Intention: To celebrate queer children and adults and provide a safe space for queer children, families and allies to learn, connect, see positive queer role models, and be filled with positive loving affirmations.
Intention: To celebrate queer artists and to celebrate and read children’s books that depict positive healthy stories about the queer community.
Intention: To send out love in response to negative and hateful messages the LGBTQAI+ community receive (especially during an election cycle).
Intention: To shield and protect young gaybies, queers, and other children whose parents choose to raise them in a loving, affirming, inclusive, and supportive home.
Intention: To shatter the gay/queer glass ceiling for our children before they even realize that it’s there.
I believe in intention setting. In fact, I love it. Rainbow Readers is a concept of celebration of all families AND to protect the spirits of queer children from the hate extreme right-wing republicans and many religious groups expose their little hearts to.
The fact is queer families, same sex married couples, and even single adoptive dads like me have children. I welcomed (fostered) a troubled 12-year-old child into my home years ago and would later adopt him. It didn’t exactly end like I’d hoped it would, but it wasn’t for the lack of love and support that was provided in the home, which was also heavily given by my extended family and friends. He was and is still loved.
When he came to my home he couldn’t read. Teaching a troubled 12-year-old with reactive attachment disorder and ADHD to read proved to be a challenge. Really, it was like giving 10 cats a bath at the same time. Today he can read and write.
The idea that our families don’t deserve a safe space for people like drag queens to read stories to our kids is ridiculous and based in hate. It’s everybody’s job to protect their little spirits from the hate the world shows them. In addition, we need to send them messages of love and encouragement. It’s sad that these conversations and needed intentional outputs of love are our reality.
I for one am tired of them (the extreme right) placing a gay/queer glass ceiling on our children and on us. Often the queer community gets so use to having this limitation, that we internalize it and begin to mimic their hate on each other; it becomes our own. We place gay glass ceilings on each other instead of the gay glass slipper. And some of us even forget to dream at all.
Young souls across America need to be protected from the negative/evil spirit breaking messages that bombard them. They (the extreme right) are trying to destroy their spirits before they even get a chance to soar.
They are the ones that our grooming our children. They are grooming young queer minds to be less than their full potential. They are instilling in our children the idea that they are second-class citizens and don’t deserve a safe space to exist or to exist at all. We need to groom our children to be lawyers, doctors, principals, teachers, Supreme Court Justices, members of congress, social workers, therapists, nurses, artists, and so much more.
I would like to invite queer professionals, active or retired military members, and our allies to celebrate all children and read them a story via this platform. Preferably a story that shows them in a positive and healthy light, while planting the idea that they can dream big and be whatever and whomever they are, while loving whomever they choose.
Trying to manifest my wish list. If I don’t speak it out or seek it… then it won’t happen. Who knows… I may just get lucky. No, I don’t have any money to pay. In fact, I’m just now starting to realize it’s now safe to chase my own dreams.
First Wish List for future Rainbow Readers in no particular order:
Ru Paul
Lilly Tomlin
Billy Porter
Bianca Del Rio
Shonda Rhimes
Jennifer Lopez
Janelle Monae
Ricky Martin
Elton John
Miley Cyrus
Ada Vox
Bob the Drag Queen
Gaga
Melissa Etheridge
Barry Manilow
Tracy Chapman
Tig Notaro
Trixie Mattel
Sasha Vealuor
Shasha Colby
And I also want so many regular people like you and me to read too. But I’ve realized that we aren’t just regular here in the desert, we are extraordinary, we are talented, and we deserve to break the gay glass ceiling before they try to place it on the next generation.
We must inspire these young kids to dream, because representation matters. Seeing your success may just make them dream bigger than they ever thought possible.
One of So Many Happy and Deserving Homos,
Lee Castillo, LCSW
PS My intern is helping me launch this come July. The two of us will be doing the first book reading. The first book is, “My Princess Boy” by Cheryl Kilodavis. If you have ideas about other queer affirming children’s books, please email [email protected]