Dec. 4 – "Breeder" used to be an insult that queers hurled at heteros. Today, breeding is the next frontier in the LGBT rights movement. Now that same-sex marriage is becoming more widely accepted, lesbians and gays are chanting: You gotta fight – for your right – to parent! Germany’s civil unions fall short of full marriage rights, particularly when it comes to adoption. Part of the greater struggle are trans* people who are forced to undergo sterilization in France, Norway, Japan and many other countries in order to gain legal recognition of their gender.

Regardless of whether one prefers sex as procreation versus recreation, it's safe to say: Same-sex parents are, statistically speaking, better. Why? Virtually no unplanned pregnancies and therefore, no unwanted children. For the most part, they get born or adopted into a welcoming, loving family.

Of course, sometimes logic doesn't apply when it comes to governmental policy. Sometimes arguments need to appeal to emotion – the film Gayby Baby might just be able to have some sway. Australian documentarian Maya Newell felt that children's voices were being left out of the debate on same-sex marriage and LGBT parenting. Raised by two moms herself (and turning out just fine), she set out to show the realities – however dramatic or banal – of kids raised by gay and lesbian couples, without any political overtones.

Actually, though, the film has added fuel to the fire: Conservative Christians were able to get the film banned from being shown in high schools in New South Wales, Australia. Here in Germany, too, we have organized groups of Besorgte Eltern (“concerned parents” – as in, concerned with controlling other people's lives) who are opposing equal rights and LGBT visibility. To some, same-sex couples are so bad that we need to prevent them from starting families, and furthermore, the very notion of a same-sex couple is enough to corrupt a child's mind.

Gayby Baby gets its Berlin premiere on December 6 at Babylon Kino, presented by Berlin Feminist Film Week. Producer Charlotte Mars will be in attendance for a discussion to follow the screening.

Joey Hansom

Gayby Baby
Dec. 6, 20:00 at Babylon Kino