York U.'s Association for Research on Mothering to Host Symposium on Challenges of Lesbian Mothering

TORONTO, June 9, 1999 -- As Gay Pride week approaches (June 21 to 27) and gay and lesbian communities make strides and suffer setbacks (M v. H; Government support of Reform Party motion on definition of family), York University's Association for Research on Mothering (A.R.M.) will be hosting a one-day symposium on lesbian mothering, Saturday, June 12, 1999, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

The symposium, Lesbian Mothering, will feature more than a dozen academics and activists who will examine a broad range of issues surrounding lesbian mothering, including questions of legal and social recognition for lesbian mothers.

"This symposium will provide a scholarly backdrop to the issues raised by the intersection of lesbian identity and motherhood. In recent years, more and more lesbians are choosing motherhood and searching for recognition of the families they are creating," said York University Professor Andrea O'Reilly, founding A.R.M. president.

Sessions and papers to be presented include:

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Session 1, Narrative Journeys:
This session includes reflections on the particular difficulties of "coming out" after motherhood, and tensions involved in negotiating relationships with family and friends.

Lucy Mercier (Michigan State University) "Lesbian Mothers: Relationships in Their Worlds"

Christina Starr (writer, Toronto) "Gay House/Straight House and Glass Walls in Between"

Kelly McReynolds (George Brown College) "A ëNormal' Lesbian Mom"

Laurie Bell (New College of California) "Decadent: Ten Years of Lesbian Parenting 1989-99"

11:40 a.m. - 1:10 p.m. Session 2, Questions of Legitimacy:
This session will focus on questions of legal and social recognition, exploring status of lesbian nonbiological mothers, specifically the impact of language and legal recognition on the visibility of co-mothers.

Dawn Comeau (San Diego State University) "Powerful Words Negotiating an Un(familiar) Existence: Interviews with Lesbian Nonbiological Co-Mothers in San Diego, California"

Daphne McClellan (University of Maryland) "Second Parent Adoption in Lesbian Families: Legalizing the Reality of the Child"

Susan Dundas (University of Toronto) "Toronto Lesbian Family Study"

Roisin Flood (London School of Economics) "Lesbian Mothering: A Comparative Study of Lesbian Mothering Between Ireland and Sweden"

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Session 3, Dilemmas of Identification:
This session will examine how lesbian identity often clashes with the reality of being a mother, including butch-identified mothers.

Mielle Chandler (York University) "Engendering Matrisexuality"

Rachel Epstein (York University) "Expanding Gender and Motherhood: A Working Paper on Butch Moms"

Doreen Fumia (OISE/UofT) "Marginalized Motherhood and the Mother-Lesbian Subject"

4:10 p.m. - 5:40 p.m. Session 4, Inside/Out: Challenging Norms
This session explores the resources and strategies that lesbian parents and their children develop to negotiate through a range of school practices that favour heterosexual family structures.

Amy Hequembourg (University at Buffalo) "Researching Lesbian Motherhood: Methodological, Theoretical and Ethical Dilemmas"

Rachel Epstein (York University) "Parent Night Will Never Be the Same: Lesbian Families Challenge the Public School System"

5:40 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Wine and Cheese Reception
(launch of the inaugural issue of the journal of the Association for Research on Mothering)

York University's Association for Research on Mothering (A.R.M.) is the first international feminist organization devoted specifically to the topic of mothering and motherhood. A.R.M. is an association for scholars, writers, activists, professionals, agencies, policy makers, teachers, parents and artists whose mandate is to bridge academe and activism providing a forum for the discussion and dissemination of maternal theories.

WHAT:
Symposium: Lesbian Mothering
(a symposium to examine legal and social recognition issues surrounding lesbian mothering)

WHEN:
Saturday, June 12, 1999, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

WHERE:
Harry Crowe Room (Room 109), Atkinson College
York University, 4700 Keele Street.

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For more information please contact:

Professor Andrea O'Reilly
A.R.M.
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 60366
email: arm@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
email: kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/071/99