'Highlights' bows to pressure and finally features same-sex parents for first time

[DonViejo]

By Dawn Ennis · Friday, January 6, 2017



After earning the wrath of One Million Moms and enduring a backlash from families that include LGBTQ moms, dads and children, Highlights will finally feature a same-sex couple in its February edition.

Highlights is one of the longest running children’s magazines in the U.S. and has been published by the same family in Columbus, Ohio since 1946. But never has the periodical ever featured anyone queer.

That’s why Kristina Wertz and Kara Desiderio contacted Highlights‘ customer service department last September, to express concern that their one year old daughter did not see her family represented in her favorite magazine, according to a statement from Family Equality Council.

The couple received no response until they expressed their concerns on the publication’s Facebook page. And the response sparked a furor among LGBTQ families.

“For much of our readership, the topic of same-sex families is still new, and parents are still learning how to approach the subject with their children, even the very little ones. We believe that parents know best when their family is ready to open conversation around the topic of same-sex families.

“Please be assured that it is very important to us that every child see his or her “face” in the pages of our magazines at some point—that every child feels that Highlights is truly for them. We will continue to think deeply about inclusion —specifically, how to address it in developmentally appropriate ways for our broad audience.”

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http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/01/highlights-bows-pressure-finally-features-sex-parents-first-time/