracial adoption by two loving gay dads. Great illustrations and a poignant reminder that it is love that is the essential ingredient for a happy family.
  • Daddy’s Roommate (Alyson Wonderland) – by Michael Willhoite – This picture book is an auspicious beginning to the Alyson Wonderland imprint, “which focuses on books for and about the children of lesbian and gay parents.” That the venture is being undertaken is in itself commendable: consciousness-raising concerning gay issues can handily begin at an early age with the help of books such as Willhoite’s. His text is suitably straightforward, and the format–single lines of copy beneath full-page illustrations–easily accessible to the intended audience. The story’s narrator begins with his parents’ divorce, and continues, “Now there’s somebody new at Daddy’s house.” The new arrival is male; Frank and Daddy are seen pursuing their daily routine (eating, shaving, sleeping–even fighting), and on weekends the three interact easily on their various outings. “Mommy says Frank and Daddy are gay”–this new concept is explained to the child as “just one more kind of love.” Willhoite’s cartoony pictures work well here; the colorful characters with their contemporary wardrobes and familiar surroundings lend the tale a stabilizing air of warmth and familiarity. Ages 2-5.
  • Daddy’s Wedding – by Michael Willhoite – The sequel to the headline-making Daddy’s Roommate (1990), this picture book seems destined to touch off a similar controversy. This time Daddy is getting married to his partner, Frank, and asks his 10-year-old son to be the best man at their “wedding” (or “commitment ceremony,” as Frank calls it). If the reception of Daddy’s Roommate is much of a predictor, people’s responses to this book will center almost exclusively on its politics, not its artistic merits. Those in the market for picture books about gay parenting will laud Willhoite’s candor and forthright approach, and overlook the cartoonish art and mediocre text. For others, the subject matter alone will suffice to condemn the book. If applied to another theme, the meager talents showcased here wouldn’t draw much attention, but with same-sex marriage such a hot topic right now, the one thing the book won’t be is ignored. Ages 3-7.
  • One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads – by Johnny Valentine, Melody Sarecky – PreSchool-Grade 2-The message that all people are basically the same whatever their skin color or sexual orientation is a worthy one, but this book, despite its cheerful pictures, is too didactic to have much appeal. In rhyming text, two children discuss a boy’s two blue dads. He points out that, aside from their color, they are the same as other fathers-they work, play, and laugh. His friend wonders how they got that way and offers numerous explanations, but he tells her that they are blue simply because they are. The only trouble with the situation is that they are hard to see against the sky. “But except for that problem,/our life is routine,/and they’re just like all other dads-/black, white, or green.” And when the girl declares that she has never seen a green dad, a new child appears, stating that her two fathers are both green. Children young enough to take the tale at face value will probably think it is silly (since people are neither blue nor green), while older readers would be better served by a straightforward presentation of the subject matter.
DVD & Video:
  • Two Men & Two Babies – ” A follow-up documentary that takes audiences back into the lives of Tony Wood and Lee Matthews, one of the first Australian gay male couples to take what was then, the controversial step of creating a new family through commercial surrogacy in the United States”
    .
    Man Made: The Story Of Two Men & A Baby ” explored Tony and Lee’s overwhelming desire to have a child, their decision to pursue commercial surrogacy, and their fraught journey to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to experience the birth of their son Alexander to a surrogate, Junoa”.
    “It is five years since Alexander’s birth, and Tony and Lee now have a second child, Lucinda through surrogacy. Same egg donor, same surrogate. The sequel documents the intervening years since Alexander’s birth and provides a unique insight into the world of this alternative family”.
  • Daddy and Papa (2002) – What if your most controversial act turned out to be the most traditional thing in the world? Daddy & Papa explores the growing phenomenon of gay fatherhood and its impact on American culture. Through the stories of four different families, Daddy & Papa delves into some of the particular challenges facing gay men who decide to become dads. From surrogacy and interracial adoption, to the complexities of gay divorce, to the battle for full legal status as parents, Daddy & Papa presents a revealing look at some of the gay fathers who are breaking new ground in the ever-changing landscape of the American family.
    Trailer – Daddy and Papa Trailer (3.6MB)
    Trailer – 
    Forever Family (2.6MB)Trailer – The Foster Mother (1.4MB)
    Trailer – A Child of Divorced Gay Parents (1.9MB)Trailer – A Curve Ball (2.6MB)
  • Paternal Instinct (2004) – Paternal Instinct may not change the minds of those who oppose same-sex marriage and parenthood, but you’d have to have a cold, cold heart to remain unmoved by this poignant documentary. Originally broadcast on HBO, the film demonstrates, on deeply personal and emotional terms, that “the road to fatherhood is not always a straight one.” It focuses on Erik and Mark, a gay couple for ten years, who decide to become parents through the surrogate motherhood of Wen, a happily married wife, mother, and practicing witch (or Wiccan, if you prefer). Forming a devoted trio of compassionate cooperation, they struggle through an emotional roller-coaster ride including trial and error, miscarriage, self-doubts and setbacks, all leading to the birth of two daughters (one is biologically Erik’s, the other Mark’s) and the universal elation of new parenthood. By covering all three years in this heart-wrenching process, filmmaker Murray Nossel creates real-life drama that’s more compelling as any fiction movie could ever be, and the circumstances–family support on all sides–make this a deeply effective argument for the validity of same-sex parenthood. By presenting a “21st century twist” on the American family, Paternal Instinct avoids political rancor and goes straight to the heart of the matter: Once you’ve seen this film, it’s impossible to believe that Erik, Mark, and their children could be anything but a blessing. Considering the fact that many heterosexual couples are unfit for parenthood, a little Paternal Instinct seems like a very good thing indeed.
    Trailer – Paternal Instinct
  • We Are Dad – The film follows the lives of a most unusual family: 2 white HIV negative gay men and their family of 5 kids. 4 of them have AIDS, 3 are black, 2 come from a backwater cult in Oregon, and one of the children has been in the middle of one of the most hotly debated issues in this country: Gay adoption. We follow these delightful men through the highs and lows of their 18 year struggle to raise this amazing family. While the facts may be grim, their family is full of joy, laughter, the bustle of activity, and a well-honed sense of irony that keeps them all healthy, happy and immune from those who would have them disbanded. People are constantly surprised by the amount of laughter and joy that comes out of the theatres presenting this film. We invite you to join the ranks that have called this film a wonderfully life affirming experience.
    Trailer – We Are Dad

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