Gender Now Activity Book:School Edition is coming….OUT! (and we want the world to know)
"an indispensable tool in our work to create more gender inclusive and accepting schools"
-Joel Baum, Director, Education and Training, Gender Spectrum
This October 11th celebrate National Coming Out Day with the release of our newest book:
Gender Now Activity Book: School Edition 
Our new activity book contains all the great info from the original coloring book adapted for the public school environment. Meet the Gender Team and learn that there are many ways to feel on the inside no matter what body you have on the outside through stories from nature, history, and different cultures. Did you know that clown fish can change their bodies from boy to girl? Or that in some countries they know there’s not just boys and girls? The Bugis of Indonesia have 5 genders!
Read more or view inside>>>
And, in case you need a little background music while you’re perusing the pages, here’s a classic by Diana Ross:
Filed under Events, General, LGBTQI Families | Tags: acceptance, book release, empowerment, family, fun, gender, GENDER NOW, lgbt | Comment (0)Reading to the kids of Nickerson Gardens
Last week I flew to Los Angeles for an American Federation of Teachers media event on August 19th. As a child, unions were a natural part of life to me. I grew up with talk of Cesar Chavez, as well as shop talk about the electric union my father belonged to. So I was honored to be included in supporting the union that supports some of my favorite and most respected fellows: educators.
The event took place at the Head Start Center, deep in the Nickerson Gardens Projects in Watts, Los Angeles. The outside walls were covered with fading, but powerful renditions of Martin Luther King Jr. and inspirational words. The images reminded me Continue reading »
Filed under Events, Maya in the Classroom | Tags: children, event, family, neighborhood, outreach, school visit | Comment (0)Proposition 8 Overturned!
What a fabulous day, not only did we send off our Gender Now coloring book to be printed today but also a Federal Judge overturned Proposition 8 which had taken away the right to marry for same-sex couples in California. All over California LGBT people are celebrating, marching, and dancing in the streets. Maya and I were interviewed in the Castro about our thoughts on the court decision. I didn’t know what to say at first and then I remembered….what would have it been like if my dads could have been married? How would that have legitimized my family and my experience and provided much needed reflection? It’s hard to say but I imagine that it would have spoken volumes in more ways than I could imagine. While California joins other states in beginning to recognize the rights of ALL, there’s still a ways to go until full equality. But in the meantime let’s celebrate the small victories and dance in the streets!!!
To read the full ruling click here.
Filed under LGBTQI Families | Tags: acceptance, celebration, empowerment, family, lgbt, reflection | Comment (0)Happy Pride: Forty and Fabulous!
Here in San Francisco pride weekend has finally arrived! The glitter and sequins and boas…the rainbow flags flying high along Market Street from the Embarcardero all the way up to the Castro…the giant pink triangle adorning the top of Twin Peaks. Yup, it’s Pride in San Francisco and the culmination of an entire month of Pride! This year’s theme: “Forty and Fabulous”
We are marching in the parade this morning with Zai as usual waving to the crowds of people lined along the street to watch the 40th annual Pride celebration. Many other cities across the country have been celebrating their own Pride events and we too have been attending many events in our own neighborhood, attending lots of really superb films and performances, like Frameline 34 and Fresh Meat, and just generally being and feeling proud.
It is the festivities of Pride that often make us appreciate the value and importance of reflection in our world. For a whole month the world has a few more rainbows in it! Be Out! Be Proud! Be Fabulous!
Filed under From the Life, LGBTQI Families | Tags: celebration, family, festive, fun, holiday, lgbt, pride | Comment (0)Endings are Beginnings
Ahh…well here it is, the end of the school year. The feet are standing in summer already. School is like a memory. It was a very busy Spring up until the very end. And while the school visits are over, we are heavy into our next big project, our latest venture, Gender Now Coloring Book, but more about that later.
It’s time to remember and close the books on this last school year. May 13 we went into Paul Revere Elementary School here in San Francisco. I was asked to come visit the school by the mother of one of Zai’s close friends, Virginia, who I adore. So not only was Virginia there (they met in nursery school and became deep friends) but for the first time Zai got to come visit me “at work.” 
This made it extra special. I always tell her tales of my adventures, but I LOVED having her there in person. I always have a lot to learn from kids, but having one of my greatest teachers with me, my sweet Zai, was awesome.
The very next day Matthew and I were off to El Granada Elementary School near Half Moon Bay. I got to talk to some excellent Continue reading »
Filed under Maya in the Classroom | Tags: children, family, fun, library, presentations, school visit | Comment (0)
