COLAGE

Last updated
COLAGE
Founded1990
TypeLGBTQ, peer support group, virtual organization
Location
  • online
Website colage.org
Formerly called
Just for Us, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere

COLAGE (originally abbreviated from Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) is an organization created in 1990 by the children of several lesbian and gay parents and guardians who felt a need for support.

Contents

COLAGE is run and operated by people of all ages who have LGBTQ parents or guardians. Older COLAGErs mentor younger members, preparing them for challenges that children may face having queer parents. Every summer COLAGE comes to Family Pride's annual Family Week in Provincetown on Cape Cod. [1] There, hundreds of families attend COLAGE meetings and workshops. [1]

COLAGE is currently a virtual organization and has a small paid staff. The national program director is Jordan Budd.

History

COLAGE is the first organization of its kind[ citation needed ] and was originally called Just for Us. [2] 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. [3] 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 PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Her presentation proved successful in contributing to the origins of COLAGE. [4]

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 LGBT parents. Beginning in 1996, COLAGE included children of transgender parents and designed specific resources not available anywhere else. [5]

In 1997, the organization had their 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. [5]

Advocacy

In the United States, there are 6 million children who have at least queer parent or guardian, and within these values anywhere from one to nine million children are currently being raised in households with two or more queer parents or guardians. [6] Children within these households face several challenges and the ability to cope with their situation can often be overwhelming. [6] COLAGE serves these children in several ways with peer support and community-building. [6]

The process for children to become comfortable with their lifestyle is often disrupted by outside influences such as "negative portrayals, misinformation, and the constant public debate about LGBT rights." [5] Another purpose of COLAGE is addressing the burden of a lack of benefits or protections for LGBT families with children. [5] COLAGE also opposes negative media concerning mental health impacts to children of LGBT parents and guardians. [6]

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." [5] YLAP (Youth Leadership and Action Program) was a COLAGE program designed to support public education and advocacy efforts for the children with LGBT parents and guardians by creating high quality arts activism materials. In 2005, the YLAP members completed In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with GLBT Parents, a documentary that profiles several adolescents with their stories, unique experiences, and opinions about non-traditional marriages. [7] [8] [9] This film is used as an educational tool in youth outreach across the US, educating the general public, and influencing school policies and legislation at the state and federal levels. [10] In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with LGBT Parents won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Frameline Film Festival and is now distributed to classrooms and communities nationwide. [11]

Advocacy and Youth Organizing

This program of COLAGE aims directly "provide tools, training, and information to engage effectively in public policy development." [5] COLAGErs have been brought up by helping youth from an early age develop "self-awareness to social awareness to civic and political advocacy." [5] 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." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PFLAG</span> Non-profit organisation in the US

PFLAG is the United States' first and largest organization uniting parents, families, and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+). PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to the PFLAG network of local chapters. PFLAG has over 400 chapters across the United States, with more than 200,000 members and supporters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straight ally</span> Non-LGBT person who supports LGBT rights and movements

A straight ally, heterosexual ally, or cis ally is a heterosexual and cisgender person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ social movements. Individuals may meet this designation through their actions without actively identifying as an ally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture</span> Common culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people

LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Gay Youth</span> Organization

Israel Gay Youth (IGY) was founded in 2001 in Israel as a non-profit NGO, branching off from the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association.

Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in launching the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frameline Film Festival</span>

The Frameline Film Festival began as a storefront event in 1976. The first film festival, named the Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films, was held in 1977. The festival is organized by Frameline, a nonprofit media arts organization whose mission statement is "to change the world through the power of queer cinema". It is the oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keshet (organization)</span>

Keshet is a national grassroots organization with offices in Boston, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area that works for the full equality and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Jews in Jewish life. Led and supported by LGBTQ Jews and straight allies, Keshet offers resources, training, and technical assistance to create inclusive Jewish communities nationwide. Keshet produced the documentary Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School and companion curriculum.

The Queer Student Cultural Center is the current incarnation of the coming out, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, and allied communities organization of the University of Minnesota campuses that has been active since May 1969.

LGBT movements in the United States comprise an interwoven history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied movements in the United States of America, beginning in the early 20th century and influential in achieving social progress for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GLBT Historical Society</span> American non-profit LGBT historical society

The GLBT Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of archival materials, artifacts and graphic arts relating to the history of LGBT people in the United States, with a focus on the LGBT communities of San Francisco and Northern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston GLBT Community Center</span>

The Houston GLBT Community Center was a community center for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies in the Houston metropolitan area and southeast Texas. Its last location was in the Dow School building in the Sixth Ward of Houston.

Sally Huffer is an American LGBT activist that resides in Houston.

Youth pride, an extension of the Gay pride and LGBT social movements, promotes equality amongst young members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTIQ+) community. The movement exists in many countries and focuses mainly on festivals and parades, enabling many LGBTIQ+ youth to network, communicate, and celebrate their gender and sexual identities. Youth Pride organizers also point to the value in building community and supporting young people as they are more likely to get gay bashed and bullied. Schools that have a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) handle issues of discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ+ youth better than schools that do not because they help develop community and coping skills and give students a safe-space to get health and safety information. Sometimes the groups avoid labelling young people and instead let them identify themselves on their own terms "when they feel safe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ Aggies</span> Student group at Texas A&M University

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Aggies is an officially recognized student group at Texas A&M University. Originally known as Gay Student Services (GSS) and later as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Aggies, the organization was officially recognized by Texas A&M University in 1985 after a lengthy court battle.

Arlene Istar Lev is a North American clinical social worker, family therapist, and educator. She is an independent scholar, who has lectured internationally on topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity, sexuality, and LGBTQ families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libraries and the LGBT community</span> Library services to the LGBT community

In the post-Stonewall era, the role of libraries in providing information and services to LGBTQ individuals has been a topic of discussion among library professionals. Libraries can often play an important role for LGBTQ individuals looking to find information about coming out, health, and family topics, as well as leisure reading. In the past 50 years, advocate organizations for LGBTQ content in libraries have emerged, and numerous theorists have discussed various aspects of LGBTQ library service including privacy concerns, programming, collection development considerations and librarian/staff education needs, as well as special services for juvenile and teen patrons.

This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Asia and the Pacific Islands and in the global Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked. Please note: this is a very incomplete timeline, notably lacking LGBTQ-specific items from the 1800s to 1970s, and should not be used as a research resource until additional material is added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of LGBT topics</span> Overview of and topical guide to LGBT topics

The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics.

References

  1. 1 2 Dan Gilgoff, "The Rise of the Gay Family: More and more American children are growing up with same-sex parents", US News & World Report, 5/16/04.
  2. ↑ "Guide to COLAGE (Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere)", Online Archive of California, http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt209nd8js/
  3. ↑ The COLAGE Creation Myth. COLAGE. http://www.colage.org/about/myth.htm Archived 2009-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Gottlieb, Andrew R. "Introduction." Interventions with Families of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People: From the Inside Out. Ed. Jerry J. Bigner. Binghamton: The Haworth Press, Inc, 2006. pg 3.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kuvalanka, Katherine A., Beth Teper, and Orson A. Morrison. "COLAGE: Providing Community, Education, Leadership, and Advocacy by and for Children of GLBT Parents." Interventions with Families of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People: From the Inside Out. Eds. Jerry J. Bigner and Andrew R. Gottlieb. Binghamton: The Haworth Press, Inc, 2006. pg 76.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Steven Mitchel, "The Progressive Project and COLAGE Amicus Brief for Perry v Schwarzenegger", Case 3:09cv-02292, United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
  7. ↑ "Two short films exploring the impact of marriage and adoption rights in diverse LGBT families.", 2007 Frameline Film Festival.
  8. ↑ "National Association for Multicultural Education: Advocates for Educational Equity and Social Justice", NAME Film Festival–2010,
  9. ↑ Tracy Nectoux, "In the Family: Marriage Equality and LGBT Families", 9 July 2010, GLBT Reviews: Book and media reviews from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association.
  10. ↑ Pedro Julio Serrano, Meredith Fenton, Dustin Kight, "Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family-inclusive faith curriculum launched, fills gap Leading organizations partner to make faith communities more welcoming of LGBT people", MAY 11, 2009 press release overviewing "a curriculum designed to help faith communities support and embrace lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families."
  11. ↑ Sam McManis, "Themes of acceptance Films in gay and lesbian festival look at families' lives", Sacramento Bee - Oct 2, 2005.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.