Happy Mother’s Day to all the surrogate, lesbian, and bisexual mothers who are raising kids and showing the world that we can raise families, live, and love proudly in our schools and communities.
To celebrate, we found 20 lovely pictures of same-sex moms and their kids spending time together and loving one another. We hope they make you smile whether you’re a mother, have a mother, or know some great moms worthy of celebrating.
Related: Moms will launch “free hugs virtual tour” on Mother’s Day because they miss us
The modern visibility of lesbian, bi, and queer moms is all the more astounding when you realize that Hallmark, the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the U.S., only started making greeting cards to celebrate LGBTQ mothers back in 2014.
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Hallmark began making cards for same-sex marriage back in 2008, but we know that queer couples and mothers have been raising kids for far longer.
In fact, statistics now tell us about LGBTQ moms and the challenges they face just to raise kids as their authentic selves.
According to data from Family Equality, an organization dedicated to advancing legal and lived equality for LGBTQ families, between 2 million and 3.7 million children under age 18 have an LGBTQ parent, and only 200,000 of those kids are being raised by couples. That means that a majority of queer mothers are actually doing it on their own — a testament to their fortitude, determination, and strength!
While some LGBTQ moms have children through assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy, many choose adoption and foster care to form their families. In fact, same-sex couples are six times more likely to foster children,
and at least four times more likely to adopt than different-sex couples.
But being a queer mom isn’t all greeting cards and breakfasts in bed. They face higher rates of poverty and over a third have experienced homophobia from other parents. But despite these and other challenges, a recent study showed that lesbian mothers raise children just as healthy as mixed-gender parents.
So let’s take a second and honor the compassion and strength LGBTQ mother have to offer — thanks for the love, moms!
