Finn Mackay is a feminist activist who doesn’t fit into society’s assumed gender codes. Her partner carried and gave birth to their son, now almost 2 years old. In her guest blog Finn explores her experience of motherhood as a lesbian parent Finn’s blog: finnmackay.wordpress.com It took me over three months to be able to…
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Creating families through surrogacy – gay style
Starting a family via surrogacy has become increasingly common amongst gay men, despite constant changes in rules affecting availability in other countries. When Thailand, India, Nepal & Cambodia all froze access to surrogacy for foreigners, many gay men were left with embryos stranded. Meanwhile, providers in the USA, Canada and South East Asia have stepped…
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Calling all kinds of loving families
It should be a fact of life for every child – a loving family and a safe home where they can grow up happy and content. Unfortunately, more than 2,000 children across the UK are currently awaiting adoption, still hoping for that security and permanency in their lives. For older children, sibling groups, children with…
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Proud 2 Be
Mat and Jon Price, 30, are identical twins and both gay. Their childhood in a rural village near Birmingham was not filled with positive messages about homosexuality. This experience led them to set up the Proud 2 Be project in 2011, an online campaign supporting LGBT people to be proud of who they are. A…
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The rewards of becoming a foster carer
Being a foster carer can be a challenging job, but the rewards are varied and quite personal. Some foster carers find it so fulfilling, they foster many children throughout a long fostering career. Here are some of the positive benefits of being a foster carer. Positively change a child’s life You’re providing a foster child…
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In-depth guide to foster caring
Are you interested in becoming a foster carer but don't know enough about it? Perhaps you assume your circumstances or expectations mean you wouldn't be accepted. Here, with help from Achieving for Children, we get all your questions answered. There are now 70,000 children in care. Many of these children are on the adoption register…
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First-time Mama, second time Mama… One lesbian mum’s intrepid baby weaning story
Jenni Tellyn lives near Brighton with her same-sex partner, Kathryn, and two daughters, Isabella, 4, and Bibi, 7 months. Jenni is stay at home mum for the first time and finds unique challenges in unexpected places – weaning! With two children to contend with at meal times, she comes up with her own solution, one…
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Same family, different schools
James Williams is a gay dad of two sibling boys aged 10 and 9. He is a writer, actor and director. He writes about his life with his partner as a gay family formed through adoption. Read his blog at 4relativestrangers which is soon to be a book. He was awarded the title of National…
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Interview with Susan Golombok
Susan Golombok is director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge. Her fascinating book, published in March this year, brings together over thirty years of research into new family forms – forms which include lesbian and gay-parented families, single mothers by choice, and families created through assisted reproduction techniques (ART). The…
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Sperm donors: anonymous or not?
This year it is ten years since the laws changed around sperm and egg donor anonymity. Where all sperm and egg donors had been anonymous, they are no longer. Donor-conceived children now have the right to trace their biological donor once they turn 18. So if our sons, who are 5 and 2, had been…
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