This post was submitted by Claire Rychlewski

In correspondence with the release of The Kids Are Alright, a new film about lesbian parents, Parenting UK has conducted a survey concerning how families and schools should educate children about gay parents. The results? Healthily progressive.

Parenting UK surveyed 2,000 people about different aspects of gay parenting. Over two-thirds surveyed said that schools should educate students about gay parents, and that gay and lesbian issues should be included in the curriculum. Equally, over two-thirds of parents surveyed said that they had, or planned to, talk with their child about family types outside of nuclear, such as gay or lesbian parents.

Tackling homophobia and homophobic bullying was also discussed, and 70 percent surveyed said that homophobia should be handled the same way that racism is handled—and two-thirds agreed that the use of the term “that’s so gay” to describe something as negative or stupid should be prevented.

While these survey results are positive, the real life situations have not borne them out quite yet. A 2009 YouGov survey for Stonewall of over 2,000 primary and secondary school teachers showed that 90 percent of teachers have not received any specific training or instructions on how to prevent homophobic bullying. Over a third of secondary school teachers, and almost two thirds of primary school teachers have not yet addressed issues of sexual orientation in their lessons.

In addition to the survey, the online video channel for parents, ParentChannel.tv, has unveiled a new video clip that examines the experiences of being a gay parent. The video acknowledges the obstacles or challenges that may come with being a gay parent. ParentChannel offers tips for gay and lesbian parents on adoption, new relationships, parental responsibility, and dealing with prejudice.

The communications director at ParentChannel.tv, Rachel Tonkin, explained that the clip is part of their range of videos covering all aspects of parents. “Gay parents are normal and equally good as other types of parents,” she said. “We want to use the clip to provide support for gay parents, promote the importance of good parenting and bringing up children with tolerance and acceptance whoever the parents.”

Lisa Cholodenko’s new movie ‘The Kids Are All Right,’ coincides nicely with Tonkin’s sentiments, and Parent UK’s survey. ‘Kids’ is a film starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, details the lives of two lesbian parents trying to raise their children while also struggling with balancing jobs and figuring out their own relationship. Things get more complicated when their daughters brings their birth father into their lives and home.

Said Tonkin of ‘Kids’, “The film promotes different family types as totally normal and reinforces the fact that gay people can be good parents and offer a normal upbringing for children. The film is a big budget Hollywood movie with class A actors like Julianne Moore which will help to promote a mainstream awareness and understanding of different family types.”

Critically acclaimed as “beautifully written, impeccably played, funny, randy, and true” (The Boston Globe), ‘Kids’ looks like a Hollywood production that will finally be getting it right. With the release of the film coupled with Parenting UK’s survey results and ParentChannel’s newest video, one can only hope that this indicates social change for the better.

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