"What Makes a Family" is available to watch streaming on Netflix! Yay!
This 2001 Lifetime movie stars Brooke Shields and Cherry Jones as lesbian partners who eventually have a child together. But when the biological mother of the child becomes ill and dies, her grandparents take the child away from her remaining mother. That woman appeals the court decision, challenging Florida state law, in order to become the guardian of their child, as she and her partner intended.
The movie is "based on a true story," but while I couldn't find any specific story that would have been cited by the movie, I imagine there are thousands of similar stories across the U.S. and world-wide.
I watched the movie tonight, and of course it has gotten me thinking about the legal discrepancies for GLBT parents in the U.S. My partner and I are beginning to plan for a future that would include children - biological and adopted, hopefully. It's stunning, and frightening, to think that even if she and I were to write wills, draw up every legal document possible to provide for the future of our children, that those documents just might not matter-- at least not in every state. It varies so greatly! I know the woman in the movie didn't even have a will at all, but it still makes me question the validity and strength of our future wills and legal plans.
Same-sex marriage is a huge debate right now in the U.S., and I just can't even fathom why some people are so threatened by it. Providing structure and security for family units, no matter how many moms or dads are in that unit-- why is that so scary? And how the fuck is that your business anyway? When I have children, you had better believe I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure the stability and security of their future with their intended parents. Ahhh, and now I'm ranting on my soap-box. ;)
Anyway, the movie is just lovely. Watch it if you haven't seen it yet. Beautifully acted by Brooke Shields, Cherry Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and a few other people you will recognize. Be sure to have a tissue nearby-- seeing Brooke lose her partner and then her daughter will break your heart!
