[BCMA] Family diversity, membership and beyond

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Another form of discrimination is the 'two adults and two kids' type of
family membership. As a child in a larger family we were often denied
family memberships because our family was "too big". In my opinion a family
is a family, whether they have one child or a dozen, or whether it's a mom
and a dad or a same-sex couple.

Naomi


On Thu, Jun 20, 2013 at 2:16 PM, Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. <
bcma at lists.vvv.com> wrote:

> Our family memberships include up to two adults + children in one
> household.
> Seems to me that a simple change from "Mom and Dad" to "adults", "parents"
> or "caregivers"  is the easy and smart thing to do and would include
> families of all types.
>
>
> E Wright
> Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
> Port Hardy, BC
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv." <bcma at lists.vvv.com>
> To: <bcma at lists.vvv.com>
> Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2013 3:17 PM
> Subject: [BCMA] Family diversity, membership and beyond
>
>
> > This posting from a Childrens Museum list-serve should prove interesting
> > to
> > many other museums.
> >
> > Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:58 PM
> > Subject: Re: [CHILDMUS] Family diversity, membership and beyond
> >
> >>> Hi colleagues,
> >>> I'm sure you're all following the story out of Jacksonville this week
> in
> >>> which a lesbian family was denied a family museum membership:
> >>>
> >>> http://www.inquisitr.com/696424/same-sex-museum-membership-denied/
> >>>
> >>> and the sketchy way the museum handled the situation:
> >>>
> >>>
> http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/22457-museum-with
> >>>
> -anti-gay-family-policy-responds-to-protest-by-raising-all-membership-fe
> >>> es.html
> >>>
> >>> I'd like to think this is an isolated incident in our field, so I'm
> >>> seeking inspiration. Please share what your membership departments are
> >>> doing to make sure something like this never happens at your museums.
> >>> Beyond membership policies, what steps have you taken to make your
> >>> museum a welcoming place for all kinds of families?
> > ------------------------------
> >
> >
> >> Colleagues,
> >> We, too, were shocked to read this story, and hopeful that it does not
> >> reflect badly on children's museums in general, most of which I think
> >> have very welcoming policies for all kinds of families.
> >>
> >> In this case, it sounded like a front desk person was enforcing a
> >> reasonable rule to prevent multiple families from 'sharing' a
> >> membership. We all know that there are some families that take advantage
> >> in this way.
> >>
> >> What I was surprised about was that the ED did not override the front
> >> desk person when it was made clear that the women in question were *in
> >> the same household *(which is the criteria we use for memberships)*.*
> >> The museum's solution to raise the price of membership for everyone was
> >> a very clumsy one.
> >>
> >> At Habitot, we try to meet the needs of all of our potential audience
> >> including LGBTQ parents. We have a "Best of the Gay Bay" designation
> >> from the Our Family organization. We have gay staff members and board
> >> members. We have a free, monthly "Mamas and Papas" program for LGBTQ
> >> parents. They meet for facilitated parent support while their
> >> (supervised) children have the run of the museum.  A couple of times a
> >> year, we have a free Open House for the LGBTQ community. We just had our
> >> Family Pride Day event fro 91 families this month. These efforts have
> >> repaid themselves many times over in community connection and support.
> >>
> >
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>
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-- 
Naomi Fournier
Curator/Administrator
Enderby & District Museum & Archives
Box 367   901 George Street
Enderby, BC   V0E 1V5
250-838-7170
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