A Queer Mom's Reading List (Work in Progress)
An eclectic collection of favourites and curious-abouts.
Queer
adjective
strange; odd.
"she had a queer feeling that they were being watched"
denoting or relating to a sexual or gender identity that does not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender, especially heterosexual norms.
"queer geek culture has featured gay themes since the 1980s"
verb
spoil or ruin (an agreement, event, or situation).
"Reg didn't want someone meddling and queering the deal at the last minute"
As much as it should offend me, I sort of love the idea of the word queer as ruining something. Who says we aren’t ruining something terrible that should 100% be trashed?
This reading list is really queer: it’s going to constantly be unafraid to change and expand; it’s a little bit odd and a little bit guaranteed to ruin the most heterosexual of bookshelves; it’s going to be collaborative. So please share your favourite queer reads for and about parenting and families with me in the comments, and stay tuned.
Our Family’s Favourite Queer Kids Books
Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer - A stunning, colourful story about all different kinds of families just doing fun stuff together.
Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder - Body positivity and queer representation for the whole family.
A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary - We are the moms that sing too loud!
Mommy, Mama, and Me by Leslea Newman - Just two moms and their baby having a good day.
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love - if you don’t cry reading this stunning book, I don’t know if your tear ducts are working.
Some Queer Odds and Ends I Love
Fruits of Motherhood - a very adorable Instagram account by a queer mom raising kids with her girlfriend and ex-husband
“Feeding Lesbigay Families” by sociologist Chris Carrington is about how queer couples end up dividing their food-related labour in disturbingly similar ways to straight couples and it lives rent-free in my brain.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (yes, of the Bechdel test fame!) - Am I the only one who thinks graphic novels are all just inherently queer? But this one, about a gay woman who finds out her dad is also gay later in life, is live-changing.
The Kids by Gabriela Herman - A photo and interview series of kids who grew up with queer parents.
The Very Long List of Stuff I want to Read
This whole list by Gay’s The Word, Britain’s oldest queer book shop.
BOOKS for PREGNANT & NEW PARENTS
Swelling With Pride: Queer Conception and Adoption Stories, edited by Sara Graefe
Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months Spent In Drag, a graphic novel by A.K. Summers
Confessions of the Other Mother: Nonbiological Lesbian Moms Tell All, edited by Harlyn Aizley
And Baby Makes More: Known Donors, Queer Parents and Our Unexpected Families by Susan L. Goldberg
BOOKS on PARENTING and FAMILY LIFE
The Lesbian Parenting Book: A Guide to Creating Families and Raising Children by D. Merilee Clunis, PhD, and G. Dorsey Green
Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Parents and Their Families, edited by Peggy Gillespie with photographs by Gigi Kaeser
I love you !!