For gay dads, two new websites help navigate joys, struggles of fatherhood

Just in time Father’s Day comes two new websites geared toward gay dads and the joys and struggles of fatherhood, Gays With Kids and The Handsome Father.

GaysWithKids.com helps gay dads navigate fatherhood − from creating their families to raising them − launched on June 4, and is co-founded by Brian Rosenberg and Ferd van Gameren, husbands and proud fathers of three children.

The online community aims to normalize the experience of gay parenting by sharing stories, news, advice, and in-depth reporting on topics of interest to gay dads, many of which are typically not covered in mainstream media.

Gays with Kids also hopes to inspire a new generation of gay men who are interested in raising children.

“When we adopted our first child five years ago, one of the first things we did to help us prepare was search the Internet to try and connect with other gay dads so we could learn from their experiences,” explains Rosenberg. “We were surprised to find there were no sites or resources available.”

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“We felt isolated because we had no community of gay dads to turn to and with whom we could identify, and we also felt alienated by all the mom-centric focus,” adds van Gameren. Everywhere they turned they saw phrases like “mommy tested-mommy approved” or “for moms by moms” and they even shopped in stores called “From Bump to Baby” and “Moms to be and More.”

They knew they could make a change, but put their idea on hold to concentrate on their toddlers. Four years later, they have launched Gays With Kids to help other gay dads succeed as fathers.

And it seems that good ideas come in pairs…