Our Month In Review: May 2017

Posted on June 6, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

Following are highlights from our month on Instagram. Click here for pictures, thoughts and happenings from the entire month. If you’re on Instagram, follow me. If you already follow me, thank you!

My wife gets a load of emails and messages from people asking where our son’s father is, as though I couldn’t possibly be around and still allow a male son to display female behavior. To those people I say, I’m right here fathering my son. I want to love him, not change him. My son skipping and twirling in a dress isn’t a sign that a strong male figure is missing from his life; to me it’s a sign that a strong male figure is fully vested in his life and committed to protecting him and allowing him to grow into the person who he was created to be. I may be a “guy’s guy,” but that doesn’t mean that my son has to be. — Matt

 

 

What did I expect when I was pregnant and learned I was having another boy? More of the same. Life on repeat. A life of hand-me-downs — everything from clothes to toys to hobbies.
When CJ started showing us that he was differently gendered. I grew frustrated and scared. He wasn’t a card I expected to be dealt.
But, as Cheryl Strayed says, “you don’t have a right to the cards you believe you should have been dealt. You have an obligation to play the hell out of the ones your holding.”
I’m holding CJ. A child with special and unique needs because of his gender expression and gender identity. Because he is a boy who is a girl at heart. And, because of what the future could very well hold for him. And, you know what? I’m going to play the hell out of this fabulous, unexpected card I was dealt. I’m going to love him, support him, encourage him, build him up and let him soar. I’m going to hustle for him and kids like him.
Don’t sit at the table staring at what you think is a shitty hand, start rearranging those cards and making plans to play the hell out of them. It’s your obligation. Own it.

 

 

Me: What’s this?
CJ: The cover of the new comic book I’m writing.
Me: How and why does RuPaul save the day?
CJ: I’m not going to tell you yet. But, let’s just say it has something to do with Jinkx Monsoon, a couture gown and grape juice.

 

 

Her: We’re having a gender reveal!
Me: No, you’re having a genitalia reveal.
Parents-to-be CAN’T reveal their unborn baby’s gender. In general, gender is what’s in a person’s head that tells them that they’re male or female (or both or neither or some unique combination). A child’s concept of gender starts to develop around age three. So, a child’s third or fourth birthday would be a good time for parents to host a gender reveal.
Parents-to-be CAN reveal their unborn baby’s sex. In general, sex is what’s between a person’s legs that tells them they’re male or female. That’s what’s truly revealed at a gender reveal. The fetus’s sex. Its genitals. Its penis or vagina. (Or both if the baby is intersex.)
When I attend gender reveal parties and the parents-to-be yell “It’s a boy!,” I want to yell back “The baby has a penis!” When they shout, “It’s a girl!,” I want to shout “The baby has a vagina!”

 

 

It’s amazing how fast time moves when you’re watching kids grow. The human who made me a mother is 14 years old today. He asked for an electric guitar and spent the weekend as a production assistant on a music video set in Los Angeles. I’d never ask for him to stop growing — the alternative is my worst fear. I just wish I could slow things down a bit, get him to hug me a little longer and not be in such a damn hurry to be the amazing man he’s destined to be.
 

Shoe shopping with CJ is not fun. His feet are super narrow. One foot is half a size bigger than the other. He’s right smack-dab in the middle of little kids and big kids sizes. Oh, and sometimes he wants shoes from the girls’ section and sometimes he doesn’t. But the shoes in the boys’ section are “too serious” and “no fun.”
Our tried-and-true solution? Buy plain-ish shoes and customize them. We got shoes from Nordstrom Rack and added velvet shoelaces by Aldo (a different color for each shoe, of course). Then, we added silver star and lightening bolt sticker patches from The Trend bar.

 

 

Young CJ: I’m going to go dress up like a superhero.
Me: Cool.
Young CJ: Okay. I’m dressed. Now take a picture of how superhero I am.

 

 

I thought he’d never be a reader. It didn’t come easy to him. And, in first grade, his teacher taught him that there were “boys books” and “girls books.” Teachers, please don’t do that.
Then, when he started reading the Dork Diaries series, kids at school made fun of him for reading “girls’ books.”
Now, in fourth grade, he doesn’t care what people say about the books he chooses. Lately he’s been tearing through gymnast biographies. “People at school think I’m a lady anyway. So, they don’t care what I read.”

 

 

 

That time CJ discovered the “big eyes” art of Margaret Keane and was so inspired that he did his makeup to look like a big-eyed waif from one of her paintings.

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If People Think I’m A Lady, Just Let Them

Posted on June 1, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

We’re at a restaurant for dinner. The server approaches our table with piping hot entrees and starts placing them in front of us.

“And, here are her chicken strips,” she says as she places a basket of food in front of C.J.

“Thank you.”

That’s our reply when our son is misgendered, when someone assumes he’s a she. We ignore it.

It happens nearly once a day. It happens when he’s dressed masculine and it happens when he’s dressed feminine. It happens when his hair is a sweaty, knotty mess after two hours of gymnastics and it happens when his hair is clean and in a neat French braid. It happens when his fingernails are painted and it happens when their not.

We have a rule that we don’t correct people when they misgender C.J. It’s not our rule actually. It’s his. We just follow it.

We use the male pronouns that he prefers, but if somebody else doesn’t, he doesn’t want us to correct them or even acknowledge it.

“If people think I’m a lady, just let them,” he says.

(By the way, before he turned ten he’d say, “If people think I’m a girl, just let them.” Obviously, in C.J.’s mind, when you enter the double digits you go from girl to lady.)

“If strangers think I’m a lady it doesn’t matter because I’m never going to see them again. So who cares what they think,” he explains.

We’re cool with that. It’s his choice. And, knowing that his choice can change, we’ve checked in with him often during the last six years.

At age four, he didn’t want us to correct people because he liked being mistaken for a girl. That’s when he wanted to be a girl, so when people mistook him for one he would beam proudly knowing that he had convinced someone of something successfully. It’s like the feeling I get when people think I have my shit together and am good at adulting. We all feel proud when people see us the way in which we want to be seen.

We didn’t correct people.

In first and second grade he wanted us to correct people when they misgendered him. He no longer liked being mistaken for girl. Sure, he sometimes still wanted to be a girl, but more than anything he wanted to be his rainbow self. Why couldn’t people understand that he was a boy who was a girl at heart? It was frustrating for him.

We corrected people.

Starting last year, he asked us not to correct people when they misgendered him because of the whole “if they are strangers, I’ll never see them again anyway” reasoning and because he felt that correcting people drew more attention to the fact that he’s different.

We stopped correcting people.

It was a hard habit for Chase to break. He’s a protective older brother and wanted people to know when they had erroneously referred to his brother as his sister. Plus, if his brother wanted male pronouns, he should get them.

A server approached our table to take our drink order and referred to C.J. using female pronouns. Chase corrected the server.

“Babe, don’t do that, he doesn’t like it,” I said once the server was out of earshot.

“Well, I don’t like it when people think he’s a girl when clearly he’s a boy,” Chase argued. (Disclaimer: C.J. does not always “clearly” look like a boy.)

“But, it’s my choice and I don’t want you to make a big deal out of it! You’re embarrassing me!” C.J. said folding his arms across his chest.

“I’m not embarrassing you! I’m standing up for you!” Chase insisted while pulling his baseball hat down to block us from his view.

And, that, my friends, is how something as simple and mundane as asking for a Diet Coke, lemonade and Arnold Palmer at a restaurant can turn into an emotional debacle when a person is misgendered and it isn’t handled the way they want it to be.

It’s not about C.J. being misgendered; it’s about how we react to it. We can’t control the first, but we can control the latter – under his ever-changing direction.

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Our Month In Review: April 2017

Posted on May 9, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

I’m late posting April’s Month In Review because we were busy celebrating Chase’s 14th birthday. Can you believe he’s already 14?! Any-who, following are the highlights from our month on Instagram. Click here to view more. If you’re on Instagram, follow me. If you already follow me, thank you!

I’m beyond honored to again be named one of BlogHer’s Voices of the Year. BlogHer is the largest annual celebration of women online content creators, social media influencers and media makers.

I’ve been named a BlogHer 2017 Voice of the Year in the Short Written Work category for the blog post I published the day after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.

Growing up, I instinctively knew that I had to worry about my brother’s safety because he was slightly effeminate when young, people assumed he was gay as a teen, then he came out shortly after high school. All of those things made him a target for bullying, harassment, victimization and violence.

I saw him find his people and it eased my worry. The first time he took me to a gay club, I remember thinking, “He’s found his people. He’s safe here.”

When I awoke to news of the shooting in Orlando, I was reminded that my brother is not safe. My son is not safe. Even if they find their people. Because monsters can find them there, too.

 

About a year ago, I dropped CJ off at a girlfriend’s birthday party. An art teacher helped the girls and CJ through a painting class and, then, they enjoyed cupcakes and gift opening. When I returned to pick up CJ, everyone’s paintings were lined up for viewing and admiration. Everyone had followed the teacher’s step-by-step instructions and pained two pink French poodles on either side of the Eiffel Tower. Everyone except CJ. He painted this. Because he can never be the same as everyone else. This painting has been hanging in his bedroom ever since. #nobodyisperfect

 

My son or a resident of Grey Gardens?

 

We took some time off to get away for Spring Break and are just now getting back to our normal routine. Which sucks, but what are you going to do? It can’t be Spring Break forever.

CJ used his time on the plane to finish the book Courage to Soar by Simone Biles. He was so inspired that he made me spend the rest of the flight taking pictures of his Barbie doing plane gymnastics. Which means I didn’t get to finish my book. But that’s okay because mothering is all about sacrifices.

 

When I tell other guys and dads that my son is gender nonconforming and possibly transgender and/or gay, the response I get most often is “Man, how do you deal with that? I couldn’t do it.”

What does that mean? You couldn’t parent a kid like mine? You’d be his first bully and “make him a man?” To me, that makes you less of a man. Much of the time when I confront such people they immediately begin to backpedal and try to move on. I’m not afraid of this discussion and many don’t choose to argue with me or defend their position.

To me, loving a child who is different, a target and seen as vulnerable is my role as a father and decent human being. He’s just as special to me and loved by me as my oldest son, whose most prized possession is a pocketknife, who plays football, likes fart jokes, and is starting to notice girls.

I want to love my son, not change him. I’m a father. I signed on for the job with no strings attached, no caveats, no conditions. – Matt, in a piece he wrote for The Atlantic a while back.

 

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C.J.’s Hotel Resort Has A Name!

Posted on May 2, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

Last week, C.J. shared his ideas for the hotel resort he wants to open when he grows up and he asked you to submit name suggestions because he was struggling to find the perfect name.

He went through all of your suggestions (more than 100!) repeatedly on Saturday. He made a short list of his four favorite names and carried it in his pocket on Sunday.

The final four:

  • AmazingNest
  • CAYA (Come As You Are)
  • Inn of the Rainbow
  • Pride Palace

Last night he finally decided on a name. Pride Palace!

After reading through all of the comments, C.J. would like you to know that his hotel resort will have plenty of vegetarian and vegan meal options, the staff will know sign language and there will be a small library filled with books. There will be cabins and cottages for guests who want less of a hotel resort feel. He is super excited to announce that the hotel resort will also host weddings!

He’s giddy that so many people want to stay at his hotel resort and that he already has legal and interior design professionals who have offered to lend an expert helping hand.

Thank you all for supporting and encourage my rainbow boy.

Xoxo,

Lori

P.S. Michelle! You won the naming game. Your prize package (a tiny paper airplane, two tiny origami figures, a friendship bracelet and a note) will be headed your way shortly.

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Straight People Can Come To My Hotel If….

Posted on April 25, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

For spring break my family went on vacation with our friends. We stayed at the Montage Palmetto Bluff. It was beyond spectacular!

We were allowed to ride bikes on paths all over the resort. I rode my bike so much. I saw my first alligator that wasn’t in a zoo. I went to the pool and played with my friends for a long time. I took tennis lessons and now I love tennis. On the last night, we had a nice dinner and I wore a dress. Then, I had a sleepover with my girl friends!

I decided that when I grow up I’m going to make my own hotel resort. It will be mostly for drag queens, gender nonconforming people and transgender people. A lot of transgender and gender nonconforming people like me don’t feel comfortable going everywhere. At my hotel resort everybody will always feel comfortable and welcome no matter what.

Straight people can go to my hotel resort if they are nice and don’t worry or even think twice about gender nonconforming and transgender people. If straight people think transgender and gender nonconforming people are just normal people they are welcome at my hotel resort. The straight people can dress however they want, too. The straight men can wear dresses if they want and the ladies can wear tuxedos. (Just nothing inappropriate.)

Drag queens can wear lots of makeup and anything they want.

Gender nonconforming and transgender people can go out in any gender identity they want and nobody will judge them. I promise.

The number one rule at my hotel resort is “you can never judge anyone for the color of their skin or the gender they are or the people they love.”

I will have activities for everyone to do. There will be tennis, bocce ball, zip lining, crafts and a big pool in the shape of a heart and it will be nice and warm. There will be two hot tubs. There will also be a playground with gymnastics equipment. People will ride bikes everywhere. They will also be able to ride in golf cart taxis. The golf cart driver will pull up to people and say “Hey, gurl, hey! Do you need a ride?! Hop in!”

I want to have a tree house at my hotel resort, but that might cost too much money for our financial plan.

The main hotel building will be a creamy white and the steps leading up to it will say “You Are Amazing.” That will be the first thing people see when they arrive. And they will believe it! There will be fancy people wearing rainbow colors for gay pride who open the front doors for guests.

Each night you can make s’mores by a big fire pit and talk to people and make new friends.

There will be shops all around my hotel resort. A wig shop, a dress shop, a shoe shop, a makeup shop and a craft store. There will be a gift shop that sells marbles with glitter in them.

There will be a theatre where drag queens put on shows every night. A different drag queen will perform every night so the drag queens don’t get too tired.

There will also be a kids fashion show every day. The kids can put on a show for their parents and guardians, if they want. But they don’t have to; it’s their choice.

There will be plenty of restaurants to choose from. A place for hamburgers. A fancy restaurant that serves oysters. And an Italian place that serves pink sauce noodles, red sauce noodles and butter noodles. There will also be a place for steak and chicken. Dessert is macaroons stacked into a pyramid shape in a rainbow of colors. There will be ink on each macaroon that tells the eater a message like: “You are amazing!,” “Don’t judge a book by its cover!” and “You can do anything!”

The hotel rooms will all have coffee makers in them with sugar cubes — because sugar cubes are extra fancy. Everybody will get a pair of white slippers. The towels will be folded into animals, like elephants, and room service will leave a chocolate mint on your pillow every night before bed. There will be a big bathtub in every room with bath salts that smell like vanilla and bath bombs that smell like lemon.

When a kid arrives, they will get to choose a free gay pride rainbow flag, a small tiny plush star pillow or a pink heart pillow. That will be their free gift. They can only pick one.

Everyone will always get along. I want everybody to feel luxurious while they are at my hotel resort. I want them to feel like a prince, princess, king or queen. Whichever one they want to feel like, it’s their choice.

The people who work at my hotel resort will know everybody’s name and pronouns and talk to each guest like they know who they are.

When people leave my hotel they will feel so welcome in the world and they will get all of their confidence. They will believe that they can do anything. When they go back to the real world and someone is being mean to them, they will not care because they will just be remembering how they felt at my hotel resort.

The only thing I don’t know about my hotel resort is the name. I can’t think of the perfect one. I need your help! Leave your idea for my hotel’s name in the comments below. I will pick a winner on Saturday. The winner will win a tiny paper airplane, two tiny origami figures, a friendship bracelet and a note from me.

Thanks for your ideas!

Love,

C.J.

 

 

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Our Month In Review: March 2017

Posted on April 4, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

In February and March, I started sharing bits of our journey on Instagram. Some of my readers aren’t on Instagram and have asked me to share posts here as well. So, following are highlights from March. Click here to view every post. If you’re on Instagram, follow me. If you already follow me, ignore this post. Or not. It’s up to you.

“To be gender nonconforming is to risk being killed, but on a daily basis it more likely means being harassed, confused and misunderstood in the community or maltreated by mental health professionals. . . . There is no doubt that these children are among the ranks of minority individuals in our society who must anticipate bigotry and antipathy from those who either do not understand, are ill-informed, govern their thinking with myth rather than reality or . . . project hatred onto those who are different from themselves. At the same time, gender creative children diverge from almost all other minority children in that they have an additional mark against them: they may face aspersion from their very own family, loved ones who are supposed to be their protectors.” Diane Ehrensaft in her book Gender Born, Gender Made.

The statistics for kids like CJ are scary. Compared to his straight cisgender peers, he is prone to the highest rates of depression, addiction, unsafe sexual behaviors and suicide rates. The most important thing families can do to improve those statistics is simple. Love and support the child no matter what.

“I love you no matter what.” Matt and I say it to both of our boys. Our love for them isn’t conditional. No matter who they are, who they love and what other people say, we love them no matter what.

“We studied Mary Cassatt at school today and did art like she did. My art teacher said we could make a boy hat or girl hat for our person. I rolled my eyes at her on the inside because she is an artist and she should know that there is no such thing as boys’ hats and girls’ hats. This is me. I’m in a shirt and bow tie because people always dressed fancy in those days. And I gave myself a hat that the art teacher said was a girls’ hat. When she said that I rolled my eyes at her again on the inside.” — CJ, age 10.

Three cheers for loving and supportive grandparents who know that one of their grandsons will want a pink chocolate bunny, instead of a blue one.

CJ: Mom! Look! Doesn’t my eye makeup look so much better than yours?! 😃😊
Me: Yes!
Part of parenting is wanting better for your children, but I’d like my makeup to look that good too.

“It takes a village to healthily launch a gender nonconforming child into adulthood. But that’s not always how the siblings want to spend their time.” — Diane Ehrensaft, PhD.
There are some struggles and challenges that come with being the sibling of an LGBTQ person. Chase and I have that in common. At nearly 14 years old, Chase is source of constant wonder to me. He loves video games, he taught himself to play the guitar, he listens to classic rock, his hobby is photography and he has mad skills in the kitchen.
While CJ reminds me of my brother, Chase is like no one I’ve ever met. I’ve never witnessed a cisgender straight boy become a man.

Chase is the very best brother that CJ could have. He is kind, loving, supportive and protective. He also calls CJ out on his shit, doesn’t treat him special and holds him accountable. Sometimes that’s exactly what CJ needs.

Serving Florida retiree goes to lunch with her gurls, eats Cobb salad and is home by 2 pm realness.

“Look, Mom! I made gender nonconforming cups. The boy cup is wearing a dress and the girl cup is wearing a jersey.” — CJ, age 10

Kids (all people, actually) look for themselves in other people and things. CJ notices anything that is a fellow redhead — from Ariel to orangutans. He also notices anything that is gender nonconforming. And, if given the chance, he’ll make things gender nonconforming.

 

Much to CJ’s displeasure, I’ve been monopolizing the sewing machine lately. He’s kept himself busy making food out of felt, which he can sew by hand. “Should I use a whip stitch or a back stitch?” he asks me. “What’s the difference?” I ask.
(Clockwise from top: doughnut, pop tarts, carrot, egg, toast)

“What should I do now?” He asks. He knows better than to say “I’m bored,” he knows I’ll say “Only boring people can be bored.”

He doesn’t much like electronics or technology. Sometimes I wish he’d just play on the iPad and chill for a minute. Nope. He always wants to be creating and crafting.
Today he is making felt finger puppets. Most 10-year-old boys read and follow Lego instructions, my boy reads and follows sewing patterns. Oh, and he’s pissed that this pattern says to make pants for a boy puppet and a skirt for girl puppets. “Boys can wear skirts and girls can wear pants!” he declared. “I’m going to put my boy in a skirt!” Take that pattern maker!

When your son’s messy bun is better than yours and you want to hate him for it but you love him too damn much.

Like most gender nonconforming boys, CJ’s closest friends have always been girls. His girl friends are funny, smart, colorful, loyal, kind, accepting, supportive and fiercely protective. And, they write him notes like this:

You are the peanut to my butter. Twinkle in my eye. Shake to my bake. Blue to my sky. Sprinkles to my sundae. Flip to my flop. Jewel on my crown. Milk to my shake. Beat of my heart. But, most of all, MY BEST FRIEND. I’d walk through a fire for you! Well, not fire because it’s dangerous…but a super humid room. But not too humid, because my hair….

 

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Survey Says: We Need to Educate Educators About Rights of LGBTQ Students

Posted on March 11, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

(This post can also be read at HuffingtonPost.com)

During the last two weeks, I’ve read and heard a lot of misinformation about the rescission of federal guidance previously given to schools regarding the use of restrooms and single sex spaces by transgender students.

I am the mother of a gender nonconforming child who has been bullied at school — with the most severe case occurring in the bathroom. I’m also a person who thinks everyone should be treated equally and with kindness and empathy. So, understandably, the confusion surrounding the rescission causes me great concern, especially when it is evident in educators and administrators – the people who spend the most waking hours with transgender and gender nonconforming students.

Title IX is still in effect and it protects students from bullying, harassment and victimization based on presumed or confirmed sexuality, gender identity and gender expression.

Over the summer, I surveyed educators and administrators about the federal (Title IX) and state laws in place to protect students based on their presumed and/or confirmed sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

More than 500 credentialed educators and administrators from 43 states participated in the survey. Of participants, 41 percent work at the elementary schools, 25 percent at middle schools and 34 percent at high schools. I asked for participation from people with all types of feelings about the LGBTQ community.

The results of the survey are troublesome because they show just how little (if anything) educators know about Title IX and state laws that protect students who are perceived or confirmed to be LGBTQ.

More than 50 percent of educators don’t know that there are federal laws (Title IX) in place that protect students from bullying, harassment and victimization based on confirmed or presumed sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

About 50 percent of educators don’t know if their state has laws in place to protect LGBTQ students. It’s important to clarify that the majority of the other 50 percent think that their state has laws protecting LGBTQ students, but they don’t know the type of laws (there are two types of Safe School Laws and there are No Promo Homo laws).

If educators don’t know the federal and state laws, they can’t enforce them or spot a violation. LGBTQ students in their charge aren’t being protected and cared for as legally required and educators could be acting illegally and culpably.

What types of information are schools/districts providing educators with regarding Title IX and state laws? Not much.

According to 61 percent of educators, schools/districts provide no information about LGBTQ laws.

“Literally nothing. I work in the largest county/public school system in the state of North Carolina and although our state is in the midst of horrific actions by our governor, who put HB2 into law (which requires all people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the sex on their birth certificate and not their gender), there has been no communication from the top down on this subject. Many teachers are not even aware that HB2 has anything to do with us as educators.”     — Elementary School Educator, North Carolina

“None. I heard about a bathroom controversy with one of our students through the news and not from my own administration.”     — High School Educator, North Carolina

“Little to none; bullying of any type is not a priority for administrators.”     — High School Educator, Louisiana

“None. The district I work for is a hotbed for anyone who is not a True Christian. Our principal has sent out emails saying that Catholics, Jews, Muslims should not be allowed to teach. Secular or LGBTQ people don’t exist in his world.”     — Elementary School Educator, Texas

Eleven percent of educators report that their school/district treats the negative and unlawful treatment of LGBTQ students as general bullying – even though the laws are different and the effects can be more severe.

“We get the ‘normal’ don’t bully/harass training each year that most adults sort of ignore as part of the going through the motions of starting a school year.”     — High School Educator, Missouri

“We received a book. We are just handed it and basically told to read it if we want. NO additional education or discussion.”     — Elementary School Educator, California

“We got a big pamphlet about several issues around transgender issues; I’m guessing there’s more but I honestly didn’t go through the whole thing.”     — Middle School Educator, California

Two percent of educators learn about the rights of LGBTQ students from the students themselves (not their school/district).

“There is a Safe Zone training program created by members of student life. However, nothing that I can recall has come from administration regarding anti-bullying laws.”     — High School Educator, North Carolina

If districts aren’t educating their educators about Title IX and state laws, should it be the responsibility of degree and/or teacher credentialing programs?  That would be a good place to start, but 88 percent of educators learned nothing about the laws while in college. Only five percent of educators have taken a college-level course on discrimination in the classroom and equity on campus. The course was not LGBTQ-specific, but covered all types of discrimination including: disability, learning differences, national origin, race, color, religion, sex, gender and sexuality.

“During the section on ‘special students’ (where we covered a whole bunch of different topics, like homeless students, students with mental illnesses, students with minor disabilities that don’t require special ed.) We talked for about three hours about LGBTQ students, and student who have LGBTQ parents. It was pretty cringe-worthy, and it was obvious the teacher didn’t really have any clue what they were talking about.”     — Elementary School Educator, Montana

I know that day in and day out educators are being told the myriad ways they are failing their students. I’m not here to do that. I acknowledge that educators, in general, want to help; after all, most got into education because they have a soft spot for children. Schools/districts, credentialing programs and professional development programs are failing educators by not teaching them about the special needs of LGBTQ students, the risks they face, the laws that protect them and the consequences of not following the laws.

How do we make it easy for educators to learn these lessons if their employer and credentialing programs aren’t teaching them? Is it reasonable to expect educators to seek out the information and learn on their own?

I don’t have the answers to those questions, but I do know that until we find and implement the answers, school will feel unsafe for LGBTQ students. Some kids will pee their pants (like my son did) because bullies live in the bathroom; some will drop out of because their future doesn’t seem as important as their present; and some will end their life because they have no hope that things will get better.

If you are an educator, please learn more about Title IX and state laws that protect students from bullying, harassment and victimization based on presumed or confirmed sexuality, gender identity and gender expression. Following are some helpful links:

ACLU

Gender Spectrum

GLSEN

Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

PFLAG

Welcoming Schools

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My Son Reviews Looks From 2017 Oscars

Posted on February 28, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

(All photo creds go to: E! Entertainment)

screen-shot-2017-02-28-at-12-59-01-pmEmma Stone: LOVE. The end of it is the best part because it is fringe-y. I really liked La La Land. The music was the best. If I talked to the person who made that mistake at the end of the Oscars, I would say “Get it right, girlfriend.” Emma Stone looked the best out of everyone.

Raphaela Neihausen: That is a toddler’s dress.

Karlie Kloss: I like the cape. Capes always look cool. I would enjoy using my markers and coloring on that dress.

Jessica Biel: No, no, no, no, no. That didn’t look right to me. That dress reminds me of a video game that won’t load all the way. That necklace is too much for that dress.

screen-shot-2017-02-28-at-12-59-36-pmOctavia Spencer: The bottom of her dress is like feathers waving at me and I say “Hey, gurl, hey” to those feathers.

Brie Larson: I like it because the bottom looks like a mysterious top hat.

Dakota Johnson: Ugh. I don’t event want to talk about that one.

Janelle Monae: That top. Everyone can see her nipples. Then there is the bottom. The bottom is like two dresses at the same time and she only needed one.

Halle Berry: The top is like Halloween and the bottom is like the water in Hawaii. She needs to get her hair under control. But sometimes I need to get my hair under control, so you can’t blame her that it’s like that. Trust me.

screen-shot-2017-02-28-at-1-05-47-pmRyan Gosling: He’s my favorite boy. I like the ruffles on his shirt a lot. Most boys don’t have that. The boys have the easy way in life. They just pick a tuxedo and go to the party.

Ginnifer Goodwin: No dress should ever have a turtleneck.

Alicia Vikander: Her hair and makeup look like maybe she didn’t know she was going to the Oscars. But the rest of her knew. Obvi.

Blanca Blanco: It looks like she is wearing a duct tape dress. Someone help her now.

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Raising My Rainbow on Instagram

Posted on February 27, 2017 by raisingmyrainbow

img_6883“Why did you start your blog?”

That’s the blog-related question I’m asked most often.

“Because I wanted to give people a glimpse into our lives raising a differently gendered child to show that we aren’t weird, we’re just different. I wanted to slowly educate people in a non-threatening way.”

That’s my standard answer.

I’ve been thinking for a while now that I’m not blogging as much, so I’m not educating people as much as I could and should be. That bums me out.

screen-shot-2017-02-27-at-6-31-16-pmSo, I very quietly started a public Instagram account (@RaisingMyRainbow) to see if it felt like a good (read: easy) way to share a little more of our journey.

Then I read this in an email from Gender Spectrum regarding the Trump administration’s recension of important support for transgender students.

“If you want to take action regarding the administration’s decision, make a commitment today to do what you can to increase understandings of gender in your world. Your story may be just what someone needs to hear. Your story can make a difference.”

I’m following Gender Spectrum’s orders and asking all of you to follow me on Instagram, share my posts and tag people when the mood strikes.

img_6828I envision still writing a few blog posts a month. Sharing news and things I find important on Facebook and Twitter. And, chronicling our daily lives and thoughts on Instagram.

Let’s see how that plan works. I’m open to comments, thoughts, suggestions, etc. Do you want me to share the same exact thing across all three social media platforms? Do you want me to compile Instagram posts and share them on my blog, Facebook and Twitter routinely? I just don’t want you to get sick of me.

Leave a comment below or shoot me an email (raisingmyrainbow@gmail.com) with your thoughts.

xoxo,

Lori

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