Here's my entry for MediaGirl's 2nd Annual Feminist Valentine Blog Awards. Enjoy!

"But valentines are only supposed to be between boys and girls!"

These were the words that rolled off my oldest son's lips after I suggested the make valentines for all his team mates and soccer coach. "For my coach? Ewww. He's a man", said heterosexually my eight year-old. It's funny, but Thing #1 seems to be deciding these days he likes the girls and their smoochies after all.

His father is quite alarmed that I made this observation impassively, diagnostically. Well, I do look at pregnancy, mothering and the whole parenting thing as one big human Wild Kingdom experience. It's like I am looking at animals in the zoo but I am one of them.

And let me tell you, there's a couple of boys that by their choices are really hell bent on liking Peter and Paul waaaay more than Mary. It really is amazing to see, how some of us are just, well, gay from the day we were born. I think it's beautiful.

This, of course, takes me to the subject of our gayest of all New Yorkers, the penguins at various of our zoos. There's Squawk and Milou, Georgey and Mickey. Then there's the most controversial couple of the bunch, the then closeted bi-sexual Roy and the now forlorn and broken hearted Silo.

Roy and Silo became notorious during the 2004 election campaign as the poster boys for the equal gay rights amendment. They even have a children's book based on their love and parenting story. Then in 2005 Roy caught the eye of a homewrecker. After refusing for 6 years to mate with anybody else but Silo (females included) AND raising a chick with him, Roy walks out on him and starts building a nest for a hussy called Scrappy. Weirdest part of the story? Tango, their chick, is one half of a lesbian couple. Her mate's name is Tazuni.

So we talked about the gay penguins this morning; about how love knows no bounds. I reminded him of his friends two moms, of some of our friends (and some of his favorite people) who are gay and lesbian.

His answer? "Oh. Right. I totally forgot."

"You see, so boys can send valentines to other boys."

"I know, but mommy ... can I give my valentines to a girl?"

"Yes honey, it's your choice."

"Great."

Next month, they'll be reporting about their homeschooling classes at Central Park and their experience with the gayest New Yorkers of all, the zoo's penguins.

Happy Valentine's Day y'all.

(The title is a wink and a nod to that finest of heterosexuals, Jesus General; via But valentines are only supposed to be between boys and girls! | The Daily Gotham)