Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere
Encyclopedia
COLAGE is an organization
, created in 1989 by the children of several lesbian
and gay
male couples who felt a need for support. Though its membership is not necessarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
, queer
/questioning
(LGBTQ)-identified, COLAGE's focus on the issues of LGBT parents' families makes it a de facto part of the LGBT community. There are 52 COLAGE chapters in the United States of America, 2 chapters in Canada
, and one Europe
an chapter. COLAGE is the only national, youth-driven network of people with LGBTQ parents.
COLAGE is run and operated by children (of all ages) who have a LGBTQ parent
or parents. Older Colagers mentor younger members. They prepare them for any challenges that a child may have, having same sex parents. Members are open with each other and any topic can and is discussed. COLAGE teams each summer with Family Pride
and holds its annual Family Week in Provincetown on Cape Cod
. There, hundreds of gay families come to enjoy the summer and the kids attend COLAGE meetings and workshops.
COLAGE is based out of San Francisco, California
and has small number of paid staff. Its executive director is Beth Teper
who has a lesbian mom and today is an advocate
for children who have same sex parents.
In 1995, COLAGE opened a “volunteer-run” national office in San Francisco. This office operated for the primary purpose of providing “support, research, media, and advocacy” for over 500 families on a mailing list of children with GLBT parents. Beginning in 1996, COLAGE opened their arms to children of transgender parents and designed specific resources not available anywhere else.
In 1997, the organization was able to have the first director on payroll with a minuscule budget. The director, along with a determined team of youth-led volunteer committees, was able to commence a nationwide campaign that would allow them to hire another staff member in 1999.
The process for children to become comfortable with their lifestyle is often disrupted by different outside influences such as the “negative portrayals, misinformation, and the constant public debate about LGBT rights.” Current challenges also include the necessity to incorporate children of LGBT
parents in the debates about LGBT rights. This would allow for a personal voice to be heard and have the opportunity for COLAGE to publicize their vision. Another challenge of COLAGE is advocating for the lack of legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The negative implications from the lack of benefits or protections for LGBT
families with children are a severe burden that will only worsen with time. COLAGE also battles the negative media concerning the psychological disorders that surround the children of LGBT parents.
COLAGE was originally an acronym (Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere) but the organization dropped the acronym and uses the COLAGE name because it felt the acronym did not reflect all families in the LGBT community.
COLAGE primarily serves children from eight to eighteen years old, however children of all ages are welcome to be helped by COLAGE. The children under nine years of age are generally offered programs hosted by other agencies specially designed for families versus the children separately. Once kids reach the age of nine, they begin to understand and feel the implications of having LGBT parents. Thus COLAGE serves the purpose to help children with peer-based learning and sharing especially with other COLAGErs. As the transition to middle school follows, children enter the stage in their life when peer pressure consumes their thoughts and perceptions about themselves. This age is a key time for a foundation of support for the years to come. In high school, children still have the need for peer support although they begin to take on adult responsibilities and strive for independence. COLAGE strives to help children in these stages of childhood through their programs which take place in three primary program areas: (a) Community Building and Youth Development, (b) Youth Leadership and Public Education, and (c) Advocacy and Youth Organizing.
and is now distributed to classrooms and communities nationwide.
. Abigail is a child of a two-dad family and she wrote Families Like Mine. In 1997, Garner came out about her father’s being gay when she was 22 and began her career as an advocate for children of GLBT parents. The term Queerspawn was coined to identify kids with same sex parents. The name was quickly embraced by COLAGE kids around the globe. Children and young adults printed "QUEERSPAWN" on T-shirt
to self-identify as having same sex parents.
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
, created in 1989 by the children of several lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
male couples who felt a need for support. Though its membership is not necessarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
/questioning
Questioning (sexuality and gender)
The questioning of one's gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation, or all three is a process of exploration by people who may be unsure, still exploring, and concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons...
(LGBTQ)-identified, COLAGE's focus on the issues of LGBT parents' families makes it a de facto part of the LGBT community. There are 52 COLAGE chapters in the United States of America, 2 chapters in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and one Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an chapter. COLAGE is the only national, youth-driven network of people with LGBTQ parents.
COLAGE is run and operated by children (of all ages) who have a LGBTQ parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
or parents. Older Colagers mentor younger members. They prepare them for any challenges that a child may have, having same sex parents. Members are open with each other and any topic can and is discussed. COLAGE teams each summer with Family Pride
Family Equality Council
Family Equality Council is national American advocacy organization committed to securing family equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning parents, guardians and allies.- History :...
and holds its annual Family Week in Provincetown on Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
. There, hundreds of gay families come to enjoy the summer and the kids attend COLAGE meetings and workshops.
COLAGE is based out of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and has small number of paid staff. Its executive director is Beth Teper
Beth Teper
Beth Teper is the executive director of COLAGE, the "only national, youth-driven network of people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer parents"...
who has a lesbian mom and today is an advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
for children who have same sex parents.
History
COLAGE is the first organization of its kind and was originally called Just for Us. Just for Us began as a newsletter of the main six members of COLAGE. Later, six other chapters around the United States adopted that name. The ancestry of COLAGE can be tracked to an annual conference that is sponsored each year by Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition International (GLPCI). In 1992, the group met for three days, outside of its annual meeting, to compose a mission statement and long-term goals. Amity Buxton represented the Straight Spouse Network (SSN), which has close relations with the Family Pride Coalition (FPC), at the conference and gave presentations for the GLPCI/FPC concerning her heading of the Task Force for children through the PFLAG. Her presentation proved successful in contributing to the origins of COLAGE.In 1995, COLAGE opened a “volunteer-run” national office in San Francisco. This office operated for the primary purpose of providing “support, research, media, and advocacy” for over 500 families on a mailing list of children with GLBT parents. Beginning in 1996, COLAGE opened their arms to children of transgender parents and designed specific resources not available anywhere else.
In 1997, the organization was able to have the first director on payroll with a minuscule budget. The director, along with a determined team of youth-led volunteer committees, was able to commence a nationwide campaign that would allow them to hire another staff member in 1999.
Current COLAGE
In the United States, there are anywhere between four and fourteen million children who have at least one lesbian or gay parent and within these values anywhere from one to nine million children are currently being raised in same-sex parent households. Children within these households face minority problems and the ability to cope with their situation can often be overwhelming. COLAGE serves these types of children in several ways with peer support and community-building.The process for children to become comfortable with their lifestyle is often disrupted by different outside influences such as the “negative portrayals, misinformation, and the constant public debate about LGBT rights.” Current challenges also include the necessity to incorporate children of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
parents in the debates about LGBT rights. This would allow for a personal voice to be heard and have the opportunity for COLAGE to publicize their vision. Another challenge of COLAGE is advocating for the lack of legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The negative implications from the lack of benefits or protections for LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
families with children are a severe burden that will only worsen with time. COLAGE also battles the negative media concerning the psychological disorders that surround the children of LGBT parents.
COLAGE was originally an acronym (Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere) but the organization dropped the acronym and uses the COLAGE name because it felt the acronym did not reflect all families in the LGBT community.
COLAGE Goals and Key Programs
- "Create safe spaces for people with LGBT parents to be themselves, know they are not alone, unlearn the homophobiaHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
(and other oppressions) foisted upon them, and support one another across the differences that are also part of our community; - Strengthen LGBT families and pride in these families, define their place within LGBT culture and community, and give back to their communities (both LGBT and non-LGBT);
- Develop youth leaders capable of speaking out and making change and offering skill-building trainings, thus positioning and connecting them with political change-making opportunities;
- Influence and create institutions that recognize, validate, celebrate, and protect rights of children and youth, especially those with one or more LGBT parent/s."
COLAGE primarily serves children from eight to eighteen years old, however children of all ages are welcome to be helped by COLAGE. The children under nine years of age are generally offered programs hosted by other agencies specially designed for families versus the children separately. Once kids reach the age of nine, they begin to understand and feel the implications of having LGBT parents. Thus COLAGE serves the purpose to help children with peer-based learning and sharing especially with other COLAGErs. As the transition to middle school follows, children enter the stage in their life when peer pressure consumes their thoughts and perceptions about themselves. This age is a key time for a foundation of support for the years to come. In high school, children still have the need for peer support although they begin to take on adult responsibilities and strive for independence. COLAGE strives to help children in these stages of childhood through their programs which take place in three primary program areas: (a) Community Building and Youth Development, (b) Youth Leadership and Public Education, and (c) Advocacy and Youth Organizing.
Youth Leadership and Public Education
This program of COLAGE aims to “connect constituents with media and public speaking opportunities empowering them to produce authentic representations of their experiences.” YLAP (Youth Leadership and Action Program) is a COLAGE program is designed to support public education and advocacy efforts for the children with LGBT parents by creating high quality arts activism materials. In 2005, the YLAP members completed In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with GLBT Parents. This is a documentary that profiles several adolescents with their stories, unique experiences, and their opinions about same-sex marriages. This film is used as an educational tool to reach out to youth across America in hopes to education the general public and eventually influence school policies and legislation at the state/federal level. In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with LGBT Parents won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Frameline Film FestivalFrameline Film Festival
Frameline is a nonprofit media arts organization that produces the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the oldest film festival devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender programming currently in existence...
and is now distributed to classrooms and communities nationwide.
Advocacy and Youth Organizing
This program of COLAGE aims directly “provide tools, training, and information to engage effectively in public policy development.” COLAGErs have been brought up by helping youth from an early age develop “self-awareness to social awareness to civic and political advocacy.” Specifically for this program area, a staff-led organization researches and advocates for COLAGE. In 2004, this organization “created and distributed a state-by-state guide of issues directly affecting GLBT people and families.”Core Values
Colage's Mission Statement lists these basic core values:- We value the basic principle that love makes a familyFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
. - We value a pluralistic definition of family and parent(s) encompassing a variety of kinship structures including:
- immediate families,
- extended families,
- partners,
- straight spouses,
- family structures which are marginalized in our society including single parent families,
- multiracial families,
- international families, and
- families with disabilities.
- We value the family as a powerful agent of social and cultural change.
- We value the experiences of our youth and families, acknowledging and honoring the struggle that many families face from externally imposed barriers, limitations, obstacles, and oppressions.
- We value the idea that as COLAGErs, we are the authorities of our own experience.
- We value our ability to express all parts of our lives and families freely and in all places.
- We value our allies, who include a broad array of progressive organizations and individuals, all of whom support the rights of all youth, and every family, to thrive and grow.
- We value coalition building with our allies, who recognize the value of organizing across differences and who are committed to creating the world we envision through positive action.
- We value youth-driven, consensus-oriented governance within our organization.
- We value seeking creative, fun ways to meet our ends.
Queerspawn
'Queerspawn' is a term that was first termed by Stefan Lynch, the son of a gay father and a lesbian mother, but later popularized by Abigail GarnerAbigail Garner
Abigail Garner is an American author and advocate for children with LGBT parents.Abigail Garner is the creator of FamiliesLikeMine.com, a website for LGBT families...
. Abigail is a child of a two-dad family and she wrote Families Like Mine. In 1997, Garner came out about her father’s being gay when she was 22 and began her career as an advocate for children of GLBT parents. The term Queerspawn was coined to identify kids with same sex parents. The name was quickly embraced by COLAGE kids around the globe. Children and young adults printed "QUEERSPAWN" on T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
to self-identify as having same sex parents.
External links
- COLAGE.ORG
- Families Like Mine
- Families Joined by Love - Books and resources for LGBT Families