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2. Why a book dedicated directly at children aged between 3 - 6?

When a child feels different because his environment makes him/her feel this difference, it very possible and probable that the child will repress what he/she is truly feeling. If a child sees that his environment is different to what the society classifies as 'normal and desirable', for example having same sex parents (an idea still rejected by many people), the situation could affect the child psychologically.

On the other hand if the situation is affirmed positively, the child is more likely to grow up to be more socially and emotionally apt, with a perspective of his environment that is more balanced. Up to now, there haven't been many references to same sex parents for children of this age, so the more we can integrate this through books, cartoons, games etc. the easier it will be for them to incorporate this into their everyday framework. The ideal then is that the child digests this situation in a natural way and not in a traumatic way, with the same facility that he/she will assimilate other hundreds of ideas during his/her childhood. Also I think that a good way to integrate ideas and values of a society is to begin when children are young. This book is not only directed at children in homosexual families but to all children.

 

3. Are children prepared at this age to understand the difference?

What difference? This difference is seen through the eyes of adults not by children until they 'learn' otherwise. I'll give you an anecdote. I was with friends talking about the possibility of same sex marriage. The child of one of them looked at us puzzled and said 'But there's something I don't understand, if two women get married, whose father will pay for the wedding?'
This child's focus wasn't on the fact that we were talking about women and marriage but rather on another idea she had 'learnt', that fathers usually pay for weddings.

 

4. Reality or fiction - what are your own experiences regarding this theme?

The reality is that this is no longer fiction. Around me I have homosexual friends with children. For me this reality is no different from other reality eg. Children of single parents or divorced parents or with heterosexual parents. I think what we need to ask ourselves is why we continue to see certain realities as fictitious?

 

5. In the event that adoption by homosexual parents is not recognised legally, what would be the difficulties facing two women when raising their child/children?

The law as it exists, only protects heterosexual couples so there is a Legal gap in respect to families where the parents are same sex and this of course can have consequences that affect not only the parents but the children as well. As this question presupposes and as we know, same sex parenthood is already a reality where lesbians can bring their children from former marriages into their new partnership, use donated sperm etc.
Take for example that the legal mother dies. The other mother who has also parented the child will have absolutely no rights legally over his/her custody.

 

6. The church has strongly attacked both same sex marriage and adoption by same sexed parents. How do these accusations affect two lesbian mothers?

Are you referring to the same Catholic Church with a curriculum that includes the Spanish Inquisition or the extermination of entire populations during the conquest of America, the same church that has tried to hide its sexual scandals from the world and the list goes on? I am not condemning the church as such - like everything, it has had it's significant place in our history but I think the moment has arrived when we have to ask, by what moral right does the church have to judge others, in this case homosexuals, as well as what does this say about us, that we allow ourselves to be judged by a system that has had a questionable past itself.
The church will continue to affect the lives of lesbian mothers until we the people truly and honestly consider why it has so much power and why we keep on giving it that power. Personally the church is not my reference and I say this as someone who believes in God.

 

7. Are you waiting for the day that 'Mamás Mías' stops being a story and becomes a daily reality?

I hope to see the day when what is important for our society is not 'who' educates our children but 'how' our children are educated. We need to establish systems to protect and educate our young independently of who their parents are. To place an emphasis on the sex of the parent misses the point I think. There are sufficient statistics to show that children parented by lesbians or gays have been found to be no different from those raised in an opposite-sex partnership and that many are even more open-minded and well adjusted when confronted with different life situations.

I would like to see the day when our present more biased and limited point of view is what changes. We are asleep like 'sleeping beauty'. With a kiss from the prince or princess ( free choice here ) I hope that the society will wake up to a reality that is more open and liberal.

 

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