Eric Rosswood (author of The Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads) wishes the cast of Sesame Street his very best as they introduce Dave and Frank.
“Sesame Street” featured two gay dads and their daughter in a groundbreaking episode celebrating diversity and inclusion.
In an episode entitled “Family Day,” which premiered last week on HBOMax and YouTube, the beloved children’s show has a scene in which Nina (Suki Lopez) introduces her brother Dave (Chris Costa), his husband Frank (Alex Weisman), and their daughter Mia (Olivia Perez) to Elmo and his friends.
“We are here!,” the happy family says as they join the gang, in perhaps a nod to a pro-equality chant popularized in the early ’90s, “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!”
LGBTQ rights advocates applauded the inclusion of same-sex parents in the popular kids show, noting the significance of the moment.
“The ‘Family Day’ episode of Sesame Street sends the simple and important message that families come in all forms and that love and acceptance are always the most important ingredients in a family,” the president and CEO of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, wrote on Twitter.
“Frank and Dave, as Mia’s dads, are the latest characters in an undeniable trend of inclusion across kids & family programming, one that allows millions of proud LGBTQ parents, and our children, to finally get to see families like ours reflected on TV,” added Ellis, who’s the mother of twins.
“Happy Pride and Happy Fathers day,” tweeted Eric Rosswood, the author of “We Make It Better: The Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads,” and “Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood.”
Actor Alan Muraoka — who plays Hooper’s Store’s owner Alan — wrote in a Facebook post that he was “so honored and humbled to have co-directed this important and milestone episode.”
The show has always been a “welcoming place of diversity and inclusion,” he noted. “We are so happy to add this special family to our Sesame family,” Muraoka added.
As all the families in the episode are being introduced to one another, one character notes that “all our families are so different.”
Dave agrees: “Yes, there are all kinds of different families. But what makes us a family is that we love each other,” he said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Alan concludes.
The Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads
Everything You Need to Know About LGBTQ Parenting But Are (Mostly) Afraid to Ask
Are you ready to have kids? More and more gay men are turning to adoption and surrogacy to start their own families. An estimated two million American LBGTQ people would like to adopt and an estimated 65,000 adopted children are living with a gay parent. In 2016, The Chicago Tribune reported that 10 to 20 percent of donor eggs went to gay men expanding their families via surrogacy, and in many places the numbers were up 50 percent from the previous five years.
Gay parenting: Having a kid is like coming out all over again, on a daily basis, especially if you have an infant. Was coming out stressful for you? It’s about to get more intense and you will have a child watching your every move and listening to your every word. If you stutter or pause, they may pick up on your discomfort and could start to feel like something is wrong about their family unit. The Ultimate Guide For Gay Dads is jam packed with parenting tips and advice to help you build confidence and become the awesome gay dad you were meant to be!
How Is This Parenting Guide Different From Others? Unlike other parenting books that have whole chapters focusing on things specifically related to mothers (such as how to get the perfect latch when breastfeeding), this parenting book replaces those sections with things relevant to gay dads. It covers topics like how to find LGBT friendly pediatricians, how to find LGBT friendly schools, how to childproof your home with style, how to answer awkward and prying questions about your family from strangers, examples for what two-dad families can do on Mother’s Day, and much more. The book also includes parenting tips and advice from pediatricians, school educators, lawyers, and other same-sex parents.