Halloween Treats for LGBTQ+ Families
A Roundup of Good News
Halloween is a time when we temper the things that frighten us with something sweet. In a year full of frightening things for LGBTQ+ families and individuals, here are several recent treats—a few pieces of good news about books and media related to LGBTQ+ families. They will not completely banish the scary things, but they may bring us hope.
Let's start with two notable wins against book censorship, which disproportionately impacts LGBTQ+-inclusive titles and those featuring other marginalized identities:
A federal judge ruled October 20 that Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools—on-base schools for children of servicemembers—must return books with content about race and gender to the shelves, after they were pulled in response to a presidential executive order. The ACLU, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of six military families with children in DoDEA schools, noted in a statement that the censored items included "materials about slavery, Native American history, women's history, LGBTQ+ identities and history, and preventing sexual harassment and abuse, as well as portions of the Advanced Placement Psychology curriculum."
And October 21, a federal judge granted a permanent injunction against a Texas law that required all books in school libraries to be rated by the vendors based on a state-established rating system about what constitutes explicit material. The Texas Education Agency, however, could also "re-rate" books in order to keep them out of schools. The law, the court wrote, violates the First Amendment because it "fails to provide guidance on what community standard [of decency] applies, and fails to follow the definition of obscenity approved by the Supreme Court." Furthermore, it "is unconstitutional as it compels speech, is void for vagueness, and is an unconstitutional prior restraint," prohibiting books that may be protected by the First Amendment from being distributed.
Queer families are also prominent in two new films. First, "Fairyland," Alysia Abbott's 2014 memoir about growing up with a single gay dad in San Francisco during the bohemian 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, is now in theaters as a feature film with a stellar cast, including Emilia Jones as Alysia, Scoot McNairy as Steve, Adam Lambert as Steve's boyfriend Charlie, and Geena Davis as Alysia's grandmother Munca. Andrew Durham wrote the screenplay and directed, while Sofia Coppola produced. The film brings the Abbott's story to a wider audience as it shows us a little-documented time in queer family history, a rare perspective on the AIDS crisis, and the difficult but loving relationship between a father and daughter.
Next, the powerful new documentary "A Mother Apart" shows how parenting her own daughter led Black lesbian poet and activist Staceyann Chin on a journey to reconnect with the mother who abandoned her. Director Laurie Townshend skillfully weaves in conversations between Chin and daughter Zuri, blended with clips from Chin's performances, personal photos, and animations of memories and imaginings. The result is a moving and thought-provoking look at the complexities and meanings of motherhood, seen through the lens of Chin's experiences as she finds a path towards healing. Co-presented with Black Public Media (BPM), "A Mother Apart" will stream on PBS.org and the PBS App through January 11, 2026.
Kids' music, too, saw a recent nod to queer families, when Rapper Snoop Dogg partnered with GLAAD and queer singer Jeremy Beloate to release "Love Is Love," a new kids' song about family diversity, loving who you are, and loving your family and friends. Part of Snoop's animated children's series "Doggyland" on YouTube, the song features anthropomorphic cartoon animals, including one young child with two moms.
The track comes after Snoop drew widespread criticism in August for his response to a grandson's questions about same-sex parents in a movie. While watching the Disney film "Lightyear" with his grandson, Snoop had told the It's Giving podcast, the boy asked how one woman could have a baby with another. Snoop complained to the podcast, "I didn't come in for this shit. I just came to watch the goddamn movie." He continued, "These are kids. That we have to show that at this age ... like, they're going to ask questions. I don't have the answer."
His answer was offensive, but seemed more uneducated than hateful. Yes, the new song is Snoop doing damage control. But he has a huge platform, and I'm happy to see him now using it to spread a message of love and family diversity rather than doubling down on his previous comments. Time will tell if he's sincere, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
I'll close with a bit of Halloween advice about media and LGBTQ+ families. Halloween time means that social media is awash in images of LGBTQ+ families in elaborate and coordinated costumes. I love to see this burst of queer creativity and visibility—but please know that it's also okay if you don't dress up with your kids or if their costumes are more earnest than astounding. Do what feels right for your family and the energy you have at this moment, whether that means pulling out all the stops or cutting two holes in a sheet to make an old-school ghost. Your kids will likely have fun either way, and that's something truly sweet.
Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian.com), a two-time GLAAD Media Award-winning blog for LGBTQ+ parents plus a searchable database of 1,900+ LGBTQ+ family books.