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08/27/2007

Have something to say? Well here's your chance!

by Jeremy Hooper

Dearrents

Do you have a difficult relationship with a parent or another close family member? Have something you've always wanted to get off your chest? Want to help the world see just how painful familial shunning or abandonment truly can be? Well be you L, G, B, T, or S, we want to hear your stories!

There is a new side project that's soon to launch here at G-A-Y, in which we will give you the readers a chance to share your own thoughts with the world at large. It is our firm belief that if more people were to understand the pain that comes from non-aceptance, they would not be so quick to demonize. And while many potential allies may think they understand what it means to have a parent or other prominent family member, few are clueless to just how soul-numbing it can be to feel that the ones who are supposed to love you for who you are will only accept you if you live the life that they deem fit. We want to bring these stories to light. And who knows -- we may even throw some free swag to those who really rise to the occasion.

Anonymous or publicly identified -- the choice is yours. You can send an email, traditional letter, post card, work of art, video, CD, or just about any other (legal) medium you can think of. Serious, scary, funny, or bizarre -- all entries are welcome. The only thing we ask is that (a) they come from your own voice, (b) are directed towards a parent or other family member, and (c) somehow convey how your sexuality or support for gay rights has affected your relationship with your kin (it could even be a positive effect). Oh, and also be sure to give us an email address or phone number where you can be easily reached, as we will verify all submissions before posting.

Hard copy submissions can be sent to:

Good As You
PO Box 7108
New York, NY 10150

Emails to:

[email protected]


Help us share the stories that have gone unnoticed and underrepresented for far too long!

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Your thoughts

To Whom It May Concern:

I am a graduate student in Literacy Education at the State University of NY at Oswego's School of Education. I am currently enrolled in a class in which I am required to conduct research on a reading related topic. As I am committed to working for social justice in education, I wanted to make my research meaningful in that area. I am hoping to investigate how exposure to literature that reflects children’s lived experiences make literacy experiences more meaningful and therefore more productive.

If at all possible, I would like to narrow the focus of this study to the children of LGBT parents, as I believe that this area is underrepresented in the available literature on multicultural literacy. In order to conduct my study, I am looking for LGBT parents with school age (K-12) children, as well as children of lesbians and gay men to complete an online survey.

The children’s survey may be submitted by current K-12 students and/or adult children who wish to share memories of their K-12 experience. The parent’s survey is twenty questions long and the children's survey is ten questions. Anonymity on the survey site is guaranteed unless participants elect to share contact information. Should a participant decide at a later date that they no longer want their responses included, I will omit them from my paper.

Parents of students under the age of 18 are encouraged to view the children's survey before deciding to allow their school-age children to complete it. Follow the directions for access below to view the survey and then simply shut the survey window without clicking the "submit" button.

Based on the preliminary findings of the survey, I may wish to pose follow up questions via e-mail or conduct face to face interviews with a few families. These interviews would be strictly voluntary and all interview questions could be vetted by the parents before they were posed to the children. Only individuals over the age of 18 are asked to share contact information. For those families that elected to participate in this follow up study, all identities would of course be protected in my research paper. I will only contact families that provide an e-mail address voluntarily for that purpose. Indeed, without such contact information being provided, I would have no way to identify a respondent.

At this time, I am asking simply that you forward a copy of this letter to your members who fit the needs of my investigation and let them know about the study.

Adults that are willing to participate in the initial, twenty-question survey may do so online by visiting the following URL:

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=e92h0kymcead4ep346222

Respondents will need to enter the password “lgbt_literacy” to access the survey.

Children of LGBT families who wish to participate should visit:

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=ywggpj5wycbxlf8348471

Use the password "rainbow" for access.

I sincerely appreciate your help in this matter.

Sincerely Yours,

Mary C. DiGesare Mantelli
[email protected]

Posted by: Mary C. DiGesare Mantelli | Oct 14, 2007 3:54:06 PM

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