Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Why can't NOM stop lying about gays and children?

Brian Brown, NOM's president
In spite of Maggie Gallagher's assurance that she believes that same-sex parenting does not harm a child, the organization she began, the National Organization for Marriage, is doing its utmost best to push this fallacy.

In a blog post, Gay Activists Promoting "30 Ways to Make a Baby" Children's Book, NOM makes it seem that the lgbtq community is pushing a book about the creation of children.

NOM linked this story from a right-wing publication, Lifesite News (no friend of the lgbtq community. The headline on this site clearly says Book to teach elementary students 30 ways babies made slammed by pro-family culture critics. As you can see, there is nothing about the lgbtq community in the title.

The reason why NOM is linking this book to the lgbtq community is because of one paragraph in the Lifesite article which states:

The homosexual rights community is getting behind the book for its positive portrayal of the dozens of alternative methods that can be used to create a new human life (about 30 according to the author). The author intends that his “book for kids about sex,” aimed at pre-schoolers through to 8-years-olds, will also be accompanied by a teacher’s resource to assist its implementation in a school setting.

But here is the problem. No one from the lgbtq community is quoted as saying that they support this book or will promote this book. In fact, no gay activist is quote in the article at all.

And I venture to say that most likely, the vast majority of us - if not all - have never even heard of this book. So basically, NOM is lying. It's not anything we haven't seen before, but this time it's so unabashedly blatant that it should be criminal.

In actuality, the book has less to do with the lgbtq community and more to do with educating people that not all children come from the traditional manner. Author Cory Silverberg says this:

What Makes a Baby is my response to the fact that books about where babies come from leave many of us out. They tell a nice story (mommy + daddy + intercourse = you!) but the truth is that more and more of us are acknowledging the help we get to bring children into our lives. That help might be a doctor, fertility clinic, adoption or foster agency; it might be a turkey baster and a friend; it might be a sperm donor or a surrogate. What Makes a Baby helps parents tell children a story about where they came from that isn’t just true for them, but true for everyone.

Crafted for children roughly from pre-school to 8-years-old, What Makes a Baby is written and illustrated to include all kinds of kids, all kinds of adults, and all kinds of families - regardless of how many people were involved, what the orientation, gender identity, or other make up of the family is, or how it came to be that way. It's a social justice approach to sex education. Like all picture books, it's meant to be read to a child and gives the adult reader the opportunity to fill in as much detail as they would like.

Written by a certified sexuality educator, Cory Silverberg, and illustrated by award-winning Canadian artist Fiona Smyth, What Makes a Baby is being designed and produced with the help of Zab Design & Typography and will be an exquisitely made hardcover picture book. 32 pages and full color, it will be as fun to look at as it is useful to read.

It's an interesting concept to say the least. But to exploit this book to push a notion that gays are declaring war on the so-called traditional way of creating children? Not so interesting. In fact, it's downright foul.

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3 comments:

  1. In this day and age with so many children, in need of a good home meaning full of love ,understanding and grace (forgiveness). Why would any one not want children informed that just because they didn't come from who they call Mom or Dad doesn't mean they are loved any less. Unconditional love should be the only requirement to be a parent.

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  2. Why would any one not want children informed that just because they didn't come from who they call Mom or Dad doesn't mean they are loved any less.

    because it's not about what's best for children, it never has been for these people and I doubt it ever will be

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  3. Brian Brown is kind of cute in a bear-like way, in that photo. He should let his beard grow. As for how children are made, sexual intercourse is not required, and children do not result from every act of coitus, so we should not teach children that sexual intercourse is always the same as making babies.

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