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Home > About Adoption > Gay & Lesbian

Children need parents. People in the GLBTQ community make great ones!

AFABC hosts monthly meetings for current and prospective adoptive parents in the GLBTQ community. Come meet other families and share some stories. Yes, your kids are welcome to come along! Cookies, coffee, and friendly atmosphere provided. Hosted monthly on weekday evenings. Contact Randy Simpson at 604-320-7330 ext 105 / rsimpson@bcadoption.com for details.  

AFABC also hosts an online facebook group for GLBTQ Adoptive families, friends, and allies. For more information on the in-person or on-line groups, please contact
Randy Simpson, Vancouver/Coastal Adoption Support Coordinator 604-320-7330 ext 105. rsimpson@bcadoption.com  


 

Are you a special person with the ability to love, provide for, and commit to a child? Many GLBTQ individuals and couples in BC have adopted children. Some choose to adopt one of BC's Waiting Children, others go through one of BC's licensed adoption agencies, and others adopt children internationally.

Many of AFABC's members are GLBTQ and have adopted children. If you would like to speak to our staff about your adoption options, please contact us. You will find articles on gay and lesbian adoptive parents in our articles section.


GLBTQ Adoption and Parenting Resources

Conceiving Family
Support Groups
Links

 

Conceiving Family

AFABC was proud to present the premiere of Conceiving Family on June 24, 2011 with subsequent showings in Nelson and Kelowna. If you missed the live screenings, the DVD is now available for purchase! For more info, or to order your copy of the film, please visit www.conceivingfamily.com.

Following the filmmaker's recent journey into parenthood, Conceiving Family focuses on gay and lesbian couples that have chosen adoption to create their families. Against the odds, facing discrimination and issues of legitimacy, these couples are driven by the hope that they will, one day, share their love with the child they were meant to bring home.

Movie trailer:

Conceiving Family Trailer from Amy Bohigian on Vimeo.

 

Books

You can order many of these books via the AFABC online bookstore. All titles available or by order through Little Sister's bookstore in Vancouver. The following list is taken from Alternative Family Magazine, June 1998.

Considering Parenthood, A Workshop for Lesbians
By C. Pies, Spinsters Ink

Different Mothers, Sons and Daughters of Lesbians Talk about Their Lives
By L. Rafkin Cleis Press

Families We Choose, Lesbians, Gays, Kinship
By K. Weston Columbia, University Press

Family Values, Two Moms and Their Sons
By P. Burke, Random House

Friends and Family: True Stories of Gay America's Straight Allies
By Dan Woog, Alyson Publications

Gay Parents/Straight Schools
By Virginia Casper and Steven, B. Schultz Teachers College Press.

Gay and Lesbian Parents
By F. Bozett, Praeger

Gay Fathers
By R. Barret and B Robinson, Lexington Books

Gay Parenting, A Complete Guide for Gay Men and Lesbians with Children
By J. Schunlenberg, Anchor/Doubleday.

Getting Simon, Two Gay Doctors Journey to Fatherhood
By K.Morgen, PhD Bramble Company

Growing up in a Lesbian Family, Effects on Child Development
By F.Tasker and S. Golombok, The Guilford Press

Homosexuality and Family Relations
By F. Bozett and M. Sussman

Lesbian and Gay Families, Redefining Parenting in America (The Changing Family)
By J. Pollack, Franklin Watss Inc.

Lesbian and Gay Parenting Bibliography
Nat'l Center for Lesbian Rights (1994)

Lesbian and Gay Parenting Handbook
By A. Martin, Harper Collins

Lesbians and Lesbian Families: Reflections on Theory and Practice
Edited by Joan Laird, Columbia University Press

Lesbian Parenting Book
By D.M. Clunis, G.D. Green, Seal Press

Lesbians Raising Sons, An Anthology
Edited by J. Wells, Alyson Publications

Lesbian Step Families, An Ethnography of Love
By J. Wright, Ph.D., Harrington Park Press

Love Makes A Family
Edited by P. Gillespie, University of Massachusetts Press

Non Traditional Families: Parenting and Child Development
By M. Lamb, Erlbaum

Our Families, Our Values
By R. Goss and A. Strongheart, Haworth Press

Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered Parents
Edited by Noell Howey and Ellen Samuels, St. Martins Press

Politics of the Heart: A Lesbian Parenting Anthology
By S. Pollack and J. Vaughn, Firebrand Books

Preserving and Protecting the Families of Lesbians and Gay Men
By R. Achenberg, Nat'l Center for Lesbian Rights (1990)

Queer Families, Common Agendas, Gay People, Lesbians, and Family Values
Edited by T. Richard Sullivan, Ph.D.

Queer Family Values
By Valerie Lehr, Temple University Press

Reinventing the Family: The Emerging Story of Lesbian and Gay Parents
By L. Benkov and J. Cavolina, Crown Publishing

Waiting in the Wings: Portrait of Queer Motherhood
By C. Moraga, Firebrand Books

We Are Everywhere, Writings by and About Lesbian Parents
By H. Alpert, Crossing Press

Women in Love: Portraits of Lesbian Mothers and Their Families
By B. Seyda and D. Herrera, Bullfinch Publishing

Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice
By Carl Stern-LaRosa and Ellen Hofheimer Bettmann, Scholastic Inc.
The Anti-Defamation League's definitive handbook for adults and children on confronting and conquering bias and encouraging appreciation for our differences. Offers practical tips, sound advice, and age-appropriate role-playing for difficult situations. Available on loan to AFABC members. Please indicate this code when ordering: IT04.s05.1

Adoption Books

The Kid
By D. Savage
Controversial gay sex columnist and now adoptive parent, Dan Savage has written a book titled The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant. US magazine Adoptive Families called it a "stay-up-all-night" love letter to his son D.J., and a
"hope-filled story of an adoptive couple's journey into parenthood" that gives a "wonderful sense of how an agency committed to open adoption works." The review goes on to say
that, "It grabs the reader in unexpected ways and creates articulate moving images of the challenges faced by gay dads in pioneer families." Available from Chapters.

The Velveteen Father
By Jesse Green

Children's Books

The GLPCI (the gay and lesbian parents coalition international) publishes a bibliography of books for children which describes books dealing with people of color, multiracial families, lesbian and gay parents, women only space, and lesbian and gay characters. GLPCI, P.O. Box 50360, Washington, DC 20091.

Alsyon Publications produces many titles under the name "Alyson Wonderland." This is an entire line of books (with titles added frequently) for children of lesbian and gay parents. A full catalog can be obtained by contacting Alyson Publications, 40 Plympton Street, Boston, MA 02118, www.ALYSON.COM.

A Beach Party with Alexis
S. Johson-Calvo, Alyson Publications

A Boy's Best Friend
J. Alden, Alyson Publications
Seven year old Will has always wanted a dog but can't have one because his is asthmatic. He always felt "different" and wished he weren't blue. Then, his mothers give him an unusual stuffed dog for his birthday. Through LeDogg and playground bullies, a special thing happens, and Will learns that being different is not bad.

Ashas's Mums
R. Elwin and M, Paulse, Women's Press
The story tells about Asha, a Black Canadian child, defending the fact that she has two mommies to her schoolmates. Asha's assertiveness about educating her classmates and her energy in reaching her goals makes her a role model for any children who must deal with other's perceptions of differences.

Anna Day and the O-Ring
E. Wickens, Alyson Publications
A wonderful picture story that makes visible the naturalness and warmth of a family with two lesbian moms. Photos show Evan, his dog Anna Day, his best friend Ileana, and his two lesbian moms as they celebrate Evan's birthday. When a key piece of Evans's birthday tent is missing, the whole family joins in the search.

Belinda's Bouquet
L. Newman, Alyson Publications
Belinda learns self respect from the lesbians next door. Each flower has its own beauty; all different kinds of flowers make a bouquet.

The Daddy Machine
J. Valentine, Alyson Publications
This is a happily slanted fantasy of two girls with lesbian mothers who want daddies and, while their mothers are out, create a machine that makes lots of dads. As the dads emerge from the
machine, they start "doing what dads, I'm told, do." Amusing and a little wacky! The ending is comfortable gay-ever-after.

Daddy's Roommate
M. Willhoit, Alyson Publications
This gay positive book was written expressly for young children of gay parents. Illustrations are of a cartoon-like quality. This book describes, in a fast paced way, the living arrangements of a young boy who lives with his divorced dad and his gay roommate.

Daddy's Wedding
M. Willhoit, Alyson Publications

The Day They Put A Tax on Rainbows
J. Valentine, Alyson Publications
A collection of fairytales that incorporate gay and lesbian characters and families into their stories.

The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans and Other Stories
Valentine, Alyson Publications
An absolutely delightful book with five stories of dragons, castles, and wonderfully silly self-reliant children who are able to take actions that make their world a better place. Gender roles are non-traditional, and families are varied.

Families: A Coloring Book
M. Willhoite, Alyson Publications
A coloring book which depicts families of different races and ethnic backgrounds.

Families: All Kinds of Families
N. Simon, Albert Whitman and Company

Celebrating Diversity
Diversity is the focus of Rosmarie Hausherr's hardcover book. Through vivid, engaging photographs and a sensitively written text, 14 children and their families are portrayed in a joyous tribute to the uniqueness of families. Their ethnic backgrounds differ as do their
daily experiences, but all of these children have reason to celebrate the people who love and care for them every day. Adoptive, single, same sex, foster, and multiracial families are represented. This book is suitable for children as young as toddlers to those as old as nine or ten (the ages of the oldest children in the book). Youngsters will likely enjoy reading about and discussing these diverse families time and time again.

Families: A Celebration of Diversity, Commitment and Love
By Aylette Jenness, Houghton Miflin
Children and teenagers describe their families, with photographs. Interacial, single-parent, communal, lesbian, adopted, and foster families are included, with no family structure presented as the norm.

Generous Jefferson Bartleby Jones
F. Brown and L. Trawin, Alyson Publications
Jefferson considers himself lucky to have 2 dads because one of them is always free to have fun with him on the weekends. He generously loans out one dad, then the other, and suddenly discovers himself all alone for the first time.

Gloria Goes to Gay Pride
L. Newman, Alyson Publications
Preschooler Gloria relates her experiences on Gay Pride Day, one of many special holidays observed by her family. This book provides a starting point for discussing significant aspects of our lives with young children.

Heather Has Two Mommies
L. Newman, Alyson Publications
Kate and Jane decided to have a baby together and what their live is like with Heather is like. The story also recounts how Heather learns about daddies in her playgroup. Heather learns what really makes a family is not a traditional mommy-daddy but any special combinations of people whom love you.

How Would You Feel if Your Dad Was Gay?
Ann Heron and M. Maran, Alyson Publications.
Jasmine, Michael, and Noah are all regular kids except for one thing: they have two gay parents. This book written by two lesbian mothers with help from their sons, will be a lifeline for all young people who have to face the issues and concerns of having gay parents.

Is Your Family Like Mine?
L. Abramchik, Open Heart Open Mind Publishing.

Jack A.M. Homes
A novel about a young man who learns to accept his father's homosexuality.

Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin
S. Bosche, Gay Men's Press
A book to read aloud to small children. Jenny is a 5-year old Danish girl. She lives with her father, Martin and his lover, Eric. They seem on amicable terms with Karen, her mother. Deals directly with homophobia.

Lucy Goes to the Country
J. Kennedy, J. Canemanker, Alyson Publications

One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dad
J.Valentine, Alyson Publications
Two children, one with blue dads, one from a more traditional family, compare notes in this light-hearted, easy to read book about parents who are different. They discover that blue dads aren't really that different from other dads.

Saturday is Pattyday
L. Newman, New Victoria Publishers
Frankie used to live with his two moms, Allie and Patty, but they have separated. Frankie brings along Doris Delores Brontosaurus to visit Allie in her new apartment and learns that Allie will always be part of his life. Told with great sensitivity.

Two Moms, The Zark, and Me
J. Valentine, Alyson Publications
What happens when a child runs into a Zark at the zoo who states that having two moms is not acceptable? A good discussion of family diversity.

Uncle What-Is-It Is Coming to Visit!
M. Willhoite, Alyson Publications
A delightfull story for young children which both presents and dispels stereotypes around gay men. Good talking about with young ones.

Zack's Story: Growing up With Same-Sex Parents
K. Elliot and C.Halebian, Lerner Publications

 
 
  
 
AFABC has in-person and online supports for parents and families in the GLBTQ community. Contact Randy Simpson at rsimpson@bcadoption.com or call 604-320-7330 ext 105 for more info.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
     
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