Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Parents - Softcover

Noelle Howey; Ellen Samuels; Margarethe Cammermeyer; Dan Savage

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312244894 ISBN 13: 9780312244897

Publisher: Stonewall Inn Editions, 2000

Synopsis

Out of the Ordinary is a truly unique anthology, a groundbreaking collection of essays by the grown children of lesbian, gay, and transgender parents. Ranging from humorous to poignant, the essays touch on some of the most important and complicated issues facing them: dealing with a parent's sexuality while developing an identity of one's own; overcoming homophobia at school and at family or social gatherings; and defining the modern family. In a time when traditional family structure has undergone radical change, Out of the Ordinary is an important look at the meaning of love, family, and relationships, and will speak to anyone who has lived or is interested in non-traditional families.

With a foreword by Margarethe Cammermeyer, Ph.D., author of Serving in Silence, and a preface by columnist and author Dan Savage, Out of the Ordinary also includes a resource guide of organizations that offer support for the hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian, and transgender parents and their children. As the demographic increases, this book becomes an invaluable tool for learning, understanding, and acceptance.

About this title

Review:

While hearing "faggot" yelled at you in a high school corridor would upset almost anyone, here is evidence that hearing "Your father's a faggot" isn't nearly as bad, and that you might find yourself levelheadedly retorting, "No, my father's a transgendered lesbian." This unprecedented collection of short memoirs by adult children of gay, lesbian, and transgender parents demonstrates once again that love cannot be policed or regulated, and that the bond between parents and children transcends petty categories. Kelley Conway's "My Mother and the Nun" describes the confusion a 14-year-old girl feels when her mother falls in love with another woman at the same time that Conway herself is beginning to recognize her own attractions to other girls. In Peter Snow's "Acting Lessons," a college boy returns home to find that his parents, who have always been unhappily married, are still together, and in fact are cozied up on the couch watching television with his mother's lover, Jackie. What is missing from this volume are essays by children who were born or adopted into same-sex families. Without this perspective, the memoirs are somewhat skewed, since almost every writer had to deal not only with a parent's coming out but with a wrenching divorce, often caused by that parent's sexuality. Nevertheless, this collection should prove helpful to therapists, youth counselors, and families with gay members, and contribute positively to the debates on same-sex parenting and adoption. --Regina Marler

About the Author:

Noelle Howey is a freelance editor who has contributed to numerous magazines and web sites, including Ms., Self, Time Out, Mademoiselle, and Mother Jones. She is also the author Dress Codes.

Ellen Samuels is an award-winning poet and teacher who lives in Berkeley, California. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Cornell University and has published poetry and articles in numerous literary journals.

About this edition

• Publisher: Stonewall Inn Editions
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312244894
• ISBN 13: 9780312244897
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240