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hen Aquene and Laura Am-
arys brought their son home
in 1997, they didn’t know
any other queers with kids.
So a few months later
Aquene did something about
Rainbow Rascals, a resource group for Lane
County gay men and lesbians with babies and
toddlers. Only one other family attended the
first meeting.
Since then, that number has grown to 20.
And the kids have grown up, too, with some
now as old as 7.
Rainbow Rascals offers fun activities for gay
and lesbian parents and their children. It wel
comes new members who have kids by birth,
make a family through adoption, are new to the
area or just are in search of support.
Two years ago five Rainbow Rascals families
began holding annual campouts up the McKen
zie River. This year they reserved seven camp
sites at Honeyman State Park on the Oregon
coast for Libor Day weekend.
“In 2000 I know my family got the Sleepless
Nights Award, as we brought our 9-month-old
daughter, Indigo,” Aquene reflects. ‘TmTiappy
to say in 2001 we passed that award to a family
from Jefferson who had an even younger baby.”
The goal of Rainbow Rascals is to create com
monalty and opportunity. Children run and play
with other families that look like theirs, and adults
talk about topics ranging from potty training hints
to finding schools. Participants share baby-sitting
duties with one another and bring potluck dishes
for parents with new babies or when someone is ill.
“I think the kids themselves look forward to
the group even more than the parents do these
days,” Aquene explains. “We form extended
family that, for many of us, is lacking.”
W
T he L ittle R ascals
he doesn’t. Rainbow Rascals provides support for
parents and children in just this kind of situation.
Olson has been out for three years without
encountering conflicts as a queer parent, other
Queer parents come together for fun and support by Susan Detroy
than family concerns about what kind of teasing
it: She created
Jesse and Dylan, 6 and 3, might face from class
As of yet, no gay
mates. She thinks it is helpful that talk
men with small chil
show host Rosie O’Donnell finally came
dren have joined the
out of the closet this year to fight Florida’s
gay adoption ban.
group. But if any need
support, members agree
“This is probably the first opportuni
they are welcome.
ty that some of her fans have had to
Kim Olson, a Salem
know a gay parent,” Olson says. “Once it
becomes someone you know and love, it
mother of two boys who
travels to the Eugene
makes a big difference.”
Aquene— who hopes to get a group
meetings, started a Rain
started in Lane County for kids between 7
bow Rascals group in
and 11 years old-^-thinks O ’Donnell’s high
May for Oregon’s capital
visibility only can help because she is well
city. She wanted to bring
the same energy and
liked, showing that good parenting has
nothing to do with sexuality. She says this
support to parents where
reinforces that family is about love, nurtur
she lived.
ing, communicating, interacting, creating
O lson points to
a stable home and being there for children.
one difference: “We
“Rosie has been a great example and
feel that if someone
has shown this to the public eye, and I
who has older kids
think it’s awesome that she finally came
wants to come, they
out,” Aquene says. “And not only did
are more than wel
she come out, but she came out with a
com e.” T he first gath Rainbow Rascals participants say Rosie O ’Donnell has helped put a familiar
ering drew five wom face on queer parenting
cause. j n
en and seven children
R ainbow R a sca ls meets from 10 a.m . to noon
between 15 months and 7 years old.
Howard says. “Our family and neighbors knew
on the second Saturday o f every month in Eugene.
us as a couple long before we had children, and
Michelle Howard-Popple and Ereena
they have all been very supportive.”
To join call 5 4 1 '3 4 4 -5 8 4 7 . C ontact the Salem
Howard, a 20-year Salem couple with three
children, attend both groups. Although many
This year the Howard-Popple family had its group at 5 0 3 -581-5102 or kimolson 1 @
queer parents face a number of challenges, they first contact with the Salem-Keizer School Dis hotmail.com. For more information visit the
Internet site wuAV.rainbowrascals.org.
trict. The response was positive.
consider themselves fortunate.
One dilemma came when their 6-year-old boy
“We haven’t had any negative response to
realized all of his friends and cousins have a dad and SUSAN D etroy is a Eugene free-lance writer.
our being a lesbian couple with children,"
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