A website that helps gay dads survive the trials and tribulations of fatherhood is about to mark its second anniversary, just in time for Father's Day (June 19).
Gays With Kids ( https://gayswithkids.com) helps gay men who are bringing up children, as well as those who are just thinking about it.
Husbands Brian Rosenberg, 51, and Ferd van Gameren, 55, who live with their three children in New York City, founded the site.
"Soon after becoming first-time dads in 2009, we were surprised to find that the parenting industry seemed only to acknowledge mom for creating and raising the family," Rosenberg said in response to emailed questions.
"Wherever we went, even if there were other dads, we were always the only gay dads," he said. "We knew we couldn't be the only gay dads around. We searched online to find a community, but none existed."
The couple decided to create their own.
"As soon as our last child transitioned from diapers to underwear a few years later, we finally had the time to turn our vision into reality and launched Gays With Kids in 2014," Rosenberg said.
Since then, the site has become the world's largest collection of "gay dad content," according to a news release, including feature articles, family profiles, and advice.
"We discuss all relevant topics, such as the realities of foster care and adoption; best practices for domestic and international surrogacy; single parenting and co-parenting; and hot-button topics like divorce, coming out, monogamy and HIV," van Gameren said in the news release.
Many of the people who visit the website are from the Bay Area.
"On average, each month 20 percent of our total website traffic comes from California," Rosenberg said. "Of that traffic, 15 percent are from San Francisco."
Through their work on the site, the couple's realized that gay dads aren't just in big cities. They're also in rural areas and towns in the Bible Belt.
Along with the website, the couple have a Facebook page and Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube sites.
Changes ahead for the site include an e-commerce section and a new membership app.
Yes to Sex
Yes to Sex, the first app to help students learn about giving and getting consent for sex in just 25 seconds recently launched.
Through the application, users can agree or say "No" to several considerations.
"This app aims to make all sexual partners stop and think for a few seconds together to evade sexual assault issues due to miscommunication and to avoid getting or spreading the more than 1 million sexually transmitted infections that are acquired worldwide each day," the creators said in a news release April 8, the day the app debuted.
Before sex starts, partners can confirm consent and agree on whether to use protection. The app is free, and doesn't require any sign-up, names, or emails. Once a user closes the app, information isn't saved on anyone's phone, but the date, place, time, and voice recordings are stored on secure servers and can be retrieved only through court-endorsed orders.
Yes to Sex is available for iOS at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yes-to-sex/id1048900988?ls=1&mt=8 and Android at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.safesexconsentinc.yestosex.
Sampler is an online column highlighting LGBT performances, exhibits, and other entertainment in the San Francisco Bay Area. It runs every Tuesday. Contact reporter Seth Hemmelgarn at [email protected] or (415) 875-9986 to suggest column items.